Bory Tucholskie National Park

The Tuchola forest covers something like three thousand square kilometres of sandy outwash plain in northern Poland, and the national park, created in 1996, protects about forty-six of that at its northern end - pine forest on sand with a chain of narrow ribbon lakes running through it, formed in channels melted under the ice sheet, and a set of bog and lobelia lakes that are the ecological point. Lobelia lakes are soft-water, nutrient-poor and acidic, and they support a specific and rare plant community including water lobelia and quillwort that has disappeared from most of Europe; several here are among the better examples left. The Brda and Wda rivers running through the wider forest are two of the best-known Polish kayak routes, done over several days with campsites. The whole area has been a UNESCO biosphere reserve since 2010, with the park at its core. It is flat, sandy, quiet and enormous, and it is used heavily for canoeing rather than walking.

The landscape

• Ribbon lakes - narrow channels melted under the ice sheet, strung through pine forest.
• Lobelia lakes - soft-water and acidic, with a rare plant community largely lost elsewhere.
• The Brda and Wda - two of Poland's best-known multi-day kayak rivers.
• A biosphere reserve - the wider forest complex recognised by UNESCO.

When to go

May to September; the kayak season. Two to three days.

Before you go

The landscape is flat and uniform - the interest is water rather than views. Wild camping is prohibited in the park. Mosquitoes are severe from May. Kayak routes book out in July and August.

Nearby

Chojnice is south; the Cisy Staropolskie yew reserve is south-east.

Key facts