Field guide · volume 1
Podlasie. Where the forest remembers kings
Four regions around the Białowieża Forest, twelve routes and a map that fits in your pocket. Written by people who live here.
At dawn the mist lies so thick in the Narew valley that the towers of the Orthodox churches rise out of it like masts. At the edge of the Forest a European bison crosses the road without hurry, and the drivers wait. In Trześcianka someone is painting the shutters blue again, because that is how it has always been. Podlasie is in no rush to be liked. You have to come for longer, lose your signal and let the landscape tell its own story: of tsarist hunts, of villages where people prayed in Church Slavonic, of rivers that for centuries were the roads.
This guide begins where we live: in Klejniki, a village in the Czyże municipality, between Hajnówka and Bielsk Podlaski. By car it takes about 20 minutes to reach Hajnówka, the gateway to the Białowieża Forest, and a quarter of an hour to Narew, where the Land of Open Shutters begins. By bike, the red trail in Czyże is 7 km away, and it takes you on to Green Velo in Hajnówka or Dubicze Cerkiewne.
We have divided the area into four regions and twelve routes. These are the places we recommend to our guests most often. Next to each place you will find stars: one means “worth a look”, two “worth a detour”, three “worth a special trip”. Each route lists its length, surface and a GPX file for navigation on your phone.
How to use it
1. Choose your way
Bike, feet, car, kayak or winter. The filters above the map show only what you are looking for.
2. Download the route
Every route has a GPX file for Komoot, Mapy.com or your watch, and a button to navigate in Google Maps.
3. Save it offline
In the Forest the signal can be moody. Install the guide and save it before you leave the house.
Klejniki
Klejniki at the heart of Podlasie
From our house everything is close: Hajnówka and Bielsk Podlaski in a quarter of an hour, Białowieża and Białystok in forty-five minutes, and the Biebrza marshes, Augustów and Lake Wigry within a day trip. The map shows road distances and driving times.
Check available datesMap
Map: © OpenStreetMap contributors. Route lines are based on OSM data; on the ground, follow the trail markings.
Regions
From the thickets of the primeval forest to the chalk hills above the Bug. Each region is at least one full day.
1Białowieża Forest
The last forest of its kind on the European lowlands: European bison, royal oaks, tsarist Białowieża and the forest railway from Hajnówka.
2Land of Open Shutters and the Narew Valley
Three villages where shutters are still painted as they were a hundred years ago, Orthodox churches in the meadows and a vast reservoir full of birds.
3Bielsk Podlaski, Grabarka and the Bug Valley
The Holy Mountain of a thousand crosses, the chalk slopes of Mielnik, Drohiczyn on its escarpment and two days of kayaking on the Bug.
4Around Klejniki
Our municipality and the nearest surroundings: the red cycle trail through Czyże, wooden villages, Bachmaty Reservoir on Green Velo and the old small town of Kleszczele.
Routes
Twelve tried-and-tested routes: from a short stroll among royal oaks to a two-day paddle down the Bug.
To Green Velo and Bachmaty Reservoir
From the doorstep to the nearest water. Flat roads, Orthodox churches along the way and a swim at the finish.
30 km2–2.5 hrs one wayeasyBy bike from Hajnówka to the European bison
A Forest classic: 20 km along a forest trail from the station in Hajnówka to the European Bison Show Reserve.
20 km1.5–2 hrs one wayeasyThe Land of Open Shutters loop
From Klejniki through Narew, Trześcianka, Soce and Puchły and back. The prettiest villages of Podlasie in one day.
56 km4–5 hrs with stopsmoderateAround Narewka: Siemianówka and Masiewo
A loop from Narewka to Siemianówka Reservoir and back along the edge of the Forest via Masiewo. Birds, water and woods.
37 km3–3.5 hrsmoderateRoyal Oaks Trail
A short wooden boardwalk, under a kilometre, among oaks that remember the Jagiellons.
0.6 km30–45 mineasyŻebra Żubra
A boardwalk through a swamp forest from Białowieża towards the bison reserve. Wet, green and very wild.
2.7 km1–1.5 hrs one wayeasyThe Tsar’s Path to lunch
A walk from the Palace Park to the former tsarist station, where a restaurant now stands.
3.1 km45–60 min one wayeasyThe Forest in one day: by car from Klejniki
Hajnówka, the European bison, Białowieża and Narewka in one loop. The best route if you have only one day for the Forest.
96 kmfull day, approx. 2 hrs of drivingeasyA day on the Bug: Bielsk, Grabarka, Mielnik, Drohiczyn
A driving route south: a royal town, the Holy Mountain and the two loveliest views of the Bug.
196 kmfull day, approx. 3.5 hrs of drivingeasyBy kayak down the Narewka to the Narew
A calm river from the Forest through meadows to the small town of Narew. Birds, reeds and no hurry at all.
35 kma full day (approx. 35 km) or two shorter sectionsmoderateThe Bug: from Niemirów to Drohiczyn
Two days on one of the last wild rivers of Europe. Sandy beaches, escarpments and a night near Mielnik.
39 km2 days (approx. 39 km)moderateWhite Białowieża: a winter walk to the European bison
From the Palace Park via Żebra Żubra to the reserve. Snow, silence and steaming bison.
5.8 km2–2.5 hrs one wayeasyThemes
Podlasie can be read like a book with several plots at once. Pick one and follow it.
Orthodox churches and sacred sites
Golden domes, wooden Orthodox churches in the meadows and a hill of a thousand crosses.
❦Wild nature
European bison, royal oaks, bogs and birds over the reservoir.
❂Flavours of Podlasie
Potato babka, zaguby, kartacze, blini, sękacz and lunch at a tsarist railway station.
◎Green Velo and cycle trails
Poland’s longest cycle trail, the red trail through Czyże and loops through the Forest.
❖PTTK hiking trails
Coloured stripes on the trees: from Hajnówka to Białowieża, Narewka and Topiło.
The guide on your phone
Add the guide to your home screen. It works like an app: maps, routes and descriptions even without signal.
On iPhone: in Safari tap “Share” and choose “Add to Home Screen”.
Your base: Klejniki
Every route in this guide starts within an hour of our house. After a day out, a tiled stove, a kitchen with a wood-fired range and silence are waiting for you.