Knyszyn Forest Landscape Park

When Knyszyn Forest Landscape Park was established in 1988, it was the largest landscape park in Poland. Today it covers 72,860 ha in twelve municipalities north and east of Białystok, and forests make up 78% of its area. It is a good choice for anyone who wants to see Podlasie's wild nature with some infrastructure: an arboretum, nature trails, boardwalks and cycling routes.

History: a forest in Białowieża's shadow

For decades naturalists focused mainly on neighbouring Białowieża Forest, while Knyszyn Forest was overlooked. The first nature reserve, Budzisk, was created only in 1970 and covered just a dozen or so hectares; Karczmisko followed two years later, and four more in 1987. The park was established by a resolution of the Białystok Provincial National Council on 24 May 1988. It is named after the botanist Professor Witold Sławiński, and its headquarters is in Supraśl. Today there are 19 nature reserves within the park, with two more in its buffer zone of over 53,000 ha.

A landscape shaped by ice

The terrain was formed during the Middle Polish glaciation: chains of terminal moraines, kames, eskers, kettle holes and outwash plains. In places the hills rise above 200 m above sea level, which is impressive for Podlasie. The Supraśl flows through the middle of the park in a broad valley, and peat bogs and hundreds of forest springs have developed in closed hollows and along streams. Pine and pine-spruce forests dominate, with ash-alder riparian woods and alder carrs in the valleys and oak-hornbeam forests in the north and south.

Protected nature

Botanists have recorded 843 species of vascular plants here. They include relics of colder eras such as leatherleaf, downy willow and dwarf birch, as well as round-leaved sundew and wild garlic. The park is home to 153 bird species, including black stork, short-toed snake eagle, booted eagle, black grouse, eagle owl, pygmy owl and three-toed woodpecker. Five reptile species live here too, from the viviparous lizard to the adder. The park is a Natura 2000 Special Protection Area for birds.

What to see

• Kopna Góra Arboretum — less than 30 km from central Białystok, open from April to the end of September; hundreds of plant species, a playground and a wooden "Baba Yaga's hut". The museum here tells of the Battle of Sokołda in 1831 and the January Uprising camp at Budzisk.
• Krzemianka Reserve — a winding wooden boardwalk over springs and traces of flint mines more than 3,000 years old.
• Wyżary reservoir and the Sianożątka wetland — a boardwalk leading to a platform in the middle of the flooded meadow.
• Park headquarters in Supraśl at ul. Chodakowskiego 6 — exhibitions on the forest's history and nature and an information point.

Did you know?

The park lies where cultures meet. In the municipalities of Krynki and Sokółka, on the edge of the forest, are the Tatar villages of Kruszyniany and Bohoniki with their wooden mosques, while Supraśl itself has an Orthodox monastery with the Icon Museum. The Brzozówka River also rises in the park and flows towards the Biebrza rather than the Supraśl.

Tripto tips

Start at the park headquarters in Supraśl, where you can pick up maps and current trail information. For cycling, the Green Velo route from Białystok to Supraśl and the forest roads around it work best, while the demanding "Mountains in Knyszyn Forest" trail calls for a helmet and good fitness. For kayaking, choose the Supraśl, Sokołda, Słoja or Płoska. Families with children are best served at Kopna Góra — check in advance whether the arboretum is already open for the season.