Green Velo

Multiculturalism, emotionally moving history, but also rest and recreation – all of that in one trip. The opportunity to explore three cultures – the history and customs of Jews, Orthodox Christians and Catholics – relaxation at Białe Lake, and a visit to a place of quiet reflection that is the Museum of the Former Death Camp in Sobibór. The trip takes place among the nature of the Sobibór Landscape Park and in the Bug River Valley.

We begin the route in Włodawa beside the Church of St Louis IX. After leaving the multicultural city, you should head to Okuninka, one of the most popular recreational towns in the Lublin region. The route leads via a bike path directly to Białe Lake, where you can rest on the beach and recover your strength before continuing. The next section leads down an asphalt road to the Sobibór Landscape Park. After a short reflection, you will reach the Żółwiowe Błota Preserve.

Another section of the route leads to the vicinity of the Bug River and the town of Orchówek, through partially sandy but easy terrain, with numerous information boards and places for cyclists to rest. The end of the route is about
3.5 km of undemanding road, along the wooded shore of the Bug River, to Włodawa.

Route:

• Włodawa (0 km)
• Okuninka (6 km)
• Sobibór Stacja (17 km)
• Sobibór (26 km)
• Orchówek (34.5 km)
• Włodawa (38 km)

Route options:
A variation for families with small children, 20 km shorter. Ride the Green Velo trail from Włodawa to Okuninka, circle Białe Lake and return to Włodawa via the yellow bike trail.

Surface:

• Hardened asphalt roads and bike paths: 70%
• Well-packed sandy terrain: 30%

Marked route:

• Green Velo trail
• Red Bug River Bike Trail
• Bike trail “Along the borders”
• Yellow trail from Włodawa to Wola Uhruska

Tourist attractions on the route:

• Włodawa – the city of three cultures, in which Catholics, Orthodox Christians and Jews once lived in harmony and mutual tolerance. Three churches remain from those times: the Catholic Church of
• St Louis IX, the Orthodox Church of the Nativity of the Theotokos, and a Baroque Great Synagogue.
• Białe Lake – clean water, beaches, swimming areas and a rich recreational offer make for an excellent rest.
• Sobibór Landscape Park – the land of swamps, mires and riparian forests with a wealth of flora and fauna, including the largest population of mud turtles in the country. Near the Sobibór railway station is the former Nazi death camp – currently a museum of martyrdom.
• Żółwiowe Błota Preserve – one of the six nature preserves in the Sobibór Landscape Park. It is worth it to climb up to the observation tower with a beautiful panorama of the forest and the largest lake in the park – Wspólne Lake. The preserve contains breeding grounds of mud turtles and nurseries of many rare species of mammals and birds.
• Orchówek – a former commercial town on the Bug River commercial trail, today the southern suburb of Włodawa. On a high escarpment over the Bug River stands a Baroque Capuchin church of St John the Merciful.