Around Hańcza Lake

Voivodeship

Podlaskie

Kingdom

Suwałki Region and Augustów Forest

Start:

Jeleniewo: square by church or parking lot by the POD JELONKIEM Restaurant

End:

Jeleniewo

Download GPX file

A bike ride through the middle of Suwałki Landscape Park gives us an unusual opportunity to admire the excellently preserved glacial relief of this area in the form of hills of various shapes (moraines, eskers, kames) interwoven with picturesque lakes, the most important of which is Lake Hańcza – the deepest ribbon lake in Poland (108.5 m). It is a mountain lake, and its length is 4.5 km. As you will see, the Czarna Hańcza river flows into and out of the lake. The trail of the trip starts in Jeleniewo near the 19^th-century wooden church and leads through the areas of Suwałki Landscape Park among moraine hills and numerous lakes. The best-known lake is Hańcza – the deepest ribbon lake in Poland (108.5 m) with a length of 4.5 km. It is a mountain lake through which the Czarna Hańcza river flows. The first attraction on the trail is the Rutka Reserve. Its area includes a protected glacial rock deposit area (called “glacial pavement”). Past the reserve, the trail turns right towards Wodziłki – a village founded in 1788 by the Old Believers (a group of Orthodox Christians), where you will come across a wooden molenna (prayer house). In Wodziłki, you must turn left towards Błaskowizna. Near the bus stop you can see an information board concerning the Lake Hańcza Reserve. Here you can go down to the lakeside – to the point where the Czarna Hańcza river flows out of the lake. The trail runs farther along the lakeside to the edge of the village, where a small bathing beach is located. From there the Podlasie White Stork Trail leads to Łopuchowo, passing by the Głazowisko Łopuchowskie Reserve on the way. In Łopuchowo, near the shrine, you must turn left towards Dzierwany. It is the most difficult section of the trail, which leads 2 km upwards along a sandy road. In the next village on the trail – Stara Hańcza – you will come across an over 100-year-old lime tree alley, which is the only part of the former 18^th-century manor house complex that has survived till today. To the left of the alley, there is a little bridge over the Czarna Hańcza river, which flows into the lake at this point. From Stara Hańcza, the local asphalt road leads from Mierkinie to Przełomka. From there, a side path leads left to the observation tower on the Leszczynowa Mountain. Another stop is the Głazowisko Bachanowo Reserve – the largest agglomeration of boulders. Over the Czarna Hańcza riverbed, the Gaciska “hanging valley” stretches here. The trail leads farther via Malesowizna to Turtul and the seat of Suwałki Landscape Park. Next to it there are ruins of a watermill and a viewing point. From there, you can return to Jeleniewo using a local asphalt road.

Trail option (ca 40 km):

From the bathing beach in Błaskowizna, the blue hiking trail leads along Lake Hańcza to Stara Hańcza. You can use it to bypass the most difficult section of the trail.

Course of the trail:

Jeleniewo – 0 km
Rutka Reserve – 9 km
Szeszupka – 6 km
Wodziłki – 9 km
Błaskowizna-bathing beach – 3 km
Łopuchowo – 5 km
Dzierwany – 6 km
Stara Hańcza – 2 km
Leszczynowa Mountain – 8 km
Bachanowo Reserve – 3 km
Malesowizna – 2 km
Jeleniewo – 9 km

Surface and marking of the trail:

The trail is marked. Asphalt roads account for 54% of the trail, and other sections include forest, unsurfaced and sandy roads. The initial section from Jeleniewo to Szeszupka and the return way from Stara Hańcza to Jeleniewo overlap with the Green Velo trail. Marked cycling and hiking trails lead from Szeszupka to Stara Hańcza.

Attractions on the trail: