Green Velo

The oldest national park in Poland, located near the Belarusian border, was established in order to protect the last area of primeval broadleaved lowland forests in Europe. The park is the only natural object in Poland listed as a UNESCO Heritage Site. The old and multispecies forest ensures a unique richness of fungi, plant and animal species, a big part of which is made up of primeval species, which are extinct or endangered in other places. Monumental trees can be seen on the hiking trail “To the Jagiełło Oak”, part of which runs through the Strict Reserve.

The forest is also a habitat for a multitude of animals; over 12 000 species have been found so far, with birds being the most numerous (250 species), and mammals, including bison, which is the symbol of the National Park, are the best known. The European bison may sometimes be seen during hiking; however, if visitors are not that lucky, they may go to the Bison Display Preserve. The small zoo, located near the road connecting Hajnówka and Białowieża (about 3 kilometres from Białowieża) houses all the ungulates living in the Park, providing them with an environment similar to nature. It is a great place to see the European bison, deer, tarpans - Eurasian wild horses, does and wild boars, as well as big predators: wolves and bobcats. It is also a great place to learn about the natural environment, just as with the Nature and Forest Museum, which presents both the environment and the history of the Białowieża Forest. It is surrounded by the Palace Park, created near the turn of the 20th century around the hunting residence of the Russian tsars; the main part of which was a palace, but after the fire of 1944, only the adjacent buildings survived: the houses of the Management, the Marshal, the Soldiers, the Chauffeurs and the Baths. The palace was replaced with a new building, which currently houses the management of the park, the Nature and Forest Museum and the National Park’s guest rooms. The park also contains the oldest building in Białowieża - a wooden manor, built in 1845 for the governor of Grodno, which is currently occupied by the Centre for Nature Education at the Białowieża National Park.

The most precious part of the Park is the Rezerwat Protective District, which is further divided into the south-eastern part (the oldest part of the Park, formerly known as the Strict Preserve) and the north-western part (formerly known as the Hwoźna Protective District). Tours in the former are permitted only while accompanied by a guide licensed by the Park’s management. The youngest part of the district is open to pedestrian, bike and ski traffic; it contains 25 kilometres of hiking trails, 14 kilometres of biking trails and a number of man-made objects: wooden bridges, viewpoints and information boards that make excursions through the Park easier and more educational.