The best walks and hikes around gmina Iwonicz-Zdrój

A wonderful place that seems to always be covered in clouds and fog. But beautiful nonetheless.

In Iwonicz-Zdrój, on Oczki Square, stands a pedunculate oak, a natural monument. This tree, listed in the register of natural monuments in 1970, is approximately 250 years old, has a trunk circumference of 330 cm, and is 20 meters tall. This oak is a distinctive feature of the square, which is part of the historic spa complex. (Data collected from Google search engine)

I don't know about you, but when I see an observation tower, I just have to climb it! This one is really great – climbing Cergowa can be challenging, but the reward is the views!

This impressive two-story wooden building was built between 1876 and 1880. Covered terraces, arcades, balconies... you can probably guess that it was once a luxury hotel for high-end guests!

One of the most impressive buildings in Iwonicz-Zdrój (Podkarpackie Voivodeship) is the Bazar villa. Located in the center, on the promenade, the wooden building appears on almost all souvenirs from the spa town – it is its showpiece. The two-story building was built between 1876 and 1880, with a plan similar to the letter H. It was founded by Michał Załuski, owner of the Iwonicz estate from 1860. It was during his lifetime that an iodine-bromine salt works was built, and a railway line was built 12 km away. During Michał Załuski's reign, Iwonicz had 19 villas with six hundred rooms for spa guests. The ground floor of Bazar once housed a post office and telegraph office, and later shops. The upper floors were occupied by luxurious rooms. The hotel featured an indoor swimming pool, terraces, balconies, and arcades supported by columns. In one corner, a three-story tower was erected on a square plan, topped with a gazebo on poles, serving as an observation deck. Source and more: https://proszewycieczki.wordpress.com/2020/12/25/iwonicz-zdroj-bazar/

The "Zaczątek" café is a great place to stop while walking from the center of Iwonicz Zdrój to the forest amphitheater. The word zaczątek means the initial stage of bread production. You can drink coffee here, eat ice cream, a waffle or a zapiekanka. Compared to the Polish coast, the prices of ice cream are very attractive: PLN 5.50 or PLN 6.50 for a large scoop, depending on the chosen flavor. The list of available flavors is on the window. On the Baltic Sea, this season, a scoop of ice cream costs PLN 7-9. To the left of the entrance to the premises, there are places under umbrellas with a view of the Czesław spring and a pirate ship for children. The café is located in a quieter part of Iwonicz Zdrój, away from the noisy center. You can sit here and talk peacefully, enjoying the smell of the forests surrounding the valley on both sides. WW

The Czesław spring is located some distance from the street, so cyclists may not see it at all. It is best to approach on foot with your own bottle, and some people even approach with solid containers, as you can see in the photo. In such a case, you have to wait a few minutes using a bench. The water tastes of calcium and it is the main ingredient, as shown in the list of chemical composition placed on the stone obelisk on the side of the well. WW

Karol Wojtyla, better known to many as "Pope John Paul II", was born in Wadowice, Poland, in 1920 and was elected as the successor to the head of the Catholic Church after the death of Pope John Paul I in the "Three Popes Year" of 1978 - to the surprise of almost everyone. As a young man, he had experience of dictatorships under the Nazi regime of German-occupied Poland and later under communist rule. During the so-called "Cold War" at the time, his support for the freedom movement, especially in the countries of Eastern Europe, and his part in the fall of the so-called "Iron Curtain" that separated the Western European states from the Eastern Bloc was correspondingly great and passionate. Karol Wojtyla (Pope John Paul II) died in the Vatican in 2005 after a long illness.