The Stolowe Mountains
The Stolowe Mountains are one of the most popular mountain ranges in Sudety. Some of the things that are considered the tourist magnet include health spas located at the edge of the mountain range, compelling monuments and most of all, rock creations, generated by nature in sandstone. Because of its unique geological structure, known as plated strucrture, this mountain range is the only oner of its kind in Poland. The Stolowe Mountain National Park is visited annually by more than 220 000 people, which is a distinct evidence of its attractiveness.
The Stolowe Mountains are part of the Middle Sudety. They drag from the surroundings of Chelmsko Slaskie and Krzeszow in the north-west to the valley of Bystrzyca Dusznicka in the south-east. The Stolowe Mountains are transboundary mountains.
The trail network in Stolowe Mountains is thick and allows to reach all the interesting places when it comes to nature, culture and sightseeing. You should definitely stop by Wambierzyce, commonly known for its basilica, mobile Nativity scene and calvary, and get familiar witht the rich collection of old equipment and tools in the „U Sołtysa” open-air museum. An interesting, but totally forgotten place by tourists is Radkow. We highly recommend visiting the blue trail, leading from this town through the Hallow Path to the saddle between Szceliniec Wielki and Szczeliniec Maly. Menawhile, if you follow the yellow trail, you can get from Radkow to the Pośny Waterfalls, which used to be an incredibly romantic place with numerous cascades, but is nowadays, unfortunatelly, quite neglected.
The three health spa, which we mentioned above, are enjoying unchangable popularity, and are attractive all year long. In Polanica Zdroj you can enjoy the craziness of the toboggan chute, take a walk around the well-kept park and visit the artistic glass factory. You should also visit Duszniki, especially in August, during the Chopin Festival, and along the way you just have to check out the Parish Church with a beautiful whale-shaped pulpit and the world-famous Papermaking museum. Meanwhile, Kudowa Zdroj can offer several interesting museums, including the Toy Museum, the Frog Museum and the Trail of Dying Professions. Another attraction, that has been luring tourists for years, is the Skull Chapel in Czermna, as well as the open-air museum in Pstrążna. After a day filled with sightseeing you can relax in a modern waterpark. Either way, there are many more attractions, so you can plan to stay for a few days.
In 1993, the Stolowe Mountains National Park was created. It is the only national Park in Poland concentrated on protecting inanimate nature. However, you should remember, that its territory is also home to many precious plant clusters, as well as many protected animal species. The intensive exploiation of forests caused the necessity to plant fast-growing trees, similarly tp other places in Sudety, that’s why the large area of the Stolowe Mountains are occupied by the monoculture of spruce.