WEH Kanton

WEH Kanton © 2010
Sun, 21 Mar 2010 11:09:08 +0800
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Narew i Biebrza

Narew and Biebrza Region

The north-eastern part of Podlassia is one of the most beautiful and wildest areas in Poland. Here you'll find the Biebrza floodplain, the largest and best preserved natural peatland in Europe, protected by the international Ramsar Convention which protects wetlands of great natural value and important as waterfowl habitats. It is also encompassed by the Biebrza National Park, the largest national park in Poland (59,000 ha). The park features water habitats, marshes, bushes and forests, with distinctive vegetation zones. There are reed-covered river banks and old river beds with floating plants (like nenufars). Then come inundation areas and grasses interspersed with low bushes, followed by peat swamps and mosses. The other wetland in Podlassia is a stretch of the Narew Valley sometimes referred to as the Polish Amazonia. Its sleepy villages and little towns, distant from the buzz of big city life, are an oasis of tranquillity only recently discovered by tourists.The Narew Valley with its chain of forking and converging channels is one of Europe's last regularly flooded areas. Since 1996 it has been protected as the 7,350-hectare Narew National Park, a haven for birds (over 200 species) including the widgeon, great snipe, ruff, and little crake, all extremely rare in Europe. The area around the Biebrza and Narew Rivers is wild but not inaccessible. On the contrary, it offers many hotels, pensions, campsites and a large number of agrotourist farms. Although large expanses of the terrain are swamps or water-logged, there are also many hiking trails. Both rivers make excellent waterways for boats and canoes, and rowing your way through is the best manner of visiting both Parks. And don't fail to see a sunrise on the Biebrza - this is a view you'll never forget.