Landscape parks

Suwałki Landscape Park

The oldest landscape park in Poland — established on 12 January 1976, covering 6,337 ha of Suwałki moraine hills, 24 lakes and boulder fields. This is post-glacial relief in its purest form: moraines, kames and tunnel valleys laid on a Precambrian anorthosite massif, one of the oldest fragments of the Earth's crust in Poland.

Hańcza and the stone fields

Lake Hańcza plunges to 108.5 m — the deepest lake in Poland and in the entire Central European Lowland. On the surface it is a 4.5-km ribbon lake, but beneath the water line it hides vertical walls. Just as characteristic are the boulder fields: the Bachanowo reserve holds several thousand Scandinavian erratics with circumferences of up to 3 m, and the largest reach 8 m. The park's viewpoint hill is Cisowa (256 m above sea level).

Wild animals and people on the edge

The park protects wolves, beavers and stoats, and along the waters — kingfishers and marsh harriers. Vendace, pelagic whitefish and bullhead swim in the lakes, drawing anglers. Suwalszczyzna is called Poland's cold pole, and record frosts are part of local identity. A separate chapter is the history of the Old Believers, who settled these villages from the 18th century and left their mark on local architecture and culture.

Practical tips

The park headquarters is in Turtul (Malesowizna) — start there for an exhibition and trail information. The best walks are the "U źródeł Szeszupy" path, the area around Bachanowo and the view from Cisowa; for a relaxed day in the field plan one or two reserves, not everything at once. May to September offers the most reliable weather, but winter mists over Hańcza have their admirers — just reckon with short days and snow on forest roads.