Scientists are still investigating when, why, and how this breakthrough occurred. But that, after all, is not the most important thing. The most important thing is that natural processes have created a true wonder of nature, a breathtaking place, an attraction on a world scale. Today it is the most characteristic and the most visited place in the Pieniny. It can be admired from the land as well as from the river. The Pieniny Gorge consists of seven highly picturesque meanders of the Dunajec River inscribed in a ravine with walls as high as 500 metres. It is about eight kilometres long but only three kilometres in a straight line, narrowing to a dozen metres in places. It starts just below Sromowce Niżne and ends in Szczawnica. It can be travelled on foot, by bicycle or by raft under the guidance of a raftsman. The rafting was already popular in the first half of the 19th century when it was used by tourists from Szczawnica and visitors to the castles in Niedzica and Czorsztyn.