We dropped everything, went to the Bieszczady Mountains and fell in love with these beautiful mountains! We were delighted not only by the peaks and meadows, but also by the green hills above Solina viewed from the gondola cars. It was so beautiful that we had to show it to you. We invite you for an over 1.5-kilometer journey in a wagon suspended at an altitude of up to 562 m above sea level!
Do you want to rest away from the hustle and bustle of the city? See the best attractions of Podkarpacie!
Solina – cable car – photos
Plasza lower station and preshow
Ladies and Gentlemen, first of all – the tickets. We recommend purchasing them online a little in advance because it will save you time and money. On-site lines to ticket offices and vending machines can be really long during the season, and tickets are a few zlotys cheaper online. However, if you do not do this, you can of course buy tickets at the station. But beware, the number of places is limited because the railway has a certain capacity.
The lower station of the gondola lift on Lake Solina starts at the promenade in Solina (scroll to the bottom of the page, we have marked this place especially for you on the map). However, before you get into the glass car, be sure to watch the preshow, i.e. the interactive exhibition. It is modern and fantastically designed. We know from experience that it will interest not only the youngest, but also adult visitors. Here you will enrich your knowledge with information about the Bieszczady Mountains, the dam in Solina and the cableway itself.
Once you’ve seen the “down-to-earth” exhibition, it’s time for a great adventure in the air. Eight-person carriages await tourists eager for amazing experiences and views. The glass gondolas are really nice and modern – you just want to get inside! Most importantly, you can feel safe and stable in them (which is not obvious in the case of older type cableways). Instead of the familiar creaking or shaking, expect a pleasant, comfortable ride in unusual natural surroundings.
A gondola ride over Lake Solina
Once you get into the carriage, you can sit comfortably and enjoy the “breathtaking” views. A tip from us for you: if you choose a ride outside the season, there will probably be no crowds here. Therefore, it may turn out that you will travel by gondola only with yourself. We managed to do this, which made us feel like V.I.P. and we liked the trip even more. Anyway, just look at the face of this smiling bachelor from the photo above! ; )
Apart from our personal impressions, you are probably also interested in numbers, i.e. answers to the questions: “How long?”, “How fast?” and “How high?”. The journey up, i.e. the ride from the Plasza lower station to the Jawor upper station, lasted – according to our calculations – less than 10 minutes. The gondolas move at a maximum speed of 21 km/h, which feels like “walking pace”. At the top of the route, the wagon is suspended 102 meters above the ground. The entire route is 1,540 meters long.
What you will certainly feel is that with every second of travel, the distance between your gondola and the ground will slowly but significantly increase. Proportionally to the distance from the ground, the views will become more and more spectacular. What can you see from the glass car of the PKL Solina cable car? A beautiful panorama of the Bieszczady Mountains, a huge concrete dam, the phenomenal Solina Lake, as well as charming surrounding towns. The closer you get to the upper station, the more these objects will get smaller, until they finally start to resemble a small model of the area.
Jawor upper station and observation tower
All good things come to an end – at the Jawor upper station, it’s time to leave the gondola and move on to the next part of the adventure. There are several attractions here, among which you will definitely find something for yourself, regardless of what team you came with. Maybe you would like to go to the observation tower with a partially glazed terrace? Drink coffee in an atmospheric cafe with a view? Or eat a regional dish in the wooden Jawor inn? Pick and mix!
For us, the most important attraction was, of course, the open observation deck. Walking around, we admired the panorama of the Bieszczady Mountains from all four corners of the world. We also took great, “face” photos, which you can admire above and below. ; ) We don’t have to say that we felt a really strong wind in our hair, right? Just a little warning: if you’re afraid of heights, don’t stand on the glass floor and don’t look down, because it may make you feel dizzy.
We would love to stay on the terrace until sunset, because we are sure that it must look truly magical from this place. If you have the opportunity, be sure to do it for us. Unfortunately, we were pressed for time, so we quickly jumped into the Jawor-Plasza gondola. Here’s a small recommendation from us: the entrance to the observation tower and the descent from the upper station to the lower station are subject to an additional fee, but don’t hesitate for a minute whether it’s worth it. Take our word for it: yes. Enjoy your journey over the green hills!
Cableway over Solina – tickets
Price list from 27/06/2024 to 01/09/2024
- Regular ticket
- both ways in the online store – PLN 49.
- one way in the online store – PLN 39.
- both ways at the ticket office/ticket machine – PLN 59.
- one way at a ticket machine – PLN 49.
- Reduced ticket:
- both ways in the online store – PLN 41.
- one way in the online store – PLN 39.
- both ways at the ticket office/ticket machine – PLN 49.
- one way at a ticket machine – PLN 45.
- Family ticket: 2+1 – PLN 129; 2+2,149 PLN; another child – PLN 25.
Observation Tower:
- Normal ticket – PLN 19.
- Reduced ticket – PLN 15.
There is an additional fee of PLN 10 for transporting luggage, a dog, a stroller and a bicycle.
Price list 02-29/09/2024
- Regular ticket
- both ways in the online store – PLN 49.
- one way in the online store – PLN 39.
- both ways at the ticket office/ticket machine – PLN 55.
- one way at a ticket machine – PLN 45.
- Reduced ticket:
- both ways in the online store – PLN 39.
- one way in the online store – PLN 35.
- both ways at the ticket office/ticket machine – PLN 45.
- one way at a ticket machine – PLN 39.
- Family ticket: 2+1 – PLN 129; 2+2,149 PLN; another child – PLN 25.
Observation Tower:
- Normal ticket – PLN 19.
- Reduced ticket – PLN 15.
There is an additional fee of PLN 10 for transporting luggage, a dog, a stroller and a bicycle.
Gondola lift over Solina – opening hours
- The cable car over Solina is open all year round (except on selected days designated for lift maintenance).
- The first car always starts at 09:00.
- The railway closing time varies depending on the season. The lift works until:
- 16:00 / 17:00 / 18:00 in winter.
- 18:00 / 19:00 / 20:00 in spring.
- 19:00 / 20:00 in summer.
- 17:00 / 19:00 in autumn.
You must check the exact opening hours on the PKL Solina website.
Attention! Ticket sales end 30 minutes before the lift closes.
PKL Solina – cable car – travel time
- According to information on the official PKL website, the minimum travel time between stations is 5 minutes 11 seconds.
- According to our calculations, the ride took about 10 minutes – from entering the gondola at the first station to leaving the gondola at the opposite station. We didn’t measure the time with a stopwatch, but we checked the exact time when the photos were taken on Plasza and Jawor.
Cable railway over Solina – access to Solina
- Train. Unfortunately, you cannot reach Solina by train. But you can reach Rzeszów, Krakow or Warsaw by train.
- Bus. Especially for you, we checked the access to Solina from large Polish cities. The journey from Rzeszów will take you about 3-4 hours. The bus from Krakow will take you to this charming Bieszczady town in just over 5 hours. The trip from Warsaw will take almost 7.5 hours, but sometimes it’s worth “exerting yourself” for such beautiful views.
- Car. Our eco-hearts are not very happy about this, but we regretfully and unanimously have to say that the most convenient means of transport around our beautiful Bieszczady Mountains is still the car.
Gondola lift over Solina – interesting facts and tips
- The cableway over Solina is the most modern facility of this type in Poland (as of 2024).
- PKL Solina carriages are able to transport up to 17,600 tourists a day!
- The diameter of the rope is 47 millimeters, or less than 5 centimeters. So not much of a group. It sounds a bit scary, don’t you think?
- The temperature between the lower and upper stations may differ by up to several degrees (of course, it will be warmer in Plasza than in Jawor, as is the case in the mountains).
- Less than a quarter of an hour’s walk from the Jawor upper station you will find the Tajemnicza Solina amusement park. Younger tourists will definitely like it. Besides, not only the younger ones, you can go there with your whole family and have a great time, even by a few degrees (of course, it will be warmer in Plasza than in Jawor, as is the case in the mountains).
Solina – cable car – opinions
- Patrix – 9/10. The cable car ride itself is quite short, but provides amazing views. This large dam is impressive, and the lake itself is a beautiful turquoise color. It is also worth mentioning that compared to all cable cars known from the mountains, this one is very modern. Get into the elegant cabin and enjoy the ride!the hustle and bustle of the city? See the best attractions of Podkarpacie!
- Wiolczix – 10/10. It was a lovely ride. Lake Solina, the dam, surrounding towns and the Bieszczady Mountains on the horizon look truly amazing from the cable car. I’m sure you will be delighted. The stations are modern and there is something cool waiting for you at both of them – at the lower one there is an interesting exhibition, and at the upper one there is a tower with an observation deck and a cafe. The ride itself was a bit too short for me. 🙂 Personally, I could ride like this forever, because the views are incredible. Would I advise anyone not to ride? Probably only for people afraid of heights.
Cableway over Solina – FAQ
PKL Solina – when does it open?
The gondola lift over Solina was officially opened on July 1, 2022. It is both a new and modern facility. Work on creating the entire complex took over a year (from 2021 to 2022), and the railway itself was assembled for 4 weeks (at the turn of October and November 2021).
How long does the Solina gondola ride take?
5 minutes 11 seconds – this is the minimum time for a one-way ride on the gondola lift over Solina (according to official information provided on the PKL website). According to tourists’ measurements, this time may even be about 10 minutes.
How much does a cable car ride in Solina cost?
Ticket prices for the PKL Solina gondola lift depend on where and when you buy them. In high season, tickets are slightly more expensive. It is more profitable to buy them online than at cash registers or vending machines. For regular tickets you will pay from PLN 39 (one-way when purchasing online) to PLN 55 (two-way when purchasing at a ticket office/machine). Discount tickets cost from PLN 35 to PLN 45. Entry for a 2+1 family costs PLN 129, and for a 2+2 family – PLN 149. There is an additional fee of PLN 10 for transporting luggage, a dog, a stroller or a bicycle.
How to buy a ticket for the cable car in Solina?
Tickets for a cable car ride over Solina can be purchased online (on the PKL website) or on-site (at vending machines or ticket offices). Due to the great interest in the attraction (especially during the high tourist season) and on weekends, it is worth purchasing a ticket in advance online.
Gondola lift over Solina – map
The cable car over Solina starts from the Plasza lower station and takes tourists to the upper station – Jawor.
Solina – lower station – Plasza
You can buy tickets and watch the preshow here.
Solina – upper station – Jawor
Here you can climb the tower with an observation deck.
