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Rotorua – an unpredictable city

Gosia — Sun, 01 Feb 2026 15:17:19 +0000

You can smell Rotorua from a distance. Long before you see the city sign, the air is already thick with the distinctive scent of hydrogen sulphide – best compared to rotten eggs. This is the perfectly natural side effect of intense geothermal activity in the area. And yet, the stench doesn’t scare tourists away. Rotorua is one of the main tourist hubs on New Zealand’s North Island. It’s also jokingly called Roto-Vegas, thanks to its abundance of neon lights and bars. Other nicknames include Sulphur City and Rotten-rua and each of them reflects the specific atmosphere of this city. Geothermal features are everywhere. Rotorua sits right in the heart of the Taupō Volcanic Zone – one of the most geologically active regions in New Zealand. Naturally hot water has been considered a gift from the gods by local communities since time immemorial. The hottest springs were used for cooking, the warmer ones for bathing, and houses were built on heated ground that worked like natural underfloor heating. Of course, geothermal activity has its downsides. Houses in Rotorua don’t have basements – digging could easily end with discovering yet another hot spring. The same goes for cemeteries: graves are built above ground. For locals, geothermal activity is simply part of everyday life. A short walk to the city centre brings you to Kuirau Park, where you’ll find hot springs, steaming rocks and bubbling mud pools. Everything is free to access – including a foot-soaking pool. On the other side of the town lie the Government Gardens. Thanks to the area’s therapeutic properties, a spa was established here in 1908. Skin conditions, rheumatism and arthritis were treated here. What’s surprising is that even at the end of the world, the place looks similar to European spa towns. You’ll find all the classic elements: distinctive spa architecture, thermal pools and a landscaped park. A lakeside promenade runs along the shore of Lake Rotorua, where you can spot sulphur-rich water and numerous water birds carefully avoiding spots where sulphurous steam shoots up from the ground. Rotorua is also a major centre of Māori culture. Māori people form the largest proportion of residents here compared to any other city in New Zealand. The best place to explore their traditions is Te Puia – a Māori cultural centre located in the former geothermal valley of Whakarewarewa. Visits are guided by a Māori guide and last about 90 minutes. Te Puia is also one of the few places where you can see the kiwi, New Zealand’s national bird. As kiwis are nocturnal, they’re kept in a specially designed dark enclosure where photography is strictly forbidden. You can also visit schools of carving, weaving and jewellery-making, and learn about hāngi – the traditional method of cooking food in underground ovens using hot stones. This technique hasn’t changed for hundreds of years and is still practised today. At Te Puia you can sample traditional Māori cuisine and watch a haka performance. The real star of the show, however, is the Pōhutu geyser – the most active geyser in the Southern Hemisphere. It erupts on average every half hour, shooting water and steam 20–30 metres into the air. Pōhutu’s activity was once seriously threatened. Numerous private drillings carried out by residents searching for geothermal water caused a drop in the geyser’s output. Only a programme of sealing artificial boreholes restored Pōhutu to its former glory. Around the geyser, hot rocks allow you to literally feel the heat rising from deep parts of the Earth. Hell’s Gate is another geothermal attraction in Rotorua. Definitely it’s not an ordinary geothermal park. It’s the most active geothermal area in New Zealand, and the name is no marketing gimmick. As the name suggests, it really is hellish. Everything steams, bubbles and looks like it’s about to explode. With every step, you can feel the raw energy coming from beneath the ground. The walking route is marked out by wooden boardwalks that look suspiciously like emergency rafts. Everything around you looks like faded, grey and barren. Even the names spark the imagination: Devil’s Cauldron, Sodom and Gomorrah, Inferno Pool. In many places, the temperature of the bubbling sludge reaches 100°C or more. Add steaming ground, gurgling mud lakes and hissing fumaroles, and you’ve got the perfect recipe for a truly infernal landscape. Within the park there’s also a mud volcano that works exactly like a classic volcano – except instead of lava, it spits out hot mud and puts on an unscheduled show every few weeks. It’s the largest mud volcano in New Zealand’s reserves. While most mud volcanoes are about one metre tall, the one at Hell’s Gate reaches three metres and keeps growing, adding new layers of mud with each eruption. Thankfully, in the middle of this geothermal hell there’s a surprise: a green enclave filled with unique plants thriving thanks to the heat and mineral-rich soil. Hidden among the vegetation are Kakahi Falls – the largest hot waterfall in the Southern Hemisphere, with water at around 40°C. In the past, Māori warriors bathed here after battles, washing off blood and treating wounds. The sulphur in the water acted as a natural antiseptic. Hell’s Gate is also home to Medicine Lake, the source of Rotorua’s famous therapeutic mud. For centuries it was used to treat pain and skin conditions. Today, the mud is used in a spa that you can access for an additional fee. Mud pool sessions are limited to twenty minutes, as longer exposure to the heat could lead to overheating. Hell’s Gate offers three types of healing mud: black for rheumatism and arthritis, white for burns, and grey for gentle skin exfoliation. This place can be harsh and occasionally unsettling. The raw, washed-out colours don’t exactly encourage to take Instagram sweet selfies – and that’s precisely why Hell’s Gate is so compelling. It lets you experience, up close, the immense power hidden beneath the Earth’s surface. Rotorua – predicting the unpredictable Rotorua is an unpredictable city. Many attractions lie in seismically active areas, so common sense isn’t optional – it’s mandatory. All warnings and safety notices must be taken seriously. On top of that, Rotorua is a major tourist centre, which unfortunately comes with a darker side. Petty crime rates are higher than the national average, with car break-ins being the most common issue. Thieves particularly favour car parks near hostels, tourist attractions and trailheads. The rule is simple: don’t leave valuables in your car – not even “just for a minute”. Rotorua is a city of contrasts – beautiful and fascinating, yet also unsettling. The air smells of sulphur, the ground steams beneath your feet, and geysers and mud volcanoes constantly remind you of the immense force of the Earth. At the same time, Rotorua is the heart of Māori culture and a spa town where nature and tradition intertwine in a truly unique way. To experience it all properly, it’s worth booking tickets to Te Puia and Hell’s Gate well in advance.

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Ziemia Klodzka – the most interesting places to visit

Gosia — Wed, 16 Dec 2020 18:03:49 +0000

Ziemia Klodzka is an incredibly interesting region of Poland, where everyone will find something for themselves. There is no shortage of interesting mountain trails and fancy rock formations. Numerous spas guarantee excellent relaxation. On the other hand, the Sanctuary in Wambierzyce, also called Silesian Jerusalem, is the main point of pilgrimage. ZLOTY STOK – A GOLD MINE It’s best to start visiting Ziemia Klodzka with the Zloty Stok Mine, located right next to road no. 46 leading towards Klodzko. Supposedly on 21 levels of the mine, more than 300 km of pavement, drifts and shafts were hollowed. During around 700 years of operation, 16 tons of pure gold were excavated here. An additional attraction of the Zloty Stok is the only one underground waterfall in Poland. SZCZELINIEC WIELKI Szczeliniec Wielki is the highest peak of the Stolowe Mountains and belongs to the Crown of Polish Mountains. The easiest way to get to Szczeliniec is by car. The trail begins in the parking lot in Karlowo. The route to the top takes less than 30 minutes, during which you cover more than 600 stairs. The path is not demanding, but quite narrow. On the other hand, the views are… ? The route leads along rock corridors and interesting formations that look like animals. You can see here for example: Camel, Monkey, Dog or Elephant. At the top of Szczeliniec there’s an view terrace with a beautiful panorama on the Sudety Mountains. The route from Szczeliniec is worth continuing towards Radkowskie Rocks and Rock Mushrooms. In both places you can see interestingly shaped rocks. On the way back it’s worth taking a look at the educational path ′′ Niknąca Łąka “, which leads along the peats. BLEDNE SKALY The second interesting trail is the maze of Bledne Skaly. It’s convenient to get here by car. From Kudowa you can get here by so called “the Road of Hundred Curves”, which is already an attraction itself when it comes to driving ? It takes about 30 minutes to cover the labyrinth of Bledne Skaly, while I can bet that you’ll stay here much longer. You will be amazed by the shape of rocks here, from huge blocks to formations reminiscent of mushrooms or animals. The trail is very diverse, initially leads through a maze of various narrow crossings and alleys. The route continues to get much wider and lead along fancy shaped rocks reaching several meters. At the end there’s a wooden footbridge, which leads through wetlands. SPAS While being in Ziemia Klodzka, don’t miss popular spa – Duszniki – Zdrój. Spa tradition in Duszniki dates back to 500 years. The spa is famous for its healing waters, mainly derived from three water intakes: ′′ Jan Kazimierz “, ′′ Pieniawa Chopin ′′ and ′′ Agata “, which are used to treat: digestive, osteoporosis and cardiovascular diseases. An important tourist point in Duszniki is the Chopin Manor located in Park Zdrojowy. This is where 16-year-old Fryderyk Chopin performed concerts during his treatment. Every year in August the Chopin International Festival takes place here. It is the oldest Polish music festival that has taken place continuously since 1946. Polanica – Zdrój is another popular spa town in Klodzko Valley. It is a picturesque town located on the Bystrzyca Dusznicka valley and characterized by unique buildings. The central point in spa is Spa Park, where you can visit: Spa Theater, Mineral Water Pumproom -Wielka Pieniawa, as well as many sanatoriums and spa hospitals. In the Pumproom you can try local healing water – Wielka Pieniawa, which is the main healing medicament in the spa. Personally, if I had to choose a spa in the Kłodzko Valley, I would visit Kudowa Zdrój. This spa surprised me with a unique, colorful architecture. You can feel specific vibe here. In Spa Park you can see many people walking or sunbathing , while in the Spa Pumproom you can try three kinds of local healing water: Śniadecki, Marchlewski and Moniuszko. It’s worth taking a look here also because of its elegant interior. CASTLE LESNA ON SZCZYTNIK Driving from Duszniki towards Polanica it is also worth visiting the Castle Lesna on Szczytnik hill. Although the castle looks like a medieval fortification, it was actually built in the 30’s in 19th century. Right next to the castle there’s a lookout platform from which you can admire the beautiful countryside. WAMBIERZYCE An interesting place of sacral character is the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Wambierzyce, Queen of Families, also known as ′′ Silesian Jerusalem “. A total of 57 steps leads to the entrance. The first nine stairs symbolize the number of angel choirs, the next 33 the age of Jesus, while the last fifteen – Mary’s age at the moment of conception. The basilica gained great popularity after the wonderful recovery of Jan from Raszew, who regained his sight here.

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Ciechocinek – famous Polish spa

Gosia — Mon, 09 Oct 2017 19:51:53 +0000

Personally, Ciechocinek, until recently, seemed to be the place straight from the famous film “Back to the future”, but with one exception, to the communist past. Specific architecture, old clinics, pools are the typical things from the past times. This famous spa is about 200 km from Warsaw, so I decided to take a short trip to confront my ideas with reality. The vast majority of tourists are patients who have come here for treatment. Ciechocinek has a large reservoir of brine used in the nervous, circulatory or respiratory diseases treatment. The origin of the brine dates back to the 13th century. When Poland was under the occupation and the two largest salt mines – Bochnia and Wieliczka were located on the land under Austria – Hungary rule. Between 1824 and 1833, two graduation towers were built and in 1859 another third one. The whole graduation towers complex, has the total length of almost 2 km and the height of more than 15 m and is unique on the scale of Europe. The location of the graduation towers isn’t random. They are built perpendicularly to the wind, which increases the production of the brine. Brine is transported to a graduation towers by pipeline from a fountain called Mushroom. Pumps move water and salt solution to the top of the graduation towers, then the mixture flows down the blackthorn twigs to the lower tanks. Formerly brine was pumped by the special pumps which were driven by windmills, which are located at the top of the graduation towers. After that, the brine is transported by a pipeline to the nearby salt works, where salt is produced. Brine when going down the graduation towers evaporates and creates special microclimate similar to this from the sea. Thanks to this, walk around graduation towers is very good for respiratory problems, and the air here is crisp and clean. The fountain called Mushroom is a popular place of meeting. It is located in the centre of the spa, and also produces medicinal aerosol. While the entrance to the graduation towers area is paid, the air around the fountain can be inhaled free of charge. In addition to the graduation towers and the fountain, there’s another symbol of Ciechocinek – beautiful parks and flower carpets. In the northern part of the spa, next to the Mushroom fountain, is the huge park founded in 1875, with a funny fountain, an interesting concert hall and a pump room. The pump room is an interesting wooden building typical for spas, where you can drink slightly salty water called ” Krystynka”. Next to the park, there’s a path leading to the historic salt works. Inside, you can see the process of production of the salt. Special attention deserves the exposition of the old equipment used in the spa treatment. Personally, for me it looks like the torture chamber straight from the worst horror. What’s more interesting, this salt works operates to this today. The salt is produced here traditionally, in the boiling process. Ciechocinek is one of the oldest Polish spas, it was established in 1934, when in one of the local inns, the first baths were installed to use the medicated brine. Ciechocinek is one of the most popular spas and can be described as spa mecca. But to my amazement, many buildings here are abandoned and destroyed. I’m not gonna hide that I really like this kind of places. They often have an interesting history, they constantly change with the time passes, and visiting them is a pure exploration. That’s why I was really impressed by elaborately decorated, abandoned villas and hospitals. A very interesting building is also a wooden Orthodox Church. It was built in 1894 in a Caucasus style, mainly of wood without using nails. This is the only one example of this style in Europe! The church has also intensive blue walls and interesting decorations. Confronting my ideas about Ciechocinek with the reality, I have to say that in the air apart from the brine, I could feel the gentle breeze of communism, but I think that’s the charm of this place. The specific spa atmosphere, architecture and historic graduation towers are the main reasons why you should visit Ciechocinek. ” order_by=”sortorder” order_direction=”ASC” returns=”included” maximum_entity_count=”500″]

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