• World - Europe - Poland

The Pieniny Klippen Belt stretches over 550 kilometres from western Slovakia to the Laborce valley in the east. The Pieniny Mountains are a distinct mountain range (35 kilometres long and 6 kilometres wide) in the centre of this belt. The Dunajec river ravine divides the range into three parts:

• Pieniny Spiskie, between the village of Dursztyn and Niedzica: its highest peak is Żar (883 metres above sea level).
• Pieniny Właściwe, between Czorsztyn and Szczawnica, culminating with the Okrąglica peak (982 metres ASL) in the Three Crowns massif. By climbing this summit, a vast and splendid overview of the area can be enjoyed.
• Małe Pieniny, between the Dunajec river (near Szczawnica) and the Rozdziela pass to the east. The highest peak of Pieniny is m. Wysoka (1,050 metres ASL).

The most attractive part of the mountain range, from both a natural and scenic point of view, is the Pieniny Właściwe range. The peaks here are beautifully jagged and the valleys often form rocky gorges. The northern mountain faces slope gently into the valleys, whereas the southern and eastern picturesque limestone cliffs (which are up to 300 metres high) drop down suddenly to the Dunajec river.