The Kingdom of Gorals
We will leave Prešov (other starting point is also possible) in the morning and our first stop will be Stará Ľubovňa, where we will visit majestic old castle. Then we will set out to National Park Pieniny. We will sail on a traditional wooden raft down the river Dunajec. There is also wonderful old monastery in Pieniny. After we leave the National Park, we will visit historical Kežmarok, where we will see old wooden articular church. We will arrive back to Prešov sometimes in the evening.
Duration: 1 day
Mileage: around 135 miles (220 km) Price per each person: 1 person 235 EUR 2 persons 130 EUR 3 persons 105 EUR 4 persons 80 EUR more than 4 persons price depends on exact number of persons (price includes: sailing on a traditional wooden raft, transport, guide services, information materials, entrance tickets and fees, regional surprise) |
We will discover one of the most popular cross-border regions in Slovakia. We will visit a castle in Stará Ľubovňa from the 13th century. In Pieniny National Park we will sail on a traditional wooden raft down the river Dunajec. Then we will visit a historical city of Kežmarok. If you are a fan of history and nature, this trip is exactly for you!
On a limestone cliff of 711 m over Stará Ľubovňa in the north-east of Spiš stands Ľubovňa Castle. Rulers met here in the past, it is the place where Polish coronation jewels were hidden and where famous adventurer, noble man and King of Madagascar, Móric Beňovský was imprisoned. The Ľubovňa Castle was built at the turn of the 13th and 14th century, when it became a part of the boundary castles system in the north of the Hungarian Kingdom. Besides the protection of the former Polish-Old Hungarian border, its task was to secure the important trade route passing along the valley of the Poprad river to Poland. In 1412, the historical meeting of the Old Hungarian ruler Sigismund of Luxembourg with the Polish king Vladislav II took place in the Ľubovňa Castle. The Castle was pledged to Polish kings and became the seat of Polish mayors, i.e. entrusted administrators of pledged Spiš towns.
The National Park of Pieniny (PIENAP) is the smallest of the Slovak National Parks, but as far as its beauty concerns, it is in no way less beautiful. It is the second oldest Park in Slovakia. It stretches on the border with Poland; the river Dunajec passes through it. It is possible to hire a raft and admire the wonderful scenery of the Park navigating down the river. The National Park of Pieniny is rich in rare species of plants with several local endemites. The equally varied fauna covers 766 species of butterflies, 99 species of molluscs and more than 200 species of vertebrae. In the rocks and on forest pathways one can, for instance, meet a lynx or see an otter hunting in the water of the Dunajec river. The town Kežmarok in region Spiš has been always the centre of education in the region and the starting point for trips in the High Tatras. The medieval Kežmarok originated by merging of the main communities in one municipality. In 1269 it obtained proper municipal self-administration and up to 1348 it was protected by municipal walls. |