    
The Land of a Thousand Lakes and the Polish Amazonia
 Masuria
South of the coastal zone there's a vast stretch of lake districts -
a paradise for boaters, canoeists, anglers, and mushroom-pickers; not
to mention enthusiasts of bathing, walks in the forest, and tranquillity.
Masuria, Land of the Lakes, is renowned for its natural beauty. A quarter
of Poland's lake water is here - of thousands of lakes; among them the
largest in Poland, Lake Sniardwy (113 sq. km), which looks like a small
sea. Connected by a network of rivers and canals, they make up the most
popular boat-course in Poland, the Great Masurian Lake Trail.
To many Poles "Masuria" is a magic word associated with summer,
broad blue expanses of waters dotted with white sails, and the dense green
Pisz Forest (Puszcza Piska). With foresters' cottages hidden in the woods
and isolated farms by the lakesides, hillocks coloured yellow by rapeseed,
and storks' nests on the rooftops. Masuria is also the summer bustle of
anchorages in Mikolajki, Gizycko and Wegorzewo, and jolly taverns with
their own atmosphere created by the great summer shindigs of the "sailors'
brotherhood", sporting events, and shanty festivals.
Kayaking down the Krutynia River
Photo: R. M. Kosinscy, www.poland.gov.pl
Overland by boat
One of the great attractions of a stay in Masuria is a trip along the
Elblag Canal. The Canal, one of Poland's most prized feats of engineering,
was built in1848-1876 and is the only watercourse of its kind in Europe.
It provides for overland journeys by boat! The difference in water level
between the endpoints equals 100 m, and a unique series of slipways was
built to negotiate the drop. Boats are hauled overland by rail-bound platforms.
The slipways, which take 15-20 minutes to traverse, are 350-550m long
and look like gigantic rafts. The route passes forests and lakes, and
a one-way journey takes about eight hours. The Canal joins two medium-sized
towns, Ostróda and Elblag.
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The Suwalki Region is remarkable for the beauty of its post-glacial
landscape. Mother Nature has generously endowed the Suwalki Region
with undulating moors, forested hills, scores of lakes with pretty
shorelines, numerous rivers and streams, deep gorges and thousands
of huge boulders. This is where you'll find the deepest lake in
Poland, Lake Hancza (108.5m), with its exceptionally clear water,
and also Lake Wigry, unusually beautiful and surrounded by a National
Park. A common sight here are beavers building their lodges; and
other delights are the unusual boreal (northern) flora and climbing
up to the summit of Cisowa Mountain, the Fujiyama of the Suwalki
Region.
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Masuria, Land of the Lakes
Photo: GA, www.poland.gov.pl |
Kashubia
Kashubia, another magnificent region, lies to the west of Masuria. There
are no large tourist centres or jet-set events here. Kashubia is the perfect
place for caravanners and campers or family holidays . Alongside the unpolluted,
picturesque lakes and rivers, the region offers its own original attractions.
One part of it has been named the Kashubian Switzerland because of its
unusual geological features. The undulating hills, delightful gorges,
and valleys form an almost highland setting. In summer you can swim in
the lakes and admire the great flocks of cranes, and in winter you can
ski here.
The
Tuchola Forest
From here, it's not far to the largest stretch of forest in Poland, the
Bory Tucholskie (Tuchola Forest - 1,170 sq km). The pine forests generate
a particularly wholesome microclimate. You can cover 30 km on a bike here
along a forest trail without seeing a soul or passing a single cottage.
The
Polish Amazonia
Two river estuaries, the Narew and the Biebrza, form a region known as
the Polish Amazonia, and all you need to do to understand the justification
for this name is to visit it. Bird-watchers won't find many places like
this in Europe.
Sunrise in the Biebrza Valley
Photo:GA
www.poland.gov.pl |
The Biebrza Valley, which has the largest and one of the best-preserved
stretches of peat bogs in Europe, has not only been turned into
a National Park, but has also been awarded the European Diploma
and placed under the protection of the 1971 Ramsar Wetlands Convention,
which protects especially valuable areas particularly important
to water- and marsh-fowl. 270 species of birds live along the Biebrza
and 200 along the Narew. During their spring and autumn migrations,
the birds congregate here. The Park may be visited by boat, by bike
or on foot, and you can observe pied-billed grebes, corncrakes,
aquatic warblers, which are threatened by extinction, ruffs, seldom
seen in Europe, wild geese, snipes, terns, eagles, herons, cranes,
and storks black and white. It's not difficult, either, to spot
an elk, which has its biggest sanctuary in Poland here - over 500
live along the Biebrza.
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Not only can you make this journey by canoe or rowing boat, you can also
travel by punt. All the equipment you'll need can be hired in the local
area, ready for, but not yet discovered by, tourists.
Water
sports
You can practise all kinds of water sports on Poland's lakes. There are
well-organised bathing areas, and a network of rental outlets covers the
whole region. A "quiet zone" protects just a few lakes - they're
a no-go area for motorboats, jet-skis and excursion boats, but perfect
for yachtspeople, devotees of small boats and pedalos, for watching the
waterfowl such as the large colonies of cormorants. They're also fabulous
places for anglers who, if they're patient, might catch a Northern pike
or European catfish weighing up to 50kg. On Lake Necko in Augustów,
one of the great attractions is a water ski-lift, instead of the raucous
motorboats. There are only a few mechanisms like it in Europe.
There are over 2,000 courses along wild, unregulated rivers for both
experienced and novice canoeists. No other form of leisure activity is
so common and open to all - it doesn't require a great deal of skill and
is family-oriented. The whole family can travel a route. You can fix your
own route or take part in a group event. Specialist companies provide
guides, canoes, food and camping equipment, or they can book places for
you to stay overnight, and organise campfires and excursions to country
towns or the numerous nature reserves. Some of the virtues of such outings
are safety, the chance to gain experience, and make new friends. On the
other hand, if you hire your own kayak and set off on your own individual
trip, you have much more freedom. The group excursions are organised during
the summer holidays, but many rivers are more beautiful and peaceful in
spring and autumn.
The most popular canoeing course in Poland is the Masurian Krutynia
Route. The river is almost 100 km long and flows through many scenic lakes.
The Krutynia is a relatively easy route, a favoutrite for its charm. You
can follow the whole route or just try a section - your journey could
take anything from a couple of hours up to 10 days. It's true to say it's
a heavily commercialised route - every other building is a canoe hire
outlet, an inn, an overnight stopping place or a shop. But there are also
uninhabited areas here, some say the most enchanting corners of Masuria.
There are other canoe courses along other rivers: the Brda routes in
the Bytów Lakeland (Pojezierze Bytowskie) and the Tuchola Forest,
the Radunia in Kashubia, and the Drawa in the Drawa Lake District, or
the rivers in the Suwalki Region: the Czarna Hancza flowing through Lake
Wigry and the Augustów Forest, half mountain river and half lowland;
and the Rospuda, lovely, wild, and definitely for the more experienced
canoeist.
Source: www.poland.gov.pl
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