This guide takes the visitor to this spectacularly beautiful area that is a possible site for the 2006 Olympics, and also provides a comprehensive survey of the region's history, geography, architecture, music and folk art, costumes, cuisine, legends and customs as well as fishing, hiking, mountain climbing and other leisure activities. The author organises the main attractions of the area in tours, which are perfect diversions for Polish descendants to visit their native land. Photographs, illustrations, and line drawings along with maps and useful appendices portray the historical development of the region.