What to do in the Pieniny Mountains in Poland?

Located about a one and a half hours drive from Kraków you will find the gorgeous Pieniny Mountain range. Although quite popular with Polish tourists, it is not so well-known with international tourists. We stayed 3 nights in Pieniny, but could have easily spent some more. We loved it! Here’s a Pieniny guide with tips on what to do in the Pieniny mountains in Poland.

About the Pieniny Mountains (or Pieninksi National Park)

The Pieniny Mountains are located in the south of Poland and the north of Slovakia. This region is known for its limestone and dolomite peaks and ravines and gorges. The most famous peak is the ‘Trzy Korony’ (Three Crowns), the most famous gorge is the Dunajec River Gorge and the most famous ravin is the Homole ravine. It is one of the oldest and one of the smallest National Parks in Poland. These days it’s a popular place for hiking, cycling and traditional rafting trips. It’s proximity to both Kraków and the Tatra Mountains make it an excellent stop to add to your itinerary.

What is the best time to visit the Pieniny National Park in Poland?

We visited Pieniny in the end of May, beginning of June. Spring is a great time for wild flowers. Until March/early April there may still be a bit of snow. Summer is high season in Poland, so it may be more busy. September is generally a good month to visit as it is still good weather, but less crowded. Autumn is the best time to enjoy the beautiful colors of fall folliage.

How to get to the Pieniny Mountains?

You can take a bus from Kraków to Szczawnica. From Szczawnica you can take local buses to other towns. We visited the Pieniny Mountains as part of our Southern Poland road trip with our own car and found this quite convenient.

Traditional Rafting Trip on the Dunajec River

An absolute highlight of our trip in Pieniny (and in Poland!) was the rafting trip on the Dunajec River. We started in Sromowce Niżne. Here, we boarded a wooden raft which was manned by two local raft men (also called Flisak), dressed in traditional Goral clothes. One of them spoke perfect English and told us all there was to know about traditional rafting and the surroundings.

The Dunajec rafting is an old tradition which started around the 19th century. Pieniny Gorals use a wooden boat and a three meter long stick to take tourists through the gorge. The raftsmen today are still from the local villages and their fathers and grandfathers were also raftsmen. Floating through the gorge itself was slow-paced and serene with Poland on the left hand side and Slovakia on the right hand side. It’s also possible to go by kayak or modern floatable raft, but I highly recommend the traditional raft.

INFO: We started at ‘Sromowce niżne trzech koron 34‘, navigate to this point on Google Maps. From here you can go buy a rafting ticket for Szczwanica (97 złoty) or Kroscienko (117 złoty). In low season, these prices are slightly lower. This price includes the National Park entry fee. The river is quite calm. You don’t get wet. In summer, the rafting station is open from 08.30-17.00. The cruise lasted 2 hours and 15 minutes until Szczawnica, a cute town with many restaurants and shops. From Szczawnica you can walk, cycle or take a bus back. You can also buy a ticket for bike hire at Szczawnica for the way back (see the next paragraph).

TIP: There is a beautiful view on the river bend from the bridge in Szczawnica
TIP: You could ask if there is an English speaking flisak available

Visit Szczawnica

Szczawnica is an old spa town famous for its alkaline springs with grand wooden villas, some now unfortunately abandoned and in decay. In the Szczawnica resort there is a museum showing the history of the spa town. In winter, it’s popular for skiing. We took the chair lift up from which you have a beautiful view over the town. At the top we went for a ride in the small, but fun tobaggan run. We had lunch at Cafe Helenka (built in 1853, but destroyed by fire and rebuilt), which has a beautiful terrace with a mix of French and Polish cuisine. Bohema restaurant is another popular place for lunch.

Cycle or walk back via the red monastery after your rafting trip

After the rafting trip you can cycle back on the banks of the river in about an hour or so. On the way you can visit the Red Monastery which is located on the Slovakia site. You can buy a ticket for bicycle rent together with your rafting ticket. Just show the ticket at one of the bicycle places at Szczwanica and once you’re back at the starting point of the rafting, you can simply hand in your bike again.

Pieniny hiking: Hike to Sokolica (you could also do this after your rafting trip)

This was a tip of our rafting guide, but unfortunately we had no time to do this hike ourselves. You can do this hike from Szczawnica. First, you need to take a small wooden boat to the other side of the river (Google Maps: Flisacki przewóz osób). From there, you hike over the mountains, with the Dunajec river flowing next to you to Sokolica. From Sokolica you could even hike on to Trzy Korony.

Pieniny hiking: Hike the Krzy Korony

Another nice thing to do in Pieniny is to hike up the Krzy Korony. At the start of the hike is a cute traditional shop selling local cheeses. The path leads through a gorge and a forest to the top of the most famous Pieniny mountain ‘Krzy Korony‘, which is part of the Three Crowns massif. In about 1.5 hours, you ascend 500 meters. At the top, there is an observation platform from where you will have a beautiful view on the Dunajec Gorge and the surrounding hills. With good weather you can see the Tatra Mountains. Entrance to this observation platform is 8 złoty. We hiked back down via another way through dense forest.

TIP: Please note that during high season there can be a long waiting line for the observation platform. It’s best to plan this hike early morning or late afternoon.

TIP: For those love Polish ‘hiker’ stamps. This is another place to collect a beautiful stamp!

Visit Biała Woda

Next to Jaworki village lies the small and pretty Biała Woda nature reserve, with rolling green hills and wide views.

Visit Homole ravine

Also next to Jaworki villages lies the Homole ravin is around 800 meters long with steep walls. It’s a great place to walk around with some wooden pathways and bridges. Beware: during rain this trail can become very slippery.

Pieniny hiking: Hike to Wysoka (the highest Pieniny peak)

From Jaworki, it’s easy to make a loop via the Biala Woda nature reserve, to Wysoka, the highest Pieniny peak and then back via the Homole gorge. For a large part you walk right next to the Slovakia border. This is a beautiful, easy hike. It took us about 3 hours (12 km’s) in total. As always, I highly recommend to download the app ‘Mapy.cz’. Simply follow the yellow trail, red trail and green trail for this loop.

Visit the medieval castle at Lake Czorsztynskie

Lake Czorsztynskie is a pretty clear blue-green water reservoir reflecting the impressive, photogenic and well-kept Czorsztyn castle. If you visit the castle you get a handy sheet with the route and excellent explanations in English. At the busy castle cafe they serve delicious cakes. We really enjoyed our visit!

Where to stay in Pieniny?

We stayed in the tiny village of Jaworki and highly recommend that you stay there too! Jaworki is nestled amidst lush rolling hills covered in green and pastures. Our lovely host Anna, the owner of guesthouse ‘Dziejba‘ had lived in the USA for a while and the first thing she said to us is: in Jaworki you will do everything by foot and just relax and enjoy nature. Jaworki is indeed the perfect place to unplug and unwind. Time goes by slowly. The guesthouse was literally located at the end of the road. From our beautiful wooden balcony we had a breathtaking view on the hills. In the distance we could see the horses grazing. We loved reading a book and having our breakfasts outside. In the evening we enjoyed the sauna and hot tub.

What to do in and around the village of Jaworki?

Jaworki only has a handful of restaurants and two small neighborhood supermarkets. We ate twice in Restaurancja Bacówka, which is probably one the best places for local traditional Polish food in Southern Poland. We also ate pierogi with cream at the cute Bar pod Wiązem, with simple, but delicious homemade food. In Jaworki, there is also a cool, atmospheric and intimate long-running live music venue ‘Muzycnzna Owczarnia’. They usually have concerts in the weekend. Anna even took us to meet some of the local Goral (or highlander) shepherds, who still live a more traditional lifestyle and speak the Goral dialect/language. Here, we got the chance to taste fresh milk and homemade local ‘Oscypek’ cheese (70% cheese, 30% cow milk) and homemade whisky. This meeting was definitely a highlight of our Poland trip.

From Jaworki you can easily hike to the Slovakia border, visit Biała Woda, go for a sunset hike or visit the Homole gorge. It’s only about 10 minutes by car to Szcawnica. We haven’t tried this, but I can imagine getting to Jaworki by public transportation is more difficult, so it’s better to have your own car.

TIP: From the Punkt Widokowy in Jaworki you will have a beautiful view on the hills and mountains during sunset.