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Pieniny is spread in the northern part of the country called Spiš, in the region of Zamagurie. It is about 30 km long and belongs to Beskydy mountain range. In 1932, Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk established here the first international natural park in Europe. It was formed by National park of Pieniny in Poland and Nature Reserve of Pieniny in Slovakia. In 1967 was declared a National Park. Most tourists to Slovakia often stop in the High Tatras Mountains only, without knowing how beautiful nature is hidden behind them.

Pieniny National Park is an area with unspoilt nature, where meadows blend with the forest, villages are subtly incorporated into the landscape. It is a country full of rock formations, amazing rivers and high-mountain streams. Although there are not any high rocky peaks, but anyway this park will enchant everyone who come here. It’s a place where you can still see freely grazing herds of sheep and remote villages where time has stopped tens years ago, both in terms of architectural and cultural. It is not unusual to see a wooden horse-drawn carriages carrying hay, as well as a hundred years ago, or old ladies sitting in traditional festive costumes in the front of their homes.

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The mountain range is composed of Jurassic and Cretaceous limestones with younger sandstones, shales and conglomerates, which together creates very impressive character. The rugged relief with deep valleys, gorges and remarkable rock formations was created mainly due to the activities of water, frost, erosion and climate fluctuations. There are also numerous cave systems.

Nature in Pieniny National Park is very diverse, with a number of plant and animal species. From the protected animals you can see here such as Goshawk, Eurasian Eagle-Owl, falcon, raven, crayfish or Eurasian Lynx. There are also rare and endemic species, such as springtails, several species of grasshoppers, centipedes and butterflies. The forests are mostly mixed (firs, pine, spruce, beech, maple, and European yew).

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Pieniny National Park offers relatively dense network of well marked trails with the possibility to choose the optimal route according to your capabilities. Most famous and most visited area in the Pieniny is certainly Breakthrough of Dunajec, located between the towns Szczawnica and Červený Kláštor. Dunajec river created a wonderful valley and you can try rafting on the wooden rafts here, which is the biggest tourist attraction. When sailing, you can see beautiful surrounding scenery. If you do not like water very much, you can go through the Breakthrough of Dunajec on foot or ride a bike.

The highest peak of Pieniny is Vysoké skalky measuring 1050 meters above sea level and lying at the borders with Poland. The top is beautiful, offering panoramic view of the surroundings. Much better known and more significant, however, are dominant Tri Koruny with a height of 982 meters above sea level, located above the Dunajec river. It is formed by rocky towers, whose walls are about 100 meters high and have the form of a crown. The summit offers a magnificent view over the whole area of ​​Pieniny, Spisska Magura, Belianske Tatras and even the High Tatras.

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Very interesting is also well preserved folk architecture in the villages Osturňa, Havka, Veľká Lesná and Jezersko.

A large part of the Pieniny National Park is still a God forgotten region, which is accessible to the ordinary tourist, mostly in the summer. There are not any large hotel complexes or resorts. It is ideal for hikers, cyclists, lovers of traditional culture or history, climbers, adventurers or simply for people fleeing from everyday bustle of the city.

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Do not miss the visit of the Gothic cathedral from the 15th century. Nearby there are the caves of Castellana, which include (besides the Adelsberg cave) the most important cave systems in Europe. Caves that are long 1.2km (with side passages much more) are accessible with a guide and have 2 lifts. Above the caves there is a watch tower and the Cave Museum. In the nearby town of Fasano you can visit Zoo Safari with 600 exotic animals including lions, and the Dolphinarium. This part of Puglia is famous for the unique occurrence of the “trulli” – the dominant form of a circular brick houses with conical roofs in overlapping layers. Best Trulli and other precious relics are in Alberobello, Martina Franca and Locorotondo.

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Lamprecht’s Cave by naturgewalten.at

The cave itself is the center of clouded and deep mystery that dates back to the days of the Crusades. According to local legend, the cave was named after a member of the Knights Templar, Knight Lamprecht, who is said to have brought back treasure from the Crusades. Fearing that someone will try to take his treasure, he hid it in the caves.

As the days led on, the Knight grew old and weary and as a result bequeathed his entire treasure to his two daughters equally. However, one of the girls took one part of the treasure for herself and stole the other part that belonged to her sister and hid it deeper in the cave. For centuries, countless people have made their way into the Lamprecht’s Cave in an attempt to find the long-lost treasure that is said to be hidden somewhere deep inside.

Treasure hunters from all over the region would come to the Lamprecht’s Cave in hopes of finding the treasure. As a result, in 1701, the local government decided to prevent access to the cave and built a wall at the cave’s entrance. However, due to the fact that the cave is responsible for drainage of vast amounts of floodwater, the wall eventually fell down.

The cave itself is now easily accessed on foot. For the most part, even though the depth of the Lamprecht’s Cave is more than 1632 meters, the 50 kilometres of caverns that consists of the Lamprecht’s Cave network are easily accessed. However, due to floodwaters it can also be a very dangerous place. Over the years advanced alarm system has been installed within the cave in order to warn any people of potential flooding.

It was back in 1991 and 1998 when 14 tourists along with four cavers were trapped within the cave for a brief period of time as a result of heavy rains. However, although the people are trapped they are not in any real danger as once the floodwaters recede they are able to exit the cave; usually within a day or so.

Due to the fact that the cave is so accessible by foot, it has grown to become one of the most popular caves in all of Europe. One does not have to be a cave expert to traverse the meandering passageways that have been carved out over the millennia by raging floodwaters.

For more information visit naturgewalten.at

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Slovenia covers an area of 20,273km2 and has a population of 2.06 million. Around 40% of Slovenia’s land mass is elevated land – mostly in the form of mountains and plateaus – which is located in the interior regions of the country. The highest point of Slovenia is the 2,864m high Mount Triglav, the lowest point is the Adriatic Sea at sea level. The Slovenian coast is 47 km long and is very charming.

The majority of the population speaks Slovene which is also the country’s official language. Other local official languages are Hungarian and Italian.

As the vacation centers are mainly used Isola and Portoroz. On the way to the sea, we recommend a small break in Lipica, where they still kept the pride of Slovenia, known for white Lipizzaners. In Slovenia there is one of the largest cave systems in the world – Postojna Jama, a 20-kilometer system of tunnels, and the nearby medieval castle Predjamski. At the north east of the country you can visit beautiful Triglav National Park and Lake Bled, like cut from a fairy tale. In the middle of Lake Bled there is Bled island with the ancient castle on it.

Slovenia may be, more than any other country, marked as a “thermal paradise“. An incredible amount of thermal springs are mainly located in the northeast of the country where you can find lots of of spas.

Slovenia is a beautiful country with lots of undiscovered beauty, suitable for all romantic souls, and especially those who want to enjoy well deserved vacation.

Slovenia is a country of high mountains, is full of forests and lakes, impressive cave systems, medicinal springs and crystal clear sea. It has great culinary traditions, within which you can taste fine wines or traditional fruit brandy, combined with excellent food coming from the sea, rivers, forests and green meadows. It is a country where on a relatively small area there is everything one needs to spend an active holiday.

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