Niedzica, Czorsztyn 2013

May 25th

By Watracz Is Traveling

On a Monday afternoon in May, I take a short trip to Niedzica; the last time I went there was over a dozen years earlier.

It’s high time to revisit those sights, especially since it’s less than 120 km away from Krakow.

View route on Google Maps

Dębno

I ride my bike towards Niedzica, passing Myślenice, Nowy Targ, and Dębno – a small village by Lake Czorsztyn. It’s warm, but cloudy. The weather forecast didn’t mention any rain, but looking at the dark clouds in the sky, I start to think the forecast was wrong.

I pass the bridge on the river Białka and a couple dozen meters past it, I notice a dirt road that leads to the river’s bank. I follow it to see where it ends exactly. The rocky, steep road winds up at a small clearing. Framing the water on both sides are the characteristic white stones that gave the river its name (Białka loosely translates to “White”).

Lake Czorsztyn

As I go on along the south shore of the lake, I reach a hill with a great view of the area.

Niedzica Castle and dam

I leave the bike at the castle’s parking lot and walk towards the dam and the hydroelectric power plant. Along the way, a bunch of fast food stands tempt me with mouth-watering smells, and I just might pick up something to eat on my way back. There are several boats moored to the shore; they normally take tourists for rides on the lake, but the whole pier is completely empty, and there’s no one interested in a tour.

The dam is pretty empty too; there are barely any tourists. A beautiful 3D street painting on the bridges almost jumps at me. Someone did a brilliant job there, but the painting is slowly being worn out, probably by rain and tourists’ shoes.

The power plant building seen from the water seems small. No wonder, since the Niedzica dam is one of the tallest construction of its kind in Poland – it’s 56 meters tall!

The meteorologists were wrong, after all – it starts to rain. I hide under an umbrella for a while and wait for it to get better. Then I walk across the dam, and follow a path around the lake, until I reach a hut with a sign stating that it’s the boundary of the Pieniny National Park. On my way back I make a brief stop for fries, then I get back on the bike and ride on.

Czorsztyn Castle

I go on along the south shore of the lake, and around Lake Sromowieckie. I reach Sromowce Wyżne, where I can see Pieniny and the tallest peak of the range, Trzy Korony (Three Crowns, 982 m a.s.l.).

I get to the parking lot by Czorsztyn Castle a few minutes before 7 pm. It’s starting to get dark. Unfortunately, the castle is closed to the public for the day. The sign says the castle’s open until 6 pm, so I’m just a little late. I probably won’t be back in Czorsztyn for some time… and the stone fence around the castle seems easy to get over… so I decide to jump over the wall, and I get to the castle yard, where I can see the ruins better. The entrance to the castle ruins themselves is closed, too, so I take a couple photos and start back home towards Krakow.