Natural Beauty of Poland
(program proposal)

DAY 1
WARSAW
Arrival to Warsaw for the overnight stay at the Forum Hotel. D

DAY 2
WARSAW
We will explore the Kampinoski National Park located about 30 km from Warsaw. It remains home to Elk and includes nesting grounds of the Grey Heron, with natural diversity of pine forest, mixed deciduous and coniferous forest, and mixed stands of Oak and Hornbeam, all of this interposed with meadows and dunes, bogs and peat land. In the evening, we will have a chance to see a Polish folk group in one of the Warsaw restaurants. BLD

DAY 3 
CRACOW
We depart for Cracow early in the morning. We drive towards the Świętokrzyski National Park located on the Małopolska Upland. The main attraction of the area are the Świętokrzyskie (Holly Cross) Mountains. The most beautiful of these mountains are considered to be the Łysogóry range which includes the highest peak in the region, Łysica (612 m). The site of a National Park, these mountains retain substantial fragments of the primeval Great Fir Forest, while a specific feature are also treeless expanses of quartizitic rock a result of glacial erosion. In the evening, we arrive in Cracow where we will be accommodated at the Continental Hotel - dinner will be served. BLD

DAY 4
CRACOW
After breakfast we depart for the Ojcowski National Park. Here, a particular attraction are the numerous caves, some open for visitors, together with ravines and towering rocks of spectacular shape (e.g., Hercules' Club) The park features differentiated woodland, with the only stand of the Ojców Birch in Poland, and the rocks are covered with unusual moss complexes. The animal kingdom is represented by a number of rare species, such as the Muskrat Beaver, Dormouse, Garden-Dormouse and Racoon Dog, while the local caves are inhabited by 12 different varieties of Bat. A visit to the Pieskowa Skała Renaissance castle will be a constituting point of the day. BLD

DAY 5
CRACOW - ZAKOPANE
We start the day with a half-day Cracow sightseeing. The Market Place is full of magnificent buildings, and features the Gothic St. Mary's Church built in the 14th century. The entire Old Town is rich in architectural beauty. Your tour also includes a visit to the Wawel Castle. In the afternoon, after lunch and free time for shopping we depart for Zakopane - the capital of the Polish Tatra Mountain, where we will stay at the Kasprowy Hotel. BLD

DAY 6
ZAKOPANE
This morning we enter the Tatrzański National Park. Located in the highest of Poland's mountains, the Tatras (Mt. Rysy- 2.499 m), this park features a wide variety of natural phenomena, including post-glacial valleys, mountain ponds, moraines, caves, ravines, rock faces and karistic springs. The ascending tiers of vegetation are very distinct. These being: - foothills, with forest of Beech and Hornbeam - lower sub-Alpine forest (Spruce and Beech) - upper sub-Alpine forest (Stone Pine and Edelweiss) - a belt of Dwarf Pine - mountain meadows - craggy peaks, covered in snow all the year round The Tatra National Park contains a number of indigenous plants - Tatra Larkspur, Tatra Chickweed, Tatra Saxifrage and many other varieties of typically mountain flora. The animals inhabiting the park include Bears, Lynx, Badger and Red Deer, and also Chamois and Marmot, species protected in Poland for over 120 years. The birds nesting here include the Golden Eagle, Black Stork, Osprey and Thrush. BLD

DAY 7
ZAKOPANE - SIENIAWA
This morning we depart in the direction of Sieniawa. Observation of two birdspecies will be extremely interesting: the colourful Bee-Eater, regulary breeding in some colonies, and the Syrian Woodpecker, which is already extending its breeding area into the North-West. In the afternoon we will walk along the small Wiar river. Numerous birds of prey, especially the Lesser Spotted Eagle may be observed there. In the evening, we will try to spot an Ural Owl. Overnight in the Sieniawa Baroque palace surrounded by a beautiful park. BLD

DAY 8 
SIENIAWA
Today, we visit the Bieszczady National Park. This park comprises the Western Bieszczady Mts and part of the Great Arch - a fragment of the Carpathians. The Bieszczady Mts. are chiefly covered with beech forest and beach and fir forest Above the tree line, are high meadows with lush grass and Blueberry bushes. There is a large variety of animal life, represented by the Brown Bear, Bison, Wildcat (now very rare), Wolf and Lynx. BLD

DAY 9
SIENIAWA - WARSAW
Driving back to Warsaw. On the way stop at Kazimierz Dolny located on the hills and slopes of loess valleys and the bank of the Vistula River. In the evening, a short stroll through streets of the Old Town of Warsaw. BLD

DAY 10
WARSAW
Depending on the time available - longer or shorter touring of Warsaw, and then a departure.