Białowieża National Park

obszar ochrony częściowej - area under active protection
obszar ochrony ścisłej - area under strict protection
lasy - forest, rzeki -  rivers, drogi leśne - forest roads
dukty leśne - hiking trails, granica państwa -  state border

Białoruś - Belarus

The Białowieża Primeval forest is the last patch of natural lowland forest – a jewel among the primeval forests of Europe. 

The forests here have retained their natural character and quite complex structure. The most valuable part of the Polish portion is the area of the Białowieża National Park (Białowieski Park Narodowy) – the oldest national park in Poland (first established in 1921).

 More than 50 various plant communities are found there, with the most characteristic being a multi-species oak--hornbeam-lime wood with maple, spruce, ash and elm admixtures. The number of plant species occurring in the Park is amazing: e.g. 1 000 vascular species and 250 species of mosses. Among the former there are 26 tree species and shrub species. Most of these are native species, often rare, being the relicts of primary forests. Fungi are represented by 3 000 species including 450 mushrooms.

Animal wildlife is represented by more than 15 000 species (most of them insect species). Among the mammalian species, the best known is the European bison (wisent) – an emblem and pride of the Park.

The jewel of the Park is the strictly protected area in the fork of the Hwoźna and Narewka rivers, where nature is protected in all its elements. The area shares a border in the north and to the west, with the ”Hwoźna Protected Area”, and is safeguarded under active protection measures, as it was incorporated into the BNP in 1996. 

The area has a well-developed infrastructure: places to rest, an open-air museum of a forest narrow-gauge railway, observation terrace, observation tower, footbridges and posters with educational materials. The Park also includes the Palace Park in Białowieża, surrounding a site reminding us of the time when the Tsars ruled. Now it houses the Park’s headquarters and the Education and Museum Centre. The Park administers also a Demonstration Reserve of European bisons, where the major animal species inhabiting the Forest can be viewed from a closer distance.

The attractions of the Białowieża National park are best visited on foot or on bike. More remote places can be reached by car, and the access roads end with parking lots. The portion of the park under active protection has three marked hiking paths and one biking route plus several educational trails. While planning your trips you might consider also the nearby State Forest Administration Complex called ”Białowieża Promotion Forest”.

 

The European Bison – the King of Forest. Photo by Z. Krasiński

 

A group of shelters and a bonfire site
near the Zamosze forester’s lodge.