Knyszyn Forest

A dozen or so kilometres north of Białystok begins a forest that naturalists compare to the taiga. Knyszyn Forest covers about 1,050 km² of spruce and pine woods, springs and river valleys, making it the second-largest forest complex of the Podlasie Lowland after Białowieża Forest. People come here for silence, cycling tracks, paddling the Supraśl River and traces of people who mined flint long before anyone had heard of Poland.

A forest like the taiga

In Władysław Szafer's geobotanical classification, the forest belongs to the Białowieża-Knyszyn region and is the only area in Central Europe so close to the south-western taiga — in forest structure, vegetation and fauna. Pine and spruce dominate, with birch, alder and oak alongside. Moraine hills, boggy hollows and stream valleys create a mosaic of microclimates in which boreal species thrive. The forest is still growing, as former fields are being planted with trees, especially in the east.

Monumental trees and wildlife

Some 290 trees here are protected as natural monuments. The oldest is a pedunculate oak near Dworzysko, estimated at around 500 years, while the record-holding lime tree has a girth of more than 6.5 m. The area's symbol is the tall pines known as "holy pines" — for generations locals have fixed crosses and small shrines to them. European bison have had a refuge here since 1974, and the woods are also home to wolves, lynx, white-tailed eagles and black storks. Entomologists have counted about 2,000 beetle species, including rare ones that depend on dead wood.

History written in the ground

The oldest traces of people are around 10,000 years old — the first hunters came here following herds of reindeer. Just before the Second World War, a Mesolithic hunter's grave was found in Konne: the dead man had been placed in a sitting position, bound, and covered with red ochre, which is rare in Poland. In the Bronze Age flint was mined near the village of Rybniki, and the hollows of filled-in shafts and spoil heaps can still be seen today. The easiest place to see them is the Krzemianka nature reserve, where a wooden boardwalk leads over bubbling springs and through wet woodland.

Rivers for paddlers

Nearly 95% of the landscape park protecting the heart of the forest lies in the basin of a single river — the Supraśl. Its tributaries include the Sokołda and the Czarna, and some streams have gradients of over 3 per mille, more typical of foothill rivers. The Supraśl, Sokołda, Słoja and Płoska are all navigable, so you can explore the forest by kayak even without much experience. East of the forest the rivers already drain into the Neman basin, a reminder that this is genuine borderland.

Did you know?

The forest also has a less official tradition: since the days of Russian rule, villagers here distilled their own moonshine. Ethnographers even distinguish several "schools" — forest, field, suburban and marsh — and a local speciality is bukwicówka, a vodka flavoured with betony. Today it is folklore rather than a tourist attraction, but it says a lot about the character of the old forest villages.

Tripto tips

The most convenient base is Supraśl — a spa town with an Orthodox monastery, the Icon Museum and the park's information point at ul. Chodakowskiego 6. Plan one full day for a first visit: the Krzemianka boardwalk in the morning, then a bike ride or a kayak trip on the Supraśl in the afternoon. Spring brings flowering peat bogs, autumn mushrooms and colour. Bring tick and mosquito repellent, and stay on marked paths in the reserves.