Location: Pieniny Mountains Map
Dunajec River Gorge is a picturesque valley in the Pieniny
Mountains in Cracow District of Southern Poland on the border
with Slovakia. It is a popular site for rafting, kayaking and
other water sports. The Piennes are built of limestone from the
Cretaceous (about 145-120 million years ago). There are several
theories for the emergence of the breakthrough. It is argued
that the primeval Dunajec already flowed through the area before
the folding and piling of the Pieniny. According to another
opinion, the Dunajec has broken the path through the already
existing mountains in the Miocene about 20 million years ago.
History
Tatras and Gorce wood was already rafted together
in Harklowa in the Middle Ages and shipped on the Dunajec River
to the Vistula River and on to Gdansk, where it was used for
shipbuilding on the Baltic Sea. The oldest information about a
tourist use of the Rafting dates back to the 16th century. In
the old church in Krościenko nad Dunajcem there is a fresco from
1589 that represents this rafting trip. Polographies in the 17th
century Červený Kláštor also deal with rafting. From about 1840
century, the tourist rafting trip for the guests of the castle
Niedzica and the farm in Czorsztyn and the spa guests in
Szczawnica became a separate industry in the Pieniny. Originally
the rafting started below the castle Czorsztyn. Since the
construction of the dam, the original landing stage has been
under the surface of the lake and the trips start in Sromowce
Wyżne and end in Szczawnica (15 km downstream) or Krościenko nad
Dunajcem (18.5 km downstream). The raft trip lasts 2:30 or 2:45.
The breakthrough can also happen in white water kayaking or
rafting. On the Pieninenweg you can also walk along the Dunajec
or ride a bike.