Naliboki Forest

The Naliboki forest covers around two and a half thousand square kilometres between Minsk and the Neman, a mix of pine, spruce, birch and alder over sandy soil and extensive bog, and it is one of the largest continuous forest tracts left in the region. A landscape reserve covers a substantial part. European bison were introduced and a free-ranging herd lives here, along with wolf, lynx, elk, deer and beaver, and the forest has been used for wildlife research on predator behaviour. Unpaved forest roads cross it, used for cycling and driving, with observation towers and bison feeding sites where sightings are more likely in winter. Villages sit on the edges.

History

In the 10th and 11th centuries the sparsely peopled forest on the right bank of the upper Neman mattered to the pagan Lithuanian tribes, and Minsk and Zaslawye were founded on its edge as Ruthenian fortresses against Lithuanian raids. In the middle of the 13th century the forest shielded the young Grand Duchy of Lithuania from the south, a frontier remembered in local legends of battles with the Tatars, and after the Union of Krewo in 1385 and the Christianisation of Lithuania in 1387 its people became Catholic, as most have remained (Wikipedia, Naliboki forest).

Highlights

• Bison - the free-ranging herd, most visible at winter feeding sites.
• The forest roads - the unpaved tracks crossing the tract.
• Bog and alder swamp - the wet parts of the forest.
• Observation towers - the platforms at feeding and clearing points.

When to go

May to September for the roads and the forest; winter is when bison come to feeding sites and are easiest to see, and when tracking in snow works. Spring thaw makes the tracks impassable.

What to expect

Wildlife sightings in the forest itself are unlikely; bison are seen at feeding sites in winter. Roads are unpaved and become impassable in wet conditions. There is no visitor infrastructure inside. Mosquitoes and ticks are severe in summer.

Nearby

Ivyanets lies east; the Neman runs along the southern edge.

Key facts