In searching for my next hike, I stumbled across this amazing app called Malopolska which shows walking, cycling and hiking routes for the entire province. It’s full of amazing information like distance and the time you should expect for the route to take, as well as notable sights for each trail. You can sort by the type of trek you wanna do, historical/cultural influence, tourist spots and so many other things too. It can track your progress via GPS so you don’t get lost I still managed it though and it’s even in English to boot. Honestly, this is a game changer for me.
It was on this app that I found the route around Nielepice. I’m slightly hesitant to call this small village of about 700 people a part of Krakow but you can get there on a bus from the city centre and it was once covered under the area of Krakow so it can slide.
The 238 takes you directly to the beginning, and by definition end, of this particular walking loop. It only runs once every two hours though so be sure not to miss it. On the right, there’s a sweet little memorial park for a Polish heroes, with a gorgeous wooden stage that I’m sure makes for a lovely gathering point. You can tell that the community care about the history, it’s well maintained and the remembrance gardens are beautiful, but I couldn’t quite shake the discomfort over the fact that Captain Pilecki – the patron of the park – looked an awful lot like one of my old teachers.
Nielepice is a sweet village, definitely the quiet sort of place I could imagine living (if there was a cinema and supermarket, and every house wasn’t guarded by a rabid dog that was willing to bite my head off for so much as strolling past the gate). It’s got history, detailed by a series of information boards which are, unfortunately, in Polish. Thankfully, Google translate exists and I was able to read an interesting sign about the German retreat after the Soviets invaded and another about a bell, named after the oldest resident in the town Wawrzyniec Kuflik in 1938, which was originally a call to prayer but then used by the Nazis to gather people for forced labour.
Following the green route, I wandered through the town and – after a fairly steep incline – into the forest. And what a beautiful forest area it is. It’s the start of Autumn here in Poland now so the leaves are turning and everywhere you look the beautiful oranges and reds are making it a gorgeous time to go for a hike.
The path is clear all the way around, natural but well maintained. It’s peaceful, even with planes flying over head, and it’s very easy to walk most of the way around without bumping into a single person. Interestingly, for the most part, the only people that I passed seemed to be builders that were using the paths as a cut through.
About half way round the route, there is a small nature park inside the forest which was designed as a place to allow children and schools to come and experience a “Jurassic” environment. There are information boards about different types of plants and animals that might be found as well as some interesting geology and wider history too. The picnic tables are a cute, covered place to rest however I wouldn’t go exploring the “miejsce odpoczynku” (resting place) in the autumn/winter as it was very, very muddy.
The green route continues out of the forest and through fields, out and around to a road where you can see the aptly named “cross on rock”. There are some lovely pictures on Google that show how pretty it can be when there’s a colourful sunset or on a beautiful summer’s day but on an overcast Sunday in October it isn’t really much to look at. The rocks themselves are a lot more interesting, honestly.
The Nielepice Loop covers about 7km and takes approx. 2.5 hours (less if you don’t take an unexpected detour through the trees) and is a hike that I can definitely recommend if you have the time to get out from Kraków.
Tales from Around the World 
Glad you were able to get out and enjoy the countryside. x
LikeLiked by 1 person