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Pontoon Rafting on the Dunajec River Gorge

A pontoon trip is the most comfortable way to see the famous bends of the Dunajec without any paddling effort. The route leads through the Dunajec River Gorge in the Pieniny — a section about 8 km long between Sromowce Niżne and Szczawnica, where the rock walls reach roughly 300 m in height and the river meanders in a series of bends pressed between limestone cliffs. It is an attraction of European rank, and it is hard to dispute that impression when the raft glides in the shadow of the Pieniny towers.

The river that cut through the mountains

The walls of the gorge are built of white Pieniny limestone, rock rich in microorganism remains that formed in the deeper parts of a sea at the Jurassic–Cretaceous boundary, roughly 145–120 million years ago. The origin of the gorge itself has not been conclusively explained. It is most often regarded as an antecedent-structural gorge: the Pieniny rose so slowly that the Dunajec managed to cut into the rock they are built of, following numerous faults in the bedrock.

From timber rafts to pontoons

Boating on this stretch has a long history — the oldest known depiction of the trip is a polychromy from 1589 in the old church in Krościenko. As a tourist attraction the voyage took hold from around 1831, popularised by Józef Szalay, who organised lively cruises for up to hundreds of spa guests. Today, alongside the traditional timber rafts, pontoons also travel the gorge. The route can also be walked on foot along the Pieniny Road (Droga Pienińska) at the bottom of the valley.