DAY 1
D included
After meeting at Krakow airport in the afternoon, a short road transfer takes us to our first small hotel, located in countryside on the edge of the Ojców National Park. We stretch our legs on an introductory walk (7 km, 2 hours) through the surrounding beech forest and fields, many of which are still farmed in the mediaeval strip system. Before dinner, we may sample an ice-cold bison grass vodka on the hotel terrace.
DAY 2
B, L, D included
Today, we explore the picturesque Ojców valley and the limestone gorge of the river Pradnik. We walk (11.5 km, 3.5 hrs) the ‘Eagles’ Nest’ trail, which links a series of castles built in the 14th century by Kazimierz the Great to defend the western border of the Polish Kingdom, following paths through the beech and hornbeam forests and along delightful riverside meadows. We visit and enjoy lunch in the fine Renaissance castle of Pieskowa Skala, with its double loggia decorated in the sgraffito technique, and collections ranging from Gothic statuary to Biedermeier furniture. Our private tour explores the centuries of Polish history encapsulated in this historic site.
DAY 3
B, L, D included
Travelling east by road, we pause to visit Łancut with its pink and cream Renaissance castle, containing extraordinary Chinese and Turkish apartments and a private Rococo theatre, with formal 18th century gardens and a carriage coach collection, a testament to the splendour of aristocratic Polish households prior to WWII. In the afternoon, we visit the Synagogue which dates from 1760 and is one of the very few Polish synagogues to have survived the Nazi era intact. A scenic drive through the countryside brings us to our next hotel for 2 nights, a 16th century castle situated in a small romantic park adorned with statuary, swans and a small private aviary.
DAY 4
B, L, D included
Our walk (8 km, 3 hrs) follows a section of a 25-mile-long rampart with sixty strategically placed forts built by the Austro-Hungarians in the late 19th century. We see one of the immense ruined fortifications buried deep in the forest, then continue our walk to the historic town of Przemysl. Founded in the 10th century, Przemysl enjoyed a golden age in the 16th century. We explore the cobbled market square lined with 16th and 17th century arcaded houses and the Renaissance Carmelite church with a surprising wooden pulpit in the shape of a boat.
DAY 5
B, L, D included
In the morning, we drive to nearby Sanok to visit the superb Icon Museum, the largest collection in the world after Moscow’s Tretyakov Gallery, with icons dating from as early as the mid-1300s. Continuing our journey south, we pause to walk in the atmospheric mediaeval Jewish cemetery at Lesko, en route to our destination, the remote and unspoilt Bieszczady National Park in the far south-east corner of Poland. Our delightful family-run hotel is purpose-built in the style of a traditional nobleman’s wooden summerhouse. We enjoy a late afternoon walk on the gentle hillside slopes in the vicinity of the hotel.
DAY 6
B, L, D included
The Bieszczady mountains belong to the Eastern Carpathians and are little visited by foreign tourists. The mountain range is composed of limestone rounded peaks (800 – 1300 m/2400 – 4300 ft high), cloaked with undisturbed forest, grassland and flower-filled upland meadows. We walk (5 km, 1.5 hrs) on good trails, looking for late summer wildflowers such as willow gentian and Jupiter’s distaff. In an abandoned village, cleared of its Boyk population during ‘Operation Vistula’ in 1947, we learn about the complex history of this mountain border area. In the afternoon, there is an option to climb the Polonina Carynska (1,250 m/4,100 ft, 7 km, 2.5 hrs).
DAY 7
B, L, D included
On a full day walk (16.5 km, 6 hrs), we climb steadily (450 m/1350 ft over 2 hours) to reach the peak of Wielka Rawka (1,304 m/4300 ft), with commanding views east into Ukraine and south into Slovakia. Bears and wolves still occur here, though they are very shy, and birds of prey include lesser spotted and golden eagles, goshawks and honey buzzards. A superb ridge walk on open moorland and a gradual descent brings us back to our peaceful mountain village in the river valley and our walk gives us an appetite for hearty homemade Polish food: cheese-filled pierogi; wild mushroom soup; barszcz (beetroot soup with sour cream); and grilled mountain trout.
DAY 8
B, L, D included
Returning west, we pause for a brief visit to the 13th century convent of the Poor Clares and lunch overlooking the mediaeval market square in Stary Sacz. In the afternoon, we visit the remarkably carved wooden church at Debno and then follow a scenic ridge walk (8 km, 2 hrs) to a fortified 14th century castle, built above the Dunajec river. We spend the night in a 4-star modern hotel.
DAY 9
B, L, D included
We board large wooden ‘Huckleberry Finn’ rafts for a gentle 2.5-hour float down the Dunajec river, guided by a boatman in picturesque traditional costume: embroidered woollen trousers and waistcoats and a feather-topped hat. The spectacular route below the limestone cliffs follows the Polish-Slovak border. A 2-hour road transfer brings us to Krakow’s Kazimierz quarter, for over five centuries the principal centre of Jewish scholarship in Poland. An orientation walk takes us through the splendidly sited Wawel Castle with its magnificent Cathedral, the coronation and burial place of Poland’s monarchs for centuries. Our 5-star hotel is an elegantly converted 18th century mansion in Krakow’s historic centre.
DAY 10
B, D included
A free day to explore Krakow, a UNESCO World Heritage site. The possibilities include Leonardo da Vinci’s ‘Lady with an Ermine’ currently displayed in the Western Wing of Wawel Castle; the grand high altar of St. Mary’s Church, an acknowledged Gothic masterpiece; and excellent shopping in the arcades of the mediaeval Cloth Hall, especially amber and silver jewellery. Our excellent farewell dinner is accompanied, as on every evening of the holiday, by wines imported from France, Argentina and Hungary and reflects the sophistication of ‘new’ Polish cuisine.
DAY 11
B included
Our journey concludes today with a morning transfer to the airport.