National parks

Polesie National Park

Polesie National Park is the quietest corner of the Lublin region — a land of lakes, peat bogs and marshes on the Łęczna-Włodawa Plain, known as „little Polesie”. The park was established in 1990 on just under 98 km², and since 2012 it has been part of the cross-border UNESCO biosphere reserve „West Polesie”, shared with Belarus and Ukraine; it is also a Ramsar site. On the raised peat bogs grow marsh birch woods and bilberry heaths, creating a substitute of tundra — the most south-westerly in Europe.

The park's symbol is the crane, and rightly so: about 200 bird species live here, roughly 150 of them breeding. It holds the country's highest density of the bittern; the great white egret and the squacco heron nest here, as do the white-tailed eagle, the eagle owl and the aquatic warbler — Poland's third largest population. Lakes Długie, Karaśne, Łukie and Moszne and the Durne Bagno reserve dominate the landscape; nature trails such as „Spławy” and „Mietiułka” make exploring easy, while the museum and education centre in Stary Załucz and the Bog Turtle Conservation Centre in Urszulin round off the knowledge.

This is a place for those who value silence: the trails are rarely crowded, and at dusk you mostly hear frogs croaking and owls hooting. The best time to come is spring — the cranes' displaying — and September and October, when flocks of migrating cranes fill the park. In summer a mosquito repellent is a must; the paths are easy to walk but can be waterlogged after rain. Access is via Urszulin or Włodawa; allow half a day or more to explore the park at ease.