Green Velo

It is a very scenic route combining a wealth of fauna and flora as well as the monuments of history. An example is Uroczysko Powstańce, with a monument in honour of the January Insurgents and a 1863 smithy used by the insurgents. Be sure to have your camera at the ready, because you can often meet representatives of the local fauna on the road. Also worth visiting is the sanctuary in Studzieniczna, nicely merging with the landscape. In June 1999 it was visited by Pope John Paul II.

The route starts in the centre of Augustów, under the column of Sigismund Augustus - the founder of the city. Going down ul. Mostowa to the boulevard, on the left there is a monument of the Accursed Soldiers. After a few minutes, you pass, subsequently, the city beach, the amphitheatre, the electric water ski lift and the former hotel on Biała Góra. Finally, you arrive at the Klonownica - the shortest navigable river in Poland. Nearby, turn right in the direction of Strękowizna, then there is Uroczysko Powstańce and River Blizna. Its trail leads to Studzieniczna, passing the water lock Przewięź on the way. A longer stop is recommended in Studzieniczna. From Studzieniczna to Sajenka you take the White Eagle Trail, passing the cemetery in Augustów Primeval Forest. It is worth stopping here for a while. Behind the village Sajenki starts the Green Velo Trail. After a few kilometres the route leads through the boulevards along Canal Bystry. You reach the Augustów Canal Museum. 200 metres further you pass the Augustów lock on the right, the Old Post Office designed by Henryk Marconi on the left, from where you reach the Zygmunt August Market Square via the Netta boulevards and ul. Mostowa.

Route:

• Augustów (Market Square, column of Sigismund Augustus, 0 km)
• Augustów (water ski lift, 2.5 km)
• Augustów (former hotel in Biała Góra, 3.5 km)
• Augustów (River Klonownica, 4.5 km)
• Strękowizna (9.5 km)
• Uroczysko Powstańce (13 km)
• Przewięź (21 km)
• Studzieniczna (22 km)
• Augustów (ul. Obrońców Westerplatte, 26 km)
• Augustów (Market Square, column of Sigismund Augustus, 34.9 km)

Route options:
Nature lovers will not be disappointed if they extend their excursion by approx. 12 kilometres and circle the Lake Kalejty preserve, at the point where the black trail starts. The sign boards on the trail provide information about it. In the Sajenek village, the route can also be combined with the so-called small loop at White Eagle Route (approx. 12 km).

Surface:

• Asphalt roads and bike paths: 40%
• Dirt roads: 60%

The route is partly marked:

• Partly marked according to the PTTK standard, mostly black trail
• Przewięź - Sajenek: yellow trail, partly the White Eagle Trail: white-red
• Sajenek - Bystry Channel: Green Velo Trail

Tourist attractions on the route:

• Augustów – an electric water ski lift runs by the lake.
• Biała Góra – the former hotel designed by Maciej Nowicki, now the Hetman inn.
• Strękowizna – in the village there are several old wooden houses.
• Uroczysko Powstańce – just in front of the river there are a few insurgent graves, and behind it there is a monument. It is easy to meet the representatives of fauna in the forest. You can often see squirrels or woodpeckers, meet eye to eye with a roe or deer, especially in the mornings and afternoons.
• Water Lock Przewięź – one of the most busy locks on the Augustów Canal.
• Studzieniczna – Sanctuary of Our Lady, which dates back to the eighteenth century, and the Forest Education Centre with a nature trail leading to the Forester Monument. Nearby there is a marked trail Sculpture in the Forest.
• Cemetery in Augustów Primeval Forest – worth stopping here for a while reading the signboards.
• Augustów Canal Museum – worth a visit to learn about the history of this unique monument.