When we spend our holidays in the mountains, it is worth remembering that the Pieniny Mountains are at our fingertips. Summer is the perfect time to raft the Dunajec gorge on a rafting boat and offer a day trip for the whole family.
For almost 200 years, the Dunajec rafting trip has been one of the most interesting attractions of the Pieniny Mountains. It is considered a symbol of the Pieniny and takes place on rafts watched over by highland rafters. Initially, it was organised sporadically for guests from the surrounding manors and castles, and its popularisation was undoubtedly influenced by the development of Szczawnica as a spa town. At that time, rafts were floated in flotillas made up of a dozen or so rafts, at the head of which was a flag boat decorated with the national colours and the banner of the raftsmen with the emblem and image of St Kinga. The rafts arriving in Szczawnica were greeted by a highlander band and girls dressed in regional costumes.
The raftsmen were known as people who transported goods and people on the River Dunajec by chatting to pass the time during rafting. Since 1934, the rafters have been organised by the Polish Association of Pieniny Rafters on the Dunajec River. . To this day, rafting down the Dunajec Gorge takes place on a wooden raft built by the rafters themselves from good fir, spruce or poplar timber and steered using long poles called "sprinklers". It should be added that a raftsman can only become a Pieniny highlander coming from the villages through which the river flows: Sromowce Wyżne, Sromowce Niżne, Krościenko, Szczawnica and Czorsztyn. Today, this form of sightseeing in the Pieniny is used by nearly 250,000 tourists a year.
The Dunajec Gorge rafting trip is a 2.5-hour journey through an extraordinary world of fauna, flora and highlander legends. The rafting route leads through the Polish and Slovakian Pieniny National Park, and of the characteristic peaks that can be admired along the way are: Three Crowns, Seven Monks and Sokolica.
Top information:
- The rafting season lasts from 1 April to 31 October and runs every day except the first day of Easter and Holy Day.
- Rafting starts at the rafting marina in Sromowce Wyżne - Katy or at the marina in Sromowce Niżne. Tickets can be purchased at cash desks at both marinas and booked online here.
- Boats depart after the minimum number of 11 people has been gathered, this applies both to rafting to Szczawnica and to Krościenko. In the case of a smaller number, it is possible to launch the boat after paying the basic cost.
- Important information! In the event of cancellation of the rafting trip after departure from the starting point (e.g. due to inclement weather or change of plans), tourists are not entitled to reimbursement of costs related to the purchase of tickets.
- When you buy a ticket for the canoeing trip, you can also buy a return ticket for the price of PLN 17.
