Representatives of the Royal Dutch Climbing & Mountaineering Association (NKBV) visited the Polish Tatras this past summer. Invited by the Polish Tourism Organisation, they hiked our mountain trails, discovering the delights of sleeping in mountain shelters and trying regional flavours.

During the last summer holiday season, the Royal Dutch Climbing & Mountaineering Association visited the Tatra Mountains at the invitation of POT. This was the first time this association came to the Polish mountains. Under the expert care of the Tatra Volunteer Search and Rescue, the Dutch guests discovered hiking trails of varying degrees of difficulty, going from shelter to shelter.

The result of the trip is the creation of a profile of Poland and the Tatras on the NKBV’s website and a comprehensive report including practical advice, a suggested route and tips for where to stay overnight. In addition to that, all members of the association received a newsletter encouraging them to discover the charm of the Tatra Mountains, which are not that far away. It was also mentioned on the social media of the association.

“Poland is extremely versatile as a country of for mountain tourism. There is a variety of landscapes of snowy summits, endless forests, wide valleys and lakes without a single ripple. However, Poland isn’t yet quite well-known as a destination for hikers.

Even in the summer, the tourist will find quiet and peaceful spots. If you want to explore the mountains going from shelter to shelter, you’ll come back from Poland very satisfied. The shelters with authentic architecture are beautifully located, and accommodation often costs no more than 10 Euros.

Mountain hikes in Poland can also be combined very well with visits to beautiful old cities, such as Kraków. If you decide to go to the Polish mountains, there will be only one difficult decision: Where to go first?,” wrote Elmar Teegelbeckers in an enthusiastic entry about the trip to Poland.

As a nation, the Dutch are sporty, enjoy travelling and show a lot of interest in mountain sports and trips. The Royal Dutch Climbing & Mountaineering Association has a total of 65,000 members!

As the organiser of the Mountain Sports Day in the Netherlands (which in 2021 took the form of a virtual Mountain Sports Week due to the pandemic), NKBV, together with the POT International Office in Amsterdam, has plans for further campaigns next year to promote discovering hiking trails in Polish mountains. The NKBV editors are already set to traverse the Bieszczady mountain meadows during their next trip.