Find a region on the map
Find a region on the map
The rocky highland that begins in Kraków and stretches 150 kilometers northwest is called the Polish Jura. Once upon a time there was a sea full of bizarre creatures. One of them – large snails called ammonites – can be seen here in fossilized form, imprinted on the rocks like secret patterns. You can also stumble over their little pieces while on a walk.
Washed out by water over the centuries, they form all sorts of shapes – from the mace visible in the photo, to a large window, a glove, a needle, a camel, to the rock called “elephant’s bottom” by the local people.
There are more than 1,900 of them in the Polish Jura. Some of them can be visited, but most are wild. Some of them you will not even find on Google maps!
There are 19 species of bats that live in these caves. In winter, the tiny black spheres hang upside down in caves, and on long summer evenings they forage across the fields, gliding low to the ground.
It is a region easily accessible from Kraków and ideal for day trips. The local forests are at their most beautiful on a bright autumn day, but we encourage you to get to know this amazing land closer – and stay a little longer!
Homo heidelbergensis, Neanderthal and ancestors of today’s humans lived here.
They were surrounded by fantastic creatures, the bones of which were found in the caves: mammoths, bears, lions and cave hyenas. The conditions in which they lived were very difficult: traces of cannibalism were discovered in another of the local caves.
In the Middle Ages, the Jura area became an uneasy borderland between the Kingdom of Poland and Silesia, which was then part of Bohemia and later Austria and Prussia. At that time, a string of Gothic castles called Orle Gniazda (Eagles’ Nests) was built here. The most interesting of these are the rock-embedded, ruined castle in Ogrodzieniec, where Netflix’s The Witcher was filmed, and the castle in Pieskowa Skała, which was later rebuilt as a Renaissance castle.
Today, the Jura is primarily a recreational area and a space for suburban excursions from Kraków and Upper Silesian cities. You can come here for a Saturday camping with a tent in one of the secluded valleys, or stay longer in one of the agritourism farms.
Getting to the Jura will not be a problem for anyone who has come to Kraków for a city-break. It is only a dozen kilometers from the city! Throughout the year, suburban buses and private minibuses travel to the Kraków Valleys. In the summer, Ojców National Park can also be reached by bus on the LR0 line.
The part of the Jura closer to Częstochowa, as well as the Błędów Desert, is better visited by car. The road network is dense and well-marked.
The Jura valleys and flattened areas under wild caves are excellent places for forest camping. Probably the best suited for them are the clearings in the Będkowska and Kobylańska Valleys. So, if you get tired of the noise of the city – grab a picnic basket and hit the road!
Ojcowski Zacisze – an intimate cottage with a hot tub on the edge of Ojców National Park. Food on your own.
Brandysówka – a mecca for Polish climbers – an atmospheric shelter and camping site at the foot of the largest rock wall in the Jura. Food on site.
Kluczwoda Camper Camping – something for camper travelers, i.e., an intimate camping site in the Jura valley a dozen kilometers from the center of Kraków (in Polish).
Rancho Rosochacz – something for equestrians, that is, two houses for rent in the northwestern part of the Jura. Food on site.
Lisia Nora – an old stable in the “Częstochowa” part of the Jura, adapted into comfortable rooms for lovers of remoteness from civilization. The hosts love dogs and invite guests with any number of pets. Food on site.
Polish Tourism Organization
Fleschgasse 34/2a
1130 Wien
wien@pot.gov.pl
+43 6767828258
