Babina Mine Entrance Gate – Source of Acid Mine Drainage loop from Łęknica

Hiking trails & Routes

Lower Lusatia

Żary

Łęknica

Babina Mine Entrance Gate – Source of Acid Mine Drainage loop from Łęknica

Moderate

4.6

(38)

132

hikers

Babina Mine Entrance Gate – Source of Acid Mine Drainage loop from Łęknica

02:40

10.2km

70m

Hiking

Moderate hike. Good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels. The starting point of the route is accessible with public transport.

Last updated: October 7, 2026

Tips

Your route passes through a protected area

Please check local regulations for:

Park Krajobrazowy Łuk Mużakowa

Waypoints

Start point

Bus stop

Get Directions

613 m

Babina Mine Entrance Gate

Highlight • Monument

In 2012, the Polish initiators created a geotouristic path in this post-mining landscape, and in 2014 the lookout tower was built. In 2021 the trail network was expanded. The main paths are wide and paved. Therefore, comfortable walking and hiking is possible. There are numerous benches, many with tables, bike racks and litter bins, and a few shelters. Many interesting boards provide information about mining, history and nature in Polish and German. Nearby in Łeknica there are shops and restaurants. Another important note: If you are bringing a dog with you, please bring drinking water with you. The water in the many bodies of water is also undrinkable for dogs.
park-muskau.de/faltenbogen.html

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1.59 km

Settlement caused by underground mining operations

Highlight • Lake

A certain time after the sinking, the hollow filled with rainwater, into which sulfur compounds found in deeper coal seams found their way. The trees standing in the water turned into a sunken forest. Source: Information board at the sunken forest.

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2.11 km

Source of Acid Mine Drainage

Highlight • Natural Monument

At the former site of the "Schuppe D" mining area, you can admire the "source of the acidic mining water"! Here water emerges from the subsoil in some places and because the loose rock masses in the subsoil contain a lot of iron, iron particles are also dissolved in the ground water and carried to the surface with the spring water. These settle at the edge of the spring and form so-called spring pots that look like small fountain rings. The areas all around are rust-red and orange-brown.

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2.96 km

Muskau Arch Geopark

Highlight • Natural Monument

The Geopark can be explored on foot or by bike. And it's really worth it. Bathing is prohibited because of the extremely low PH value. But every lake has its own beauty.

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4.01 km

Afryka Lake Observation Tower (Babina Mine), Łuk Mużakowa Landscape Park

Highlight • Viewpoint

There are 120 steps up the tower and you can see over Africa. The 190 meter long and 27 meter deep lake is so named because it has the exact shape of the continent when viewed from above. You can't swim in Africa, the water is too acidic for that. The power plants in Boxberg and Schwarze Pumpe provide orientation for a long-distance view. If the weather is really good, you can see the Landeskrone Görlitz and the Jizera Mountains. Boards and information can be found on the circular route around Africa. Breaks are possible at small huts and benches.

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4.30 km

View of Blue Lake (Park Krajobrazowy Łuk Mużakowa)

Highlight • Viewpoint

Small but very nice viewing and rest point directly on the way!

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4.65 km

Blue Pond

Highlight • Lake

Beautiful landscapes, perfect for a relaxing walk.

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5.39 km

Parking Area at Park Krajobrazowy Łuk Mużakowa

Highlight • Parking

Good free parking at the edge of the park.

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10.2 km

End point

Bus stop

Way Types & Surfaces

Way Types

7.29 km

1.66 km

1.27 km

< 100 m

Surfaces

6.72 km

1.22 km

1.20 km

789 m

259 m

< 100 m

Elevation

Nothing selected – click and drag below to see the stats for a specific part of the route.

Weather

Saturday 10 October

13°C

7°C

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Comments

April 26, 2025,🌍🇵🇱 Lugknitz (Łęknica) Geotouristischer Pfad - Grube Babin

After the tour is before the tour, so off to the next destination, the Geopark in Poland.

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April 26, 2025,🥾 (PL 🇵🇱) Geotouristischer Pfad - Babina Grube (Łęknica)

Since we have our beautiful holiday home in Rietschen, neighboring Poland isn't far away (about 21 km).
This, of course, makes for a wonderful opportunity to hike there...
Just across the border is the "Geotouristic Trail - Former Babina Mine," a natural spectacle of indescribably beautiful lakes and forests.
There are plenty of rest stops along the entire route. There's …

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October 31, 2024,Geopark Babina im Herbst 🇵🇱

Now, in 2024, we have been to the area of the former Babina mine for the fourth time. Today's public holiday in Saxony and the not so great weather have probably meant that very few people were out and about there. We have experienced things differently, especially in summer. The autumnal colors would of course have been much more intense …

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February 2, 2025,Grube Babina - Nord mit Geoparkführer

Geopark guide Jürgen Siegemund had invited us and almost 80 hikers accepted the invitation. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to stay at the planned starting point, the new Moya petrol station, despite Jürgen's prior agreement. There were probably too many cars! So it was decided to drive to the car park at the entrance to Nowe Czaple (Neu Tzschäpeln).
And …

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October 18, 2024,Eingang zur Babina-Grube - Blaue Lagune - Becken Afrika- Runde von Neu Tschöpeln

Today we took a trip from the market in Łęknica to the former "Babina" mine. Parking is free in Neu Tschöpeln. The geotourism trail led us through the former "Babina" mine. There were information boards everywhere explaining mining, natural phenomena that arose as a result of mining, and the formation of this section of the Muskau Fold. Many lovingly designed …

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September 3, 2025,Von Gospoda Mużakowska, Łęknica nach Grube Babina mit Marktbesuch 🚶🏻🚶🏻🐕‍🦺🌞🏞️

Unfortunately, Komoot hasn't uploaded any of the photos, check out some of them at Michaela's

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March 4, 2025,T & T und zur Babina

T & T and to Babina! That sounds cryptic. Doesn't it? Let's clarify. Today we didn't want to belong to the classic category of gas tourists among our Polish neighbors. The first T stands for cheap gas, of course. The second T for a tour. Today, however, we want to look at the two clearly and distinctly separately. So today …

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