Truth be told, Poland continues to excite, entice and inspire me. After three weeks, I decided to head to the forests of Poland, specifically Slosinski National Park by the Baltic Sea near Łeba in Pomerania. Słowiński National Park is a national park in Pomeranian Voivodeship in the north and is situated on the Baltic coast, between Łeba and Rowy. The northern boundary of the park consists of 32.5 kilometres of coastline and beautiful is an understatement.
Photo credit: festiwalsztukifotoreportazu.org
The movement of the dunes uncovers dead tree stumps – fossilized remains of an ancient forest buried underneath. The lakes of Łebsko and Gardno are an important refuge for aquatic birds. Various plant colonies in the Słowiński National Park are of special interest. They range from the dune and pioneer plant species on the sandy beaches to the typical coastal pinewood and marsh plants in the numerous peat bogs and on the lakeshores. The park is inhabited by a number of rare bird species including the white tailed eagle, the eagle owl, cormorant, the black stork, and many species of aquatic birds. Also worth noting is that the park is entered in the UNESCO list of World Biosphere Reserves and is also under the protection of the RAMSAR International Convention.
Photo Credit: HDWallpaperup.com.
Getting to Łeba – Gdańsk to Gdynia
To get to Łeba, we decided to go by train from Gdańsk where the day began. First, we went to Gdańsk Glowny to grab a local train to Gdynia which as astonishing as it sounds, cost under 1 Euro and they run every 15 – 20 minutes during the day. We had about an 8 minute wait and then boarded for Gdynia Glowna – extremely seamless overall.
From there, it’s an easy train ride to Leba after a change of platforms – rather than take a local train, you’ll board the longer Inter City trains. From Gdynia to Łeba, the train took around two hours.
The Słowiński National Park is around 40 kilometres from Łeba so the best option is to hire bicycles for the day or rent a car.
The Forest at Słowiński National Park
Cycle through the Forest for a few hours as it’s truly beautiful and a natural wonderland — dense woods and open space combined along decent cycle paths. Because you’re on a peninsula, there are views to both sides – on your right is the Baltic Sea and on the left, a large lake.
The Forest at Słowiński National Park
After exploring the Forest, I’d recommend exploring the sand dunes, which has plenty of trees and grass. and breathtaking views.
The peninsula at Słowiński National Park
The Forest and dunes at Słowiński National Park
The Sand Dunes at Słowiński National Park
You can only cycle up to a certain point and then you’ll walk to the dunes or get a cart.
The beach is non-commercial which is lovely. In other words, no bars, no restaurants, no touristy shops. The beach is in its purest form so there’s plenty of time to take in the serenity and tranquility of the Baltic Sea before you, which you can also experience in Finland, Sweden, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania among other countries.
The Beach and the Baltic Sea at Słowiński National Park
Two thumbs up on this spectacular trip!
Jonny Blair is a self confessed traveling nomad who founded and blogs at Don’t Stop Living. He sees every day as an adventure. Since leaving behind his home town of Bangor in Northern Ireland ten years ago he has traveled to all seven continents, working his way through various jobs and funding it all with hard work and an appetite for travel. Don’t Stop Living, a lifestyle of travel’ contains over 1,000 stories and tips from his journeys round the globe. He wants to show others how easy it is to travel the world, give them some ideas and encourage them to do the same but most of all he aims to constantly live a lifestyle of travel. He is currently based in Hong Kong and on Twitter @jonnyblair.
