Tatrzanski National Park

The Tatrzanski National Park overlaps the borders of both Poland and Slovakia. The ski centre town of Zakopane lies at the foot of the Tatra mountains.

People visit Zakopane in droves to walk the 250 km of way-marked trails.

There is limited parking in Zakopane, most of it is paid for and costs are relatively expensive compared to Poles' salaries.

The visitor centre at Kuznice is one of the places people head for to go walking in the mountains. There are several eateries there but no parking whatsoever. People take the cable car ride to Kasprowy Wierch Mountain to walk along the ridges and view a string of lakes. There is also skiing there until the first week of May.

The Tatrzanski National Park

The Tarzanski National Park is enormous and there are entry points in numerous locations. A small entry fee is payable per person with concessions for students and pensioners.

A trip to the Tatrzanski park is highly recommended. If you enjoy hiking, it does not matter where you walk, the choice is yours.

For less able walkers, we would suggest taking the cable car from Kuzince to the top and enjoying the views with perhaps a short ramble from there.

Another good place that is flat for the first few kilometres is Dolina Chocholowska. Dolina means valley and it's a pleasant place to walk with attractive scenery and an optional ride back if you get tired.

Read more about taking a self catering holiday near the Tatra National Park.

A winter dip in an outdoor pool

This may sounds absolutely daft but a very pleasant experience awaits anyone who would like to try the thermal swimming baths.

The aquapark in Zakopane has an aoutdoor thermal pool where you can swim with steam rising in the freezing air. It also has several indoor swimming pools and good facilities for children.

Another set of geo-thermal pools lies just outside Nowy Targ in Szaflary. A set of four pools allows people to lazi in the very warm waters, enjoy underwater jet massage and generally lounge about.

Some intrepid souls climb out of the pool, outside, in the depths of winter to rub themselves down with snow, then jump back in again.

Highlander Tradition in Poland

The highlanders of southern Poland mainly dress in their traditional costume of embroidered cream woollen garments for tourist or festive purposes, such Christmas and saints days.

Lovely scenery around Zakopane

• It's worth driving around Zakopane and stopping to see the sights over Christmas.
• The town's Christmas lights are colourful but the nicest displays are made by restaurant owners who compete with each other in the most attractive shop fronts.

There are beautiful lights in Cracow and many other towns. Often, these lights stay up through the dull dark days of winter until February.