Zakopane

Zakopane is the place to be for mountain hiking and skiing in Poland.  Although its local population is only about 30,000, Zakopane is visited by over 2 million tourists a year.  Situated in the Nowy Sacz Voivodship, in the southern part of the Podhale region, Zakopane lies at the feet of the Tatra Mountains ­ the only alpine mountain range in this part of Europe. Zakopane lies in big glen between the main Tatra range and Gubalowka Hill.

Zakopane is Poland's highest town: its municipal region extending from 750 to 1000 m above sea level. The town area includes part of the Polish Tatra, with the highest peak (Mt. Swinica) reaching to 2301 metres above sea level. The central point of the town - the cross-roads of Krupowki St. and Kosciuszki St. are 838 m above sea level.

Sled Run at top of the hill above the town of Zakopane Lots of fun on the mountain top in Zakopane Gubalowka Hill Funicular Railway Springtime in Zakopane DSC01072 Love that sausage!  I just could not get enough of this type of food.   Add to that the cheap beer, and I could have spent the whole weekend on the mountain top The stars and stripes show up in Poland in the form of a bull ride. Where is an Urban Cowboy when you need one. Mark Hazleton In Zakopane.  Enjoying the great view and beautiful weather. A little chapel on the mountain top A view inside The Sleeping Knight of the Tatra mountains The ride down, great views More sights from the ride down the hill Some sheep on the hill, this is a ski area in the winter, but in the spring it belongs to the sheep This is a famous Polish river ride that travels the river that divides Poland and Slovakia. More shots from the river ride, the mountain is called the 3 sisters (I think) As we drove arround the area, I stopped a couple of times to enjoy the views of the mountains. We walked up to this lodge which is at the base of one of the ski lifts on this mountian.  The plan was to ride the ski lift up to the top of the mountain and then take the cable car down.  The line for the cable car was like 3+ hours long.  The lift was not working due to high winds, so we wound up walking back down the hill. Here is the base of the ski lift A view of one of the towers for the cable car to the top of the mountain there was a little snow left.  Some folks were doing some late spring skiing A closer look at the cable car station On the walk down, we got some great shots of waterfalls as the spring melt off was in full spate Waterfall in Poland near Zakopane DSC01144 Our last night in Zakopane, we went out to eat in town.  This is the band that was playing the folk music. Mountains around Zakopane, Poland

The very first documents mentioning Zakopane come from the 17th century, and describe the Zakopisko glade. Its later history was connected with the development of mining and metallurgy industries and then with the progress of health service and tourism. It gradually evolved from a little village to the region's health-resort and ultimately a reasonable-sized town, named the winter capital of Poland.

Tourists can visit numerous exhibitions and local craft and fine art galleries. There are also several artistic schools and, most famously, The Stanislaw Ignacy Witkiewicz Theatre.

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