Ojcow National Park
It may be, with its mere 21.5 sq. km, the smallest of Poland’s twenty national parks, but the Ojcow National Park ranks among the most attractive recreational areas in Europe, and it is just a 15 minutes’ drive–or 24 km–northwest of Krakow (en route to Olkusz turn right at Jerzmanowice). What is more, few national parks in the world can boast so many picturesque and worthy architectural monuments as the Ojcow’s one has within its limits. This and the most scenic landscape with the plentitude of many-shaped limestone rocks, some tall for 50 m or more, such as the park’s trademark 25-m-tall ‘Hercules’ Bludgeon’, rather than wildlife bring in here roughly 400,000 visitors a year, the bulk coming between mid April and mid November. Also some 220 caves, often easily accessible, prove to be a magnet for many.

The core of the Ojcow National Park consists in the Pradnik river valley with a road running along it as a backbone–most opportunely for motorists. The thing is there are too many of them, notably on weekends, so the two most convenient parking lots, at the village of Ojcow and by the Pieskowa Skala Castle, tend to be packed.

To see
Pieskowa Skala Castle, called ‘a pearl of the Polish Renaissance’, at the park’s northernmost end, among forests on a hill overlooking the picturesque Pradnik river valley, dates back to the mid 14th century. In the 16th century it underwent refurbishment after the fashion of the north-Italian Renaissance. Since 1970 it has been home to a European art museum, a branch of Krakow’s Wawel Royal Castle.
Ojcow village in the park’s heart boasts the remnants of the 14th-century castle: Gothic gate, octagonal tower, and ruins of the chapel. Popular as a tourist destination since the 18th century, Ojcow was a fashionable health resort through the second half of the 19th century, and a few buildings in the period’s so-called ‘Ojcow style’ remained, e.g. two former hotels: one turned into the Nature Museum, the other into the post office.
Blessed Salomea’s Hermitage (Pustelnia Bl. Salomei) at Grodzisko village, atop a tall upright rock halfway between Ojcow and the Pieskowa Skala Castle, dates back to the 17th century, and was built in the place of the 13th-century nunnery. Baroque church is surrounded by the 17th-century statues of Polish saintly medieval prices and princesses.
King Lokietek Cave (Jaskinia Lokietka) near Ojcow is 240 m long and fabled as the place where the Polish ruler hid from his rival’s overwhelming forces in 1300 before he eventually regained the Krakow throne.
Dark Cave (Jaskinia Ciemna) south of Ojcow is 147 m long and was home to Poland’s earliest known inhabitant who dwelled here some 120,000 years ago.

In the proximity of Krakow
Krakow is Poland's tourist mecca, and also a gateway to many other must-see sites in the region.

Malopolska Province

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Krakow
Poland's prime tourist attraction and a must in Central Europe boasts numerous world-class monuments, charming vistas, delightful atmosphere, and the best restaurants.

The park’s trademark 25-m-tall ‘Hercules’ Bludgeon’ rock by the Pieskowa Skala Castle is said to be the work of the devil.