Natural values and tourist development of inland dunes. The example of the Łódź Region

Abstract

The common perception is that in the central part of Poland the only natural elements useful for tourism and recreation include valleys of large rivers and reservoirs. What is commonly overlooked are forested inland dunes. The aim of this article is to analyse natural values of inland dunes and tourist development in the lowland part of Central Poland, specifically in the Łódź region. The authors indicated the recreational benefits of that landform. Having different shapes and reaching 20–30 m AGL, inland dunes are a major element of the morphology of the plains in the central part of Poland. Recreation and leisure in such areas are facilitated, apart from the diverse land relief, by good biological and climate conditions which exist in pine forests, which grow on dry and sandy soil. The presence of reservoirs with sandy beaches located in direct vicinity of the dunes is an additional benefit of some of the region’s towns and villages. Those three elements (diverse relief, pine forests, and bodies of water) offer extremely favourable conditions for leisure in the plains. Forested dune areas have for over 100 years stimulated holiday settlement processes, weekend leisure near people’s places of residence, and the operations of recuperation facilities (sanatoriums). They encourage lowland tourism in the form of hiking and cycling.