Trail of the Eagles' Nests

The Krakow-Czestochowa upland is a belt of Jurassic limestone where erosion has left white crags standing out of farmland and beech woods, and in the fourteenth century, mostly under Kazimierz Wielki, a chain of castles was built on them to hold the frontier with Bohemia. The trail, first marked by Kazimierz Sosnowski, links about twenty-five of them over some 163 kilometres, waymarked in red, and much of the area has been a landscape park since 1980. It can be walked in a week, cycled faster or driven in pieces. Most of the castles are ruins - Ogrodzieniec, the largest, Mirow and Bobolice on their crags, Olsztyn, Smolen, Bydlin - and two are intact and furnished, Pieskowa Skala and Bobolice after reconstruction. The walking between them is as much of the point as the castles: dry valleys, rock pillars used by climbers, caves, and villages with almost no tourist infrastructure between the honeypots. Ogrodzieniec and Mirow get crowded; the middle sections of trail rarely do.

The main sights

• About twenty-five castles - mostly ruins on limestone crags, built in the fourteenth century.
• 163 kilometres waymarked - walkable in a week, or driven in sections.
• Jurassic rock - white pillars, dry valleys and caves between the sites.
• Two intact castles - Pieskowa Skala, and Bobolice after reconstruction.

When to go

April to October. Several days to a week.

What to expect

Most castles are unroofed ruins with limited interpretation. Ogrodzieniec and Mirow are crowded at weekends. Water points on the trail are sparse. Public transport between sections is thin - plan the logistics.

Nearby

Ojcow National Park is on the southern half; Jasna Gora is at the northern end.

Key facts