A salt mine that has been recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site is an interesting tour. However, I found it relatively expensive for what you get. For 135 PLN, about 30 EUR you get transportation and guided tour, but I do not think it’s worth this price.
From Krakow to the town of Wieliczka, where the mine is, it’s about an hour. On arrival, we wait 10 minutes until the guide gets the entrance tickets that are distributed to everyone on the tour.
After entering, we go straight to a ladder where we descended more than 300 steps. It seems interminable, but there is a moment that we reach the first level, 60 meters below.
From there, we started the tour passing through several chambers, passing through salt sculptures, equipment, lakes and other things. The walls, ceilings and floor are full of salt and the guide even recommends to try it because it is clean and free of bacteria.
He also reported that people with asthma and other respiratory problems visit the mine to improve their health. The mine is one of the oldest underground salt mines still in operation and about 1.2 million people visit it annually.
Some chambers have presentations such as music and pictures on the walls. Nice, but nothing very impressive. During the tour the guide also shows how some equipment worked and commented that 70% of the workers had as their main activity the transport and only 30% really focused on the mining activities.
The best part of the tour is the arrival at the main cathedral inside the mine, which has impressive salt chandeliers. But also, as soon as we arrive in this part, it only takes about half an hour to the end of the tour.
The final part of the ride is fun because we took a very fast and tight elevator, as if it were a small cage with 9 people and we climbed very fast to the top. For me, after the cathedral that was the best part of the tour!
