Why this ride
137 km from Bochnia to Bochnia, about 3 h 05 of riding. The stops in between: Wieliczka and Bochnia Royal Salt Mines, Historic Centre of Kraków, Saltworks Castle in Wieliczka and back through Saltworks Castle in Wieliczka.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Salt Mine in Bochnia and Historic Centre of Kraków
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 137 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 05
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Scenic road chapters
Polish Eagles Nests Route
For about 14 km this is Polish Eagles Nests Route, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it — expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 14 km
- Named road
- Polish Eagles Nests Route
Polish Eagles Nests Route
17 km through ground somebody thought worth listing. The road passes it rather than bypassing it. Speed drops and stays down. Park rather than crawl through.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 14 km
- Named road
- Polish Eagles Nests Route
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Salt Mine in Bochnia
People were mining salt at Bochnia by the middle of the thirteenth century, which makes it the oldest salt mine in Poland and one of the oldest in Europe still open to visitors. For centuries the salt from here and from Wieliczka, about twenty-five kilometres to the west, filled the coffers of the Polish kings; at times it accounted for a remarkable share of the royal income. Together the two mines and the royal castle at Wieliczka form a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Read the complete Salt Mine in Bochnia write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Salt Mine in Bochnia is where the day begins. Next is Wieliczka and Bochnia Royal Salt Mines.
2. Wieliczka and Bochnia Royal Salt Mines
Under the town of Wieliczka, at the southern edge of the Krakow suburbs, lies a labyrinth of tunnels, chambers and lakes cut out of salt, nine levels deep, with the lowest more than three hundred metres below the surface. Salt has been mined here since the thirteenth century, and the mine, together with the one at Bochnia some twenty kilometres east, was one of the first sites placed on the UNESCO World Heritage list, in 1978. Wieliczka has nearly nineteen thousand people, and the mine entrance is about a kilometre from the centre.
Read the complete Wieliczka and Bochnia Royal Salt Mines write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Wieliczka and Bochnia Royal Salt Mines comes up about 28 km into the recorded legs. Next is Historic Centre of Kraków.
3. Historic Centre of Kraków
Every hour, a trumpeter plays a short melody from the taller tower of St Mary's Basilica on Kraków's market square, and every time the tune breaks off abruptly mid-phrase. Legend says it commemorates a watchman shot by a Tatar arrow in the throat as he sounded the alarm in the thirteenth century, and the hejnał has been played that way ever since, broadcast daily on Polish radio at noon. It is a fitting introduction to a city that wears its history so openly. The Rynek Główny, the main square, is one of the largest medieval squares in Europe, with the Renaissance Cloth Hall in the middle, and the historic centre, including Wawel Hill and the Jewish quarter of Kazimierz, was among the first sites ever placed on the UNESCO list in 1978.
Read the complete Historic Centre of Kraków write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 42 km into the recorded legs you reach Historic Centre of Kraków. Next is Saltworks Castle in Wieliczka.
4. Saltworks Castle in Wieliczka
Wieliczka is a town that sits on top of a vanished sea. Millions of years ago, this part of southern Poland lay under a shallow, salty basin, and as the water evaporated it left thick beds of rock salt, which people have mined for about seven hundred years. The Saltworks Castle, the Żupny Castle, was the administrative heart of the business, a medieval fortified complex that housed the managers, the accounts and the royal officers who ran one of the richest enterprises in Poland, since salt was money. For centuries the revenue from Wieliczka and neighbouring Bochnia paid a significant share of the Crown's expenses.
Read the complete Saltworks Castle in Wieliczka write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Saltworks Castle in Wieliczka, about halfway. Next is Historic Centre of Kraków.
5. Historic Centre of Kraków
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Historic Centre of Kraków write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Historic Centre of Kraków sits at 85 km, about halfway. Next is back through Saltworks Castle in Wieliczka.
6. back through Saltworks Castle in Wieliczka
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Saltworks Castle in Wieliczka write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Saltworks Castle in Wieliczka comes up about 83 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Historic Centre of Kraków.
7. back through Historic Centre of Kraków
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Historic Centre of Kraków write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 96 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Historic Centre of Kraków. Next is back through Wieliczka and Bochnia Royal Salt Mines.
8. back through Wieliczka and Bochnia Royal Salt Mines
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Wieliczka and Bochnia Royal Salt Mines write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Wieliczka and Bochnia Royal Salt Mines, late in the day. Next is Salt Mine in Bochnia.
9. Salt Mine in Bochnia
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Salt Mine in Bochnia write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 137 km.
Leg by leg
Salt Mine in Bochnia to Wieliczka and Bochnia Royal Salt Mines
Salt Mine in Bochnia → Wieliczka and Bochnia Royal Salt Mines is 28 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Wieliczka and Bochnia Royal Salt Mines to Historic Centre of Kraków
Wieliczka and Bochnia Royal Salt Mines → Historic Centre of Kraków is 14 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Historic Centre of Kraków to Saltworks Castle in Wieliczka
Historic Centre of Kraków → Saltworks Castle in Wieliczka is 14 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Saltworks Castle in Wieliczka to Historic Centre of Kraków
Saltworks Castle in Wieliczka → Historic Centre of Kraków is 13 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Historic Centre of Kraków to back through Saltworks Castle in Wieliczka
Historic Centre of Kraków → back through Saltworks Castle in Wieliczka is 14 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Saltworks Castle in Wieliczka to back through Historic Centre of Kraków
back through Saltworks Castle in Wieliczka → back through Historic Centre of Kraków is 13 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Historic Centre of Kraków to back through Wieliczka and Bochnia Royal Salt Mines
back through Historic Centre of Kraków → back through Wieliczka and Bochnia Royal Salt Mines is 14 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Wieliczka and Bochnia Royal Salt Mines to Salt Mine in Bochnia
back through Wieliczka and Bochnia Royal Salt Mines → Salt Mine in Bochnia is 28 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.