In Poland, hikers will find a network of some 15,000 miles of marked trails, including some of the Polish sections of the trans-European routes.

Favorites among the walking routes includes the dunes (wydmy), lakes (jeziora) and forests ( lasy) the seaside Słowiński National Park, the high peaks of the Tatra Mountains, the most eastern of the Alpine mountains, which frame the horizon at the mountain resort of Zakopane in southern Poland and the Sudety Mountains where the Polish, German and Czech borders meet and the region is rich in castles, caves and wildlife.

Image credit Wikipedia.org

Mountain ranges cover nearly all South of Poland. Polish mountains amaze with its diversity, nearly in every single field: whether the altitudes or the extensiveness of particular ranges, whether in respect of flora and fauna or the intensity of tourist movement. Some of the ranges establish subsequent attendance records by the year, while others remain undiscovered for tourists. The latter are usually less spectacular in respect of the landscape, in some part they are the sanctuary of the local wildlife and in populated areas they kept their peaceful, picturesque landscape of mountain villages.

Walking trails (szlaki) in and around Zakopane range from winding paths suitable for leisurely strollers to rocky ridges and high mountain treks for the more adventurous hikers.

The small country inns capture the Polish way of life along the trails in the Carpathian highlands near the Slovakian and Ukrainian borders.

In Polish mountains there is a beautiful tradition that people wandering in the mountains should greet other people met on tourist trails with a friendly “Good Morning” (“Dzień Dobry!”). That’s how it used to be when I lived in Poland. I’m not sure if this tradition is still alive though…:)