The beauty of Polish villages.

Michał Broda 

Two years ago, I took a vacation that changed the way I think about travelling. I didn’t go to any popular resort abroad, but I stayed within the borders of our country. While many of my friends were planning trips abroad, my family and I decided to head in a different direction: to Lipiny, a small, almost-forgotten village nestled in the heart of Podlasie.

Lipiny isn't the kind of place that pops up in top spots to visit in Poland. There are no luxury resorts or crowded tourist hotspots. In fact, there are only two Google Maps pins in Lipiny, one of them being the vacation house we stayed in.

Part of the village’s beauty lies in its simplicity. Life moves at a slower pace there. It’s a quiet, peaceful place to decompress and just relax all day. It was the kind of trip that didn’t have a laid-out plan of places to see, but it gave me the freedom to ride a bike, grill, and connect with nature and my family.

The village itself is surrounded by thick forests, wide meadows, and farm fields, all to the sounds of birds or bats at night. I spent my days walking down dirt paths, exploring nearby fields, and riding all around the nearby villages on my bike. There’s something unusual about being in a place untouched by modern soullessness. The few people I met there were welcoming and seemed content with leading a slow life away from the rat race that is present in larger cities.

One evening, while sitting outside preparing a campfire and watching the stars, I had a really nice conversation with my brother, who had decided to join us on that trip. I don’t remember what that talk was about, but the atmosphere and the warmth from the campfire stayed with me to this day.

What Lipiny gave me was a deeper appreciation for the richness of my homeland. Poland, like many countries, has its share of lesser-known regions and forgotten villages that rarely make it into mainstream travel plans. Yet, they hold so much beauty, culture, and peace. And sometimes visiting such a place might be leagues above a noisy, crowded city abroad.

Since that trip, I’ve become an advocate for exploring locally. While there's nothing wrong with going abroad, I think we often overlook the treasures in our own country. Traveling within the country can be just as entertaining, sometimes even more so, because it offers a different experience than the typical tourist traps in Europe.

So, if you're planning your next trip and feel the urge to get away, consider staying a little closer to home. Visit the villages in Poland you’ve never heard of, hike through freshly harvested fields, or relax by the campfire surrounded by nature. Poland offers a variety of different landscapes so that one might never get bored of exploring it.