Poland's largest national park: floodplains, peat bogs and meadows along the Biebrza river. Walk a boardwalk over the marsh, watch cranes and, with luck, an elk, then return to a village guesthouse.
Trip plan
Weekend plan
- Saturday, 10:30 — Arrive in Osowiec-Twierdza and walk among the ruins of the 19th-century Russian fortress.
- Saturday, 12:30 — Take the Grzędy boardwalk across the marsh: cranes, ducks, reed warblers and the sound of the reeds.
- Saturday, 15:00 — Late lunch at an agritourism farm.
- Saturday, 17:30 — Drive the meadow roads near Goniądz in the evening light.
- Sunday, 06:00 — Dawn walk or slow drive along quiet roads; birds and elk are most active at first light.
- Sunday, 10:00 — Breakfast, then a kayak trip on the Biebrza with a local operator, or a walk around Goniądz.
- Sunday, 14:00 — Drive back to Warsaw.
What to see
- Osowiec-Twierdza — a 19th-century fortress and the park's visitor base.
- Grzędy boardwalk — a walk over the marsh with dry feet.
- Czerwone Bagno — an alder swamp forest, a refuge for elk.
- Biebrza valley — spring floodplains full of wetland birds.
- Goniądz — a small town on the river.
Where to eat
Podlasie cooking: kartacze (stuffed potato dumplings), babka ziemniaczana (baked potato cake), kiszka ziemniaczana and sękacz. Look for agritourism farms and small local eateries in Goniądz and nearby villages.
Where to stay
Agritourism guesthouses in the villages around Osowiec and Goniądz, sometimes cabins in the woods. Book ahead for spring and summer, when the birdwatching season peaks.
Photos: Pudelek (Marcin Szala), CC BY-SA 3.0; Jerzy Strzelecki, CC BY-SA 3.0; jangol2, CC BY-SA 3.0; Julian Nyča, CC BY-SA 4.0