Homole Gorge

Homole is a short gorge - about eight hundred metres - cut by the Kamionka stream through limestone in the Male Pieniny east of Szczawnica, and the appeal is entirely in the proportions: the walls rise steeply to a hundred metres or more and narrow in places to a few metres apart, so the path is effectively in the streambed, crossing on stones and wooden footbridges with rock on both sides and very little sky. It takes about half an hour to walk through and opens at the top onto Polana Wyzna, a meadow where the ground is grazed and there is usually a hut selling oscypek and tea. Trails continue up to Wysoka, the highest point of the Male Pieniny. The rock has a specialised flora and the reserve was created for it. It is easy, short and suitable for children, and it is very busy on summer weekends, when the narrow parts become single file.

What you actually see

• A hundred-metre slot - walls narrowing to a few metres across the streambed.
• A path in the water - stones and footbridges rather than a bank route.
• Polana Wyzna - a grazed meadow at the top with a hut selling cheese and tea.
• A short walk - about half an hour through, and easy enough for children.

When to go

May to October; weekdays for space. Two to three hours.

Honest expectations

Summer weekends make the narrow sections single file. The streambed path is slippery and floods after heavy rain. It is short - the gorge alone is half an hour. There is a small reserve fee.

Nearby

Szczawnica and the Dunajec are west; Wysoka is above the meadow.