Białowieża National Park

The Białowieża National Park is one of the oldest national parks in Europe. It is also probably the most famous Polish national park in the world. The fame of the last primaeval forest in Europe may sometimes be a heavy burden, but it reaches far beyond the borders of our continent. For centuries, the Białowieża Forest, as an area of royal hunting, has been lucky to avoid axes and saws which destroyed other forests. Thanks to this, it is here where the European bison, royal game, ruling absolutely in the European forest, have survived for the longest time. The European bison is the most powerful, but not the only particularly valuable inhabitant of the Forest. The uniqueness of this invaluable area is evidenced by the fact that the natural processes, which have been only slightly disturbed by human activity, are continued there, never interrupted in the area of strict protection of BNP and remaining a phenomenon on a continental scale. Powerful trees, which are unique ecosystems, are home to many organisms unheard of in ordinary forests. Both during their life and after their death.

The symbol of the Park is the European bison – the largest terrestrial mammal in Europe. For the lowland European bison, the Białowieża Forest turned out to be its last refuge. After the end of the madness of the WW I, which also had affected the Forest and its inhabitants, it was Białowieża that has been chosen as the place where the European bison was to return to nature. It was here that the process of its restitution, i.e. restoring it to nature, has been started.

Currently, the Polish part of the Białowieża Forest is the place of living for the most numerous, free population of the European bison in the world, amounting to about 800 animals. The Protective Unit of the European Bison Breeding Centre of the Park consists of two farms – closed and open. The closed farm (reserve) consists of breeding reserves unavailable to visitors and the European Bison Show Reserve available to tourists. On the other hand, the free farm includes the European bison freely walking the forests and immediate surroundings of the Białowieża Forest. The employees of the European Bison Breeding Centre are involved in the restitution breeding of European bison living in the entire Polish part of the Białowieża Forest (about 62 thousand ha).

The name of the trail comes from the former reserve “Wolf’s Trail” currently located in the Park. The route will lead us through various forest communities, as well as will bring us closer to the history of this area.

Kosy Most (Slanting Bridge) (or rather two bridges – a road bridge and a bridge of the former narrow-gauge railway) is a place where, with a bit of luck, we can observe beavers and birds of prey flying over the Narewka valley. Right next to the trail, there is a several-hundred-metre route leading to the observation point of the European bison. It will be easiest to meet the King of the Forest there in the autumn and winter. The trail will lead to the Polana Szypulowa (Szypulowa Clearing), a kilometer away. Then, we can also see a picturesque raised bog – a peat bog being an interesting example of natural capture of open space by the forest as well as an oak with a circumference of more than five and a half meter, which has been growing here for about 350 years. A winding path will lead us to a small river called Sirota, and then a circular footbridge will lead us above the wetlands of the Forest. Here, we have to return to the Polana Szypulowa clearing and to go from there, along a forest road, straight to the south and then to the east – through almost the whole northern part of BNP. The end of the Wolf’s Trail means the exit from the Park to the Polana Masiewska (Masiewska Clearing) in the small village of Zamosze.

Tourist trails:
Waliking – 5 trails – 28.5 km
Biking – 2 trails – 15.5 km
Skiing – no downhill skiing trails; in winter, all walking trails are made available for cross-country skiing
Horseriding – 2 trails – 15.5 km – horseback entry is allowed after informing the forest inspector of the Reserve Protective Unit – only along the biking trails.

Educational paths:
3 trails – 2.4 km (for wheelchair users – 1 km).