Green Velo

On a windless day, the trip makes an excellent choice for unseasoned fans of bicycle recreation. Although you will not see any monumental sites on it, the sublime flavours are worth tasting. The Siemianówka Reservoir, the Bread Museum in Suszczy Borek and Władysław Gryka, known for his baking, winner of awards for his bread and homemade lamb ham, the fields of wild garlic, Lewkowo mining site, the Orthodox church in Nareka from 1864, the well-preserved Jewish cemetery at the edge of Narewka – these are the attractions waiting for fans of two-wheeled travels.

The route of your adventure with Siemianówka and Narewka starts at the canoe stand in the town of Narewka, with a certified tourist information point and a canoe rental. From there, head north-west along the “axis of the town”, turn left with the main road after 500 metres from the start and then turn right at the school building. You can get from Narewka to Eliaszuki on the Green Velo trail (or the blue trail – the route then turns to a black bike trail). After 10 kilometres, you will reach the Siemianówka Reservoir. In Tarnopol, at kilometre 14, you will change directions and turn right, and at kilometre 15, after the black markings, turn left. In this way, you will reach kilometre 17, where after turning right, after 150 metres, you will take a left onto Road No. 687. Going straight ahead will lead you onto the blue trail to the right turn in Eliaszuki, before which you should take the path to the left and start the trip down the fragment of the red Podlasie Stork Trail – this is kilometre 23. At kilometre 26, there are two turns, first left and then right, and this way you will take you to where the route intersects the Narewka River. Following the red markings, you will reach kilometre 29 and turn left onto asphalt, which will lead, along the red Podlasie Stork Trail, to Zabłotczyzna, where at kilometre 35, you will go straight. After the entrance sign of Narewka, head for the axis of the town – at kilometre 36, turn left, and you will cross the Narewka River again, reaching the finish line.

Route:

• Narewka (0 km)
• Mikłaszewo (3.3 km)
• Leśna (5.3 km)
• Siemianówka (10.5 km)
• Tarnopol (14.2 km)
• Nowa Łuka (18.5 km)
• Michnówka (21.3 km)
• Eliaszuki (23.2 km)
• Ochrymy (29 km)
• Suszczy Borek (31.6 km)
• Zabłotczyzna (34.6 km)
• Narewka (37 km)

Route options:
In Eliaszuki, head right down the red Stork Trail and through Suszcza to Odrynki, where you will find a miraculously-formed Hermitage – Skit, which is the site of pilgrimages by people from all over the world, not only for Orthodox Christians. The Podlaski Stork Trail to Narew may give you troubles, which is why it is worth heading north from the centre of Odrynki and then take the asphalt road towards Narew (wooden church, Orthodox church). From here, take the blue trail – come back to the Podlasie Stork Trail at Eliaszuki: approx. 68 km. You can treat the route variant as a separate excursion, for example from Narew.
 

Surface:

• Asphalt of good and average quality: approx. 75%
• Well-passable gravel roads
• From Narewka to kilometre 14 of the route: asphalt
• Tarnopol after the black trail: sand
• Gravel until Road No. 687
• From kilometre 17 of the route to Eliaszuki: asphalt
• Eiaszuki – Ochrym, exit from blue trail into the red Podlasie Stork Trail: sand
• To Narewka: asphalt
   

Marked route:

• Narewka – Eliaszuki: Green Velo, orange markings
• Eliaszuki – Narewka: the Podlasie Stork Trail, red markings
• Other bike trails (in sequence, by markings): blue, black, blue, red
• Siemianówka (near the Orthodox church), Narewka (near the closed bar): maps of the area on information boards

Tourist attractions on the route:

• Narewka – a tourist and recreation centre, where six bike trails intersect. Once home to representatives of many cultures and faiths – you will find here the St Nicholas the Wonderworker Orthodox church, the Catholic St John the Baptist church, an evangelical cemetery, and a kirkut (Jewish cemetery).
• Siemianówka Lake – a silent refuge and paradise for bird watchers, anglers and kite-surfers. A scene from The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was filmed on the lake, in which the children flee from the White Witch over the frozen surface of the lake.