KamiannaSki

Photo: SN Kamianna. Tucked away among forests and hills, Kamianna is one of the most charming villages in the western part of the Beskid Niski. Because it is close to Nowy Sącz and Krynica, it is often counted, for practical reasons, as part of the Beskid Sądecki region. It occupies the upper part of the small valley of the stream of the same name, which lower down forms a short but picturesque gorge between the domed summits of Hłocza and Termina. It is best known for the beekeeping centre that has long existed here, one of the largest in Poland. But for a dozen or so years it has also been developing as a small family ski resort. The pistes are on the gentle northern slopes of the Jaworzynka massif, part of the westernmost section of the Beskid Niski, the Grybów Mountains. You will find only easy or even very easy pistes here, which makes the resort ideal for beginners and above all for children. Its merits in this respect are reinforced by the fact that it is usually quiet here, which makes skiing both safer and more enjoyable for the youngest. There are two button lifts on the main slope and one short button lift on the nursery slope for the youngest. The main lift serves two pistes, which in their upper part run through narrow forest cuttings and lower down open out across broad meadows into a wide open "ski field". The pistes are floodlit and groomed, and for a few seasons they have also had spot snowmaking (with individual snow cannons that do not form a complete system). At the valley station there is a small car park, a small inn, a ski hire shop and a ski school. For many skiers a visit to Kamianna can be a trip back to memories from a dozen or so years ago, as cardboard ski passes are still in use here, on which the lift staff mark off each ride up! Finally, it is worth mentioning the beekeeping centre that has operated here for many years and is famous throughout Poland. In the 1970s, on the initiative of the local priest, Father Henryk Ostach, a huge apiary was set up in the village, followed by the Dom Pszczelarza (Beekeeper's House), which immediately became Poland's leading apitherapy centre, also of international importance. In the village it is worth visiting the small Beekeeping Museum, part of whose exhibition is devoted to Father Ostach, and the wooden Eastern-rite church (now a Catholic church) from the end of the 19th century is also worth seeing, with a dozen or so beehives of interesting shapes standing next to it, some of them of historic value.