Bory Tucholskie National Park Voyage Tips and guide

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Bory Tucholskie National Park is a park located in a small part of the Tuchola Forest, a sprawling 3,200 km² large confier woods located in southern Pomerania region roughly near the town of Tuchola in northern Poland. Brda river meanders along the park borders.

The park was established in 1996, and covers 4,600 ha. Making it one of the youngest national parks in Poland. At its inception it was barely a typical forestry operation with lots of pine trees arranged neatly in rows for quick growth and ease of access. Local residents however realised tourist potential of the region and pushed for a national park in this area. This left initially tidy forest to grow alone. Now it is a diverse mix of forest and lake landscape surrounded by Brda river.

Park is located on an outwash plain also referred to as sandr. Essentialy a huge mound of sand formed before a glacier. This makes the park landscape quite hilly compared to the more flat terrain to the south. At some points there are even exposed dunes. It is also dotted with numerous lakes in and around the park some of which are part of the Brda river, filling all the lower lying parts of the park.

The forest as its name suggests is dominated by pine trees. There are also all usual forest animals including deer, boar, but also otter and wolf. However the greatest wealth of nature in this park is in its smallest organisms: mushrooms, lichens and insects. Many of these endangered. There are also many birds and huge migrations of cranes in autumn, with over 2000 flying over Ostrowite Lake.

The area is well developed for tourism. You can arrive via Gdańsk or Bydgoszcz coming from the east or via Poznań or Szczecin from the west.

Ticket to the park costs 6 zł per person for a day, and 30 zł for seven days. Students, pensioners, disabled and active military duty can get reduced ticket for half the above-mentioned price.

In village of Bachorze ticket is not required despite being inside the park, as it is a relatively large fishing boat harbour.

You can only get around on foot or bike inside the park and you should not stray away from marked paths. However there are a few roads on the edge of the park where you can ride a car.

Uroczysko located on the Brda River, 3 km south of Tuchola, is considered by tourists to be an unusual attraction. The Brda river flows in a winding riverbed, creates numerous bends, the cross-section of its valley is asymmetrical and numerous erosive undercuts of the banks are visible. The bottom of the river is covered with sand and numerous boulders. Along the river, you can also meet a variety of flora, and the rays of the sun from time to time add to the charm of this forest section. The whole thing creates a unique atmosphere called "Piekiełko" by tourists for a long time. At the Świt forest inspectorate there are about five hundred-year-old oaks with a circumference of 251 - 446 cm - monuments of nature, called 'hangers'.

The 17-hectare archaeological and natural reserve is located near the Wda River, 2 km from the village of Odra, which can be reached via an asphalt road from Czersk. The Stone Circles are a unique cultural monument, as the second in the country in Węsiory, on the Bytów - Kartuzy route, is much smaller. People were interested in this object already in the first half of the 19th century, assuming that it was an astronomical monument, as the lines drawn through the center of groups of circles indicate the place of sunrise at the summer solstice and the second winter solstice. Stone circles with a diameter of 15 to 33 m have survived to our times 10 and they are made of boulders. Around the circles there are 30 hoofs heaped from the ground and stones surrounded by a circle, in which there are 2 to 3 graves. Inside, you could find silver, bronze and even gold products. On the boulders there are 45 types of mosses and lichens from the early post-glacial period, i.e. 15 thousand. years back, found today only in the northern tundra or in the harsh high mountain climate.

Aqueduct in Fojutow: in this town, you can admire a special landscape phenomenon, namely the intersection of two watercourses flowing at different levels. It is about the crossing of the waters of the Great Brda Canal flowing much higher and the waters of the Czerska Struga flowing in a natural bed located several metres below. A similar phenomenon is unique in Poland. Fojutowo is 3 km from Legbąd near Tuchola.

There is a well-developed network of hiking and cycling trails. 87 km of trails run through the area.

Small hotels, guesthouses, camping and tent sites are available.

• Chojnice
• Kościerzyna
• Bydgoszcz
• Gdańsk
• Slowinski National Park