Białowieża’s Bisons & the Moose of Kampinos
The Białowieża National Park, located in Poland’s northeast on the border with Belarus, stands out among Poland’s twenty-three national parks for two reasons. First, it houses one of Europe’s last and largest remaining old-growth forest, meaning that visitors can see a landscape that once covered the European plains, mighty trees that have been growing undisturbed in this wilderness for centuries (though the most ecologically precious sites are accessible only with a guide). For those more interested in fauna, the park is also home to the largest free-roaming herd of European bison, known in Polish as żubry. These mighty creatures were almost completely wiped-out during WWI, but as of 2024, their population in the park has passed 800 heads thanks to ongoing conservation efforts, including international exchanges of animals for breeding purposes.
A male bison in the Białowieża National Park. Photograph by prochym (Adobe Stock file #387850423).
These unique characteristics, as well as the Białowieża Forest’s stunning biodiversity, have garnered it the status of a UNESCO World Heritage Site, an honor shared between Poland and its eastern neighbor Belarus. On the Belarussian side, the forest is known as the “Belovezhskaya Puschcha.” In Polish too, this wild forest is known as “Białowiejska puszcza,” a term that once denoted thick and wild woods, and that the Polish forestry service explains now refers to large areas of natural forest with a primeval character. A puszcza is something a bit more wonderous and mystical than the typical las, or forest. Despite its primeval wilderness, however, the Białowieża National Park also includes a very planned English style garden known as the Palace Park. The eponymous palace was a lavish hunting complex built by Russian czars in the late 19th century, but it was burnt to the ground in 1944.
The grand hunting palace built in the late 19th century by on the orders of Czar Alexander III. Photo sourced from the Polish National Digital Archive (3/1/0/9/108).
Visitors to this eastern region of Poland can also enjoy a unique mix of cuisines, architectural traditions, and cultures. Among the non-natural attractions, the local dessert of babka ziemniaczana, or potato babka, is the most intriguing! One more culinary remark—Poland’s most famous spirit, Żubrówka, is flavored with a sprig of lemony bison grass from the Bialowieża National Forest.
Three curious moose in the Kampinos National Park. Photo by Szymon Bartosz (Adobe Stock #698429201).
While the bison is the main attraction of Białowieża, Poland has at least one more national park that is well known for large game. The Kampinos National Park is home to over 400 moose (łoś). As in the case of the bison, the moose populations in this region had been completely destroyed, but were carefully reintroduced in the 1950s, part of larger rewilding efforts aimed at preserving and restoring the primeval character of the forest. It seems these efforts were successful, and now . Per the park’s website: “The unusual mosaic of landscapes – inland dunes, swamps, forests, meadows and rushes with an enormous wealth of plant cover and thousands of animal species – makes it one of the most valuable natural areas in Europe” (Kampinos National Park).
Today, Kampinos is a popular destination for Varsovians since it’s located in central Poland mere miles from the capital. It’s very common, for example, for weekend trains heading out from Warsaw to be full of bicyclists heading out to the 360 km (~223 mi) of bike trails currently available to visitors of the Kampinos National Park. For those hungry after a long day of riding, the park also offers designated grilling areas where visitors might warm up a tasty kiełbasa over a campfire. For those visitors looking for a more highbrow excursion, a day trip to Kampinos can also include a visit to the neighboring Żelazowa Wola, a charming residence that is the birthplace and childhood home of Fryderyk Chopin (1810 – 1849).
Southern Wilds
The south of Poland is also rich in spectacular natural landscapes. Unlike the flat central plains, Poland’s southern regions are mountainous, home to three ranges: the Sudety, Tatry, and Świętokrzyskie Mountains.
The Sudety mountains are located in the southwest, spanning both Poland and the neighboring Czechia. The two countries even share the range’s highest peak, the 1,602-meter summit of Mt. Śnieżka. This mountain is very whimsically named “Mt. Snowball” on account of its arctic-like ambiance. It is also home to two architectural treasures: the Baroque Kaplica Św. Wawrzyńca (Chapel of St. Lawerence; 1681) and the socialist modernist, flying saucer-like High-Mountain Meteorological Observatory (1974). A naturalist inclined to learn a bit about architecture might make a visit to these two very different celestial structures. While the winds on the path to the summit are chilly, the hike should be manageable for most hikers, though you should keep in mind, Śnieżka is Poland’s highest relative mountain, from foothills to the peak (Rysy, see below, is the highest peak). Those wary of high altitudes can explore the foothills and marvel at the Karkonosze National Park which surrounds the mountain. The area boasts lovely waterfalls and ponds as well as stunning rock formations.
The meteorological observatory and St. Lawrence’s chapel on the peak of Śnieżka. Photo by Patryk Michalski (Adobe Stock #737898397).
The Tatry Mountains are likely Poland’s most famous range, and home to the picaresque village of Zakopane, Mt. Giewont, and the Morskie Oko (Eye of the) Sea high altitude lake. Part of the Carpathian range, the Tatry mountains trace Poland’s southern border with Slovakia. They are home to the country’s highest peak, Mt. Rysy (2,500 m), and the stunning lakes that lie at its base, Morskie Oko and Czarny Staw pod Rysami (the Black Pond under Rysy). The more mythical Tatry mountain however, is surely Giewont, whose 1,894 m summit is said to resemble the profile of a sleeping knight who will awaken to defend Poland should the nation be in peril. The sleeping giant lies above Zakopane, which is Poland’s most famous alpine resort and a center of Polish highlander folk culture (highlanders are known in Polish as górale). In the winter, the ski resorts bustle with tourists, while in summer, the nearby mountains provide ample opportunity for hiking. Make sure to stop by a local restaurant after snowy and summery adventures alike for a taste of the local soup, kwaśnica (we might translate this as sour-puss) and a nibble of oscypek, a delicious, often salty smoked sheep’s milk cheese.
Southern view onto the two lakes below Rysy from the mountain’s peak. Photo by TTstudio (Adobe Stock #114497877).
Enthusiastic hikers in search of solitude might head out to the more remote Bieszczady, also part of the Carpathian range, which run along the Slovakian and Ukrainian borders. These peaks, known for their unique połoniny (montane meadows), are among the more remote regions of Poland. Deportations by Soviet and German authorities during WWII (with further forced migration after the war) cleared out many villages in the area and led to the devastation of cultural sites. Luckily, travelers in this region might still stumble across several of the old Orthodox chapels that escaped destruction. Visitors curious about local fauna should note that the Bieszczady National Park is home to Poland’s largest population of ryś (lynx), as well as another herd of bison, many wolves, and the brown bear. This playground of alpha predators is also the setting of Poland’s first television series to air in the UK, the crime thriller Wataha (2014 – 2019, season 1 currently available to stream in the US on Roku). The show offers a dramatic look at the life of Poland’s border patrol, and in so doing, also provides an atmospheric introduction to the Bieszczady region.
A panorama of the Bieszczady Mts. from the Wetlińska meadow. Photo by Wojciech Zieliński (Adobe Stock #267113078).
The Świętokrzyskie (Holy Cross) Mountains located in Poland’s south-central uplands, are the country’s oldest mountain range. These relatively low mountains are named after relics of the holy cross held at the Benedictine monastery on Łysa Góra (Bald Mountain ). Now site of Christian pilgrimage, the rocky Łysa Góra (595 m) was once a place of pagan ritual, and to this day, witches and demons are rumored to party on the mountain during the full moon. While hikers might be hard pressed to find this bacchanalia, the region boasts another haunting attraction: the ruins of Krzyżtopór Castle, a once majestic structure that suffered plunder and arson during the Swedish Deluge of the mid-seventeenth century. Hikers less interested in communing with spirits might visit the Świętokrzyski National Park, known for its gołoborze (boulders fields), and the fir forests that surround them.
Sands and Waters
Between the northern Baltic coast and the northeastern Mazury region (Masuria), Poland abounds in beautiful aquatic ecosystems. Pojezierze Mazurskie (The Masurian Lake Region), is a land of over 2,000 picturesque lakes, and also home to Poland’s largest lake, Śniardwy. The Mazury area, unsurprisingly, is a very popular tourist destination. Boating, fishing, and water sports are common diversions in the warmer months, though the region’s many waterfowl might resent tourists who opt to visit the lakes on speedboats rather than kayaks or sailboats.
One of the many Mazury lakes.
If you are eager for bigger waters, the Baltic coast is only a bit further north, stretching along Poland’s northern border in Pomorze (the Pomerania region). The sea is famous for its broad, sandy beaches, flowing dunes bordered by pine forests, and of course, for its amber. Patient strolls along the surf still can still yield lumps of the golden resin (less lucky tourists can stock up on amber wares in the region’s many jewelry and tourist shops). While almost any spot on the coast is a great spot to indulge in coastal landscapes, the Słowiński National Park is a must-visit location for Baltic tourists. The park website touts it as the land of “water, sands, and wind.” Located near the center of Poland’s coastline, the park is famous for its ruchome wydmy (moving dunes) which change shape with the shifting directions of the coastal winds. The zatopiony las (sunken forest) near Czołpino is another mysterious Słowiński landscape. Baltic waves periodically uncover tree stumps hidden underneath its sandy beaches, offering glimpses of the trees that grew in this region thousands of years ago. Those inclined to see the ancient stumps can head to the Czołpino lighthouse (built in 1875) and explore the beaches in its environs.
The dunes of the Słowiński National Park; the Baltic Sea is in the background. Photo by Janusz Lipiński (Adobe Stock #202367838).
The sandy landscapes of the Polish dunes strike many visitors as desert-like, but these are mere desert impostors compared to Poland’s largest desert. Known as the “Polish Sahara,” Pustynia błędowska (the Błędów Desert) is a sandy and rocky area in southern Poland whose 33 sq. km (12 mi) pale in comparison to the size of its namesake, but which nevertheless offers stunning views of barren desert landscape… surrounded by verdant forests. This unique landscape has been a useful military practice ground for the various powers that ruled Poland in the last century. Today, in addition to carrying out practice drills, Polish armed forces also help prevent the reforestation of this little patch of arid land.