Discover its treasures by the tracks
Traveling around Poland by train is a great way to discover the treasures nestled from the sea to the Tatra Mountains. Each railway route offers something unique – beautiful, breathtaking views, and some real tourist adventures!
The Polish coast
Start your journey in the north at the beautiful Polish coast. You can reach the Baltic Sea from the very south of Poland, but the most picturesque section is the one from Władysławowo to Hel, one of the most-visited Polish seaside towns. Railway tracks run parallel to the beach, and at the narrowest point of the Hel Peninsula, you can admire both the Baltic Sea on one side and the waters of the Gulf of Gdańsk on the other.
The Tatra Mountains, Zakopane
Next, go south to the capital of the Polish Tatra Mountains, Zakopane. It is home to one of the icons among Polish tourist attractions – the cable car on Kasprowy Wierch. Although this is not a classic train route per se, it is an absolute must. What you will see from the windows of the car is simply breathtaking; beautiful views of the whole Tatra Mountains panorama: steep peaks at your fingertips, lush vegetation, charming valleys and tumbling mountain streams. Lower Silesia also holds a railway treasure. Built at the end of the 19th century, the route between Kłodzko and Wałbrzych, passing through Jedlina Zdrój, Głuszyca, Ludwikowice Kłodzkie and Nowa Ruda (railway line no. 286), is a real engineering masterpiece. It stretches through the Waldenburg Mountains and the Owl Mountains to the Kłodzko Valley. Not surprisingly, in such terrain trains have to cross nine steel bridges and as many as 45 viaducts! The highest of them is located in Nowa Ruda and rises 36m above the valley. The viaduct in Ludwikowice Kłodzkie is 164.7m long and 31m high. Traveling by train on this route you will also go through the longest tunnel in Poland.
The Bieszczady Mountains
At the end of our railway trip, tour the Bieszczady Mountains by taking a journey in time on board the narrow-gauge Bieszczady Forest Railway. This train is one of the most popular attractions of Subcarpathia, also called bieszczadzka ciuchcia (“Bieszczady choo-choo train”). Small, charming carriages pulled by a steam locomotive pass through the wild nature stretching on both sides of the tracks. A ride among the hills and valleys of the Bieszczady Mountains feels like you’re in a good old-fashioned western.
Finally, the latest rail attraction in the region of Subcarpathia and the Bieszczady Mountains is the Solina Cable Car. Connecting the mountains of Plasza and Jawor, it travels along the dam on Lake Solina. As you traverse the 1.5km long route, you can admire spectacular views of the green hills of the Bieszczady Mountains, the monumental dam, and Lake Solina. At the end of the journey there is a lookout tower from which you can see the magnificent landscape of the Bieszczady Mountains, pristine nature and azure waters of the lake.
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Hel Peninsula
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Kasprowy Wierch
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Railway Line no.286 in Lower Silesia
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Bieszczady Forest Railway
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Solina Cable Car
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