Green Velo

The untrampled Podlasie Nadbużańskie with Siemiatycze and Mielnik, as well as the most important Orthodox sanctuary in Poland – the Holy Mount of Grabarka. Apart from the above, the trip offers a unique opportunity to commune with unspoiled nature – the breathtaking scenery of the Bug River, the Uszeście nature preserve and the nature and landscape complex of Głogi. All this can be seen in one cycling tour.

The cycling meeting with the attractions of Bug Valley starts in the district city of Siemiatycze. From the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin, follow the river and Kościuszki Street southward for four kilometres. Then, turn left on Road No. 640 leading along the green bike trail and the Eastern Front Trail of World War I. Then, ride for 5.3 kilometres and on the kilometre 9, take the road to Makowicze. From there, the very good quality asphalt road leads along the river bank through Osłowo to Mielnik. It is yet another stop that deserves a longer rest. Further on, the road leads in the direction of Grabarka. On the 19th kilometre it turns left in the centre of Melnik to Radziwiłłówka. There it again turns left and follows Road No. 640 to the forefield of Moszczona Królewska, where it turns to the right, entering Green Velo again in the direction of Grabarka. The road leads straight to the village Grabarka through the village Końskie Góry, where it turns left. From the Holy Mount (Świeta Góra), exit the alley by the blue chapel of the miraculous water and take the asphalt road leading to the left. At the next intersection, turn right on Road No. 658 and after 30 metres turn left in the direction of Bogatyniec Lacki. From here, the route leads straight to the intersection with a roundabout in Siemiatycze, which is visible in the evenings even from Bogatyniec.

Route:

• Siemiatycze (0 km)
• Anusin (6.3 km)
• Maćkowicze (10.3 km)
• Osłowo (14.8 km)
• Mielnik (18.8 km)
• Radziwiłłówka (23.8 km)
• Moszczona Królewska (26.1 km)
• Końskie Góry (29.2 km)
• Holy Mount of Grabarka (31.5 km)
• Boratyniec Lacki (35.7 km)
• Siemiatycze (42 km)

Route options:

A variant of the tour is the passage from Radziwiłłówka, through Końskie Góry, to Grabarka and stopping by a viewing point, which is a part of the nature-landscape complex of Głogi. It is also worthwhile to extend the route slightly in Mielnik. Go straight ahead past the turn to Radziwiłłówka and visit an active open-cast chalk mine in Mielnik.

Surface:

• Good quality asphalt: 85%
• Roads with little car traffic
• Moszczona Królewska – Grabarka: route with larger rolling resistance than asphalt

The route is partly marked:

• Siemiatycze – Melnik: trail Czeremcha – Siemiatycze marked in green, according to PTTK tourist cycling trails standards
• Additionally Osłowo – Mielnik: Green Velo marked in orange
• Moszczona Królewska – Grabarka: Green Velo
• The remaining part: outside of the marked bicycle paths

Tourist attractions on the route:

• Siemiatycze – the heyday of the city fell in the second half of the 18th century, when it was owned by the Duchess Anna Paulina Jabłonowska née Sapieha – a reformer of the time in the areas of crop fields, forestry, beekeeping and bookkeeping. It was also she who modernized the manor. In the city, you should visit the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the monastery of the Oblates, the synagogue, the Talmudic school, the Orthodox church, as well as see the statues of sphinxes at the historic gate to the palace of the Duchess.
• Mielnik – a city with a rich historic past. It is here that in 1501 the documents were signed expressing readiness to more closely connect the Polish Crown and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Its greatest landmark is Castle Hill with an 11th–12th century stronghold with the remains of the later castle and a clearly visible moat. It is a perfect vantage point from which a beautiful panorama of the Bug spreads. Noteworthy is the open-cast chalk mine.
• Grabarka – called the Orthodox Jasna Góra shrine, a pilgrimage destination.