Such perfect conditions have made the Hel Peninsula a globally renowned surfers’ village—with campsites, gear and clothing shops and restaurants with a total capacity of several dozen thousand people. Representatives of multinational companies dealing in kitesurfing merchandise have told Elwart that they had never seen this sort of place elsewhere, as even in California or Hawaii surfers tend to stick together in small groups rather than have an entire village to themselves.

Hel attracts kitesurfing aficionados above all from Sweden, Norway and Germany. It has earned itself a good name when windsurfers swapped their boards for kites. Smaller and easier to control, they fit in a backpack, unlike the windsurfing board, which requires a car for transport. Although a kite can measure up to 20 sq. m and can be a challenge to set up, kitesurfing enthusiasts insist that it is well worth the hassle given the adrenaline rush it gives.

The Hel Peninsula, considered Poland’s beginning (or end?), largely owes its touristic revival to kitesurfing. Thirty four kilometres long, the peninsula emerged from the Baltic some 200-300 years ago. Its width ranges from 300 metres at its base through 150 metres in the narrowest point to 3 kilometres at the tip. In its distant past, it was a line of islets, which later turned into a scythe-shaped peninsula thanks to wind and current patterns.

After the Second World War, Hel became one of the hottest seaside resorts in Poland, and in the 1980s, Chalupy, with its nearby naturist beach, gained popularity thanks to a song by Zbigniew Wodecki - "Chałupy welcome to". The peninsula somewhat waned in popularity after Poland's transformation in 1989 only to be rediscovered by water sport – and especially windsurfing – enthusiasts at the turn of the twenty-first century. For several years now Hel has been enjoying a new lease of life thanks to "kajtki" as kites are often referred to with affection.

Poland.pl