Highlights:

  • Unique and unknown destination in the Polish Carpathians
  • Mountains which are perfect to hike in snow shoes
  • Additionally, discovering the wild nature, contacts with the local population and visiting the most popular places.
  • 3 national parks, 2 places from the UNESCO World Heritage Site
  • Two nights in Zakopane, the famous ski station in Tatras,
  • Two nights in Krakow, the most beautiful city in all Poland.

Introduction:

This is Poland off the beaten path, as we strap into our snowshoes and head out to the fascinating Beskidy and Pieniny mountain ranges on the border with Slovakia. The area still retains its strong cultural identity, with traditional wooden architecture and cuisine adding real charm to the villages. We will be exploring the best this fascinating region has to offer, from mountain passes to national parks, taking in fabulous panoramas and picturesque communities as we go. The terrain is varied, from gentle mountain pastures through forests and up to mountain passes. The variety of scenery and routes on this trip is fantastic and to really make the most of this we stay in different locations, each of which offers its own slice of mountain culture. There is also a night in a mountain refuge as well as a visit to the resort of Zakopane and to Krakow, Poland’s stunning second city.

Day by day:

D1: Arrival in Krakow
Krakow is one of the most beautiful cities of Central Europe. Its Old Town, added to UNESCO’s list of World Cultural Heritage Sites in 1978, is of exceptional architectural value. Discovering the Old Town with our guide.

 

D2: Walk to Jaworki in the Pieniny Mountains
This morning we will set off for a minibus transfer to Piwniczna Zdroj, where we start our trek. This popular Health Resort is located in Beskid Sadecki, in the deep valley of Poprad River. We start with a bog crossing to Jaworki in the Pieniny Mountains. We are likely to encounter many shepherd’s chalets and refuges along the way as we walk along the ridge passing Obidza Mountain Hut (931 m), depending on the weather we’ll have a magnificent panorama of the Pieniny and Tatra Mountains. The descent to the village of Jaworki is gentle allowing plenty of time to enjoy the fabulous surroundings; we’ll stay here in our comfortable pension for 2 nights.

 

D3: Circular walk in the Little Pieniny
From our pension we steadily climb onto the mountain ridge running along the border with Slovakia. This track offers the most beautiful views of the trip: marvellous 360-degree panorama of both countries with the high peaks of the Tatra Mountains in the background. Our route meanders through mountain pastures, used in summer by the shepherds as they graze their cows and sheep. We return to Jaworki in the late afternoon for a sleigh ride through the ‘gorges of the valley of the white waters’. After we enjoy time with our polish friens at a campfire!

 

D4: Long trip to the Turbacz Hut
Our day starts with a short minibus transfer to the village of Rzeki (35 km), here we again take to our feet as we start our climb of the highest mountain in the region, Mt Turbacz (1310 m). Passing the massif of Kudlon, where we’ll see beautiful mountain pastures and charming traditional wooden cabins, we are now in the heart of the national park of Gorces. The climb is steady, crossing Borek Pass before reaching the plateau of Turbacz – another spot with splendid views of the rugged Tatra Mountains. Today we must carry our overnighttoiletries and a change of clothes as our refuge is not accessible by support vehicle.

 

D5: Gorce NP and Zakopane
Descending from the plateau of Turbacz. Short transfer to Debno, where we can see beautiful wooden church (UNESCO) from XV century. Later we transfer by road to Zakopane. It is considered the capital of the Tatras, and is a hub of activity in winter and summer. With its charming architecture and busy mainstreet we can relax and enjoy the local hospitality as we spend the evening in a local restaurant with good food, drinks and live higlander music

 

D6: Snowshoeing in the Tatras Mountains
At last it is time to discover the Tatras – a range which we could admire previous days from the distance. Our hiking route will be chosen by the guide accoriding to snow conditions. Evening in Zakopane

 

D7: Krakow
We board the bus for our journey of 140km back to Krakow. On arrival the rest of the day is free for shopping, wandering in the small streets or simply people watching in one of the numerous tea shops.

D8: End of a trip