Sandomierz Apple Trail

The Sandomierz region is known for its loess ravines and monuments, but it was orchards that turned it into a horticultural power. The Sandomierz Apple Trail links about 40 sites spread along 200 kilometres of routes in a dozen-odd municipalities — from Sandomierz itself to Zawichost on the Vistula. Apples from these lands end up on tables across Poland.

Four flavours of one trail

The sites are divided into four categories: tasty, artistic, agritourism and wine. In practice this means that on a single Saturday you can visit a traditions chamber, taste cheeses from a farm in Drygulec, buy apples straight from the grower and stay overnight in a manor house. The most characteristic addresses include the Chamber of Gardening Traditions in Obrazów, Sandomierz cheeses from Drygulec, the Król vineyard in Radoszki and the Manor on Wichrowe Wzgórze in Przybysławice.

A region built on apples

The trail is run by the Sandomierz Apple Trail association based in Obrazów. The idea won recognition from the jurors of the AGROTRAVEL fair in Kielce, where the project took the main prize for the most interesting rural tourism package. The route passes through the municipalities of Sandomierz, Obrazów, Koprzywnica, Klimontów, Łoniów, Samborzec, Dwikozy, Ossolin, Kleczanów and Zawichost, so big monuments also beckon along the way: the Cistercian abbey in Koprzywnica, the collegiate church in Klimontów and the manor and church in Skotniki.

In practice

The trail is best explored by car or bike, and it shows its fullest face from summer to late autumn, during harvest. The sites keep different hours and open in different months, so check opening times before your trip on the trail map available at Tourist Information points and from association members. Plan a whole day for a single trip with tastings; a full circuit of the orchards calls for a weekend.