Local attractions

Weekend with the Up to Date Festival is a perfect opportunity to get to know Podlasie better. Here’s a few spots you should visit!

1. Discover the Land of Open Windows

The Land of Open Windows lies south of Białystok and it’s an unusual place where the past still lives inside the present. Consisting of three picturesque villages: Trześcianka, Soce and Puchły, it’s a place for a nice walk alongside unique wooden houses, carved with decorations and inviting with their always open windows painted in various colours. You can find a similar vibe in nearby places too, like Ciełuszki, Pawły, Dawidowicze, Ryboły, Ploski and Plutycze.

2. Pay homage to Dunin

They say that Dunin is the guardian of Białowieża Forest. This 400 year old pedunculate oak tree grows in Przybudki in Podlasie and was named the European Tree of the Year 2022, receiving a whooping 180 thousand votes in the contest. The Dunin oak is a natural monument and a tree celebrity. It was named after poet and writer Wincenty Dunin Marcinkiewicz. It was always a huge inspiration for artists and will live on in many paintings and movies.

3. Rest in Supraśl

Do you need to relax? You should go to Supraśl – one of the most beautiful parts of the region. Here, nature meets history in harmony, but it’s also a place of healing thanks to its beneficial microclimate. You should start your trip with the monastery, a place of worship important in Polish history of orthodox faith. Next, move on to Buchholtz Palace and the wooden Weaver’s Houses, a symbol of old time’s textile industry Supraśl was known for as well as the Museum of Print. You also can eat a revered potato pie at Bar Jarzębinka and take a walk down the Wiktor Wołkow boulevard. 

4. High five the Knyszyński Forest

The Wyżary Lagoon deep in Knyszyński Forest presents a different kind of Podlasie magic. Footbridges will save you from getting wet while enjoying the nature and calmness of these damp woodlands. The Art Academy students together with Nowolipie group set up a sculpture gallery “The Life of Trees” in the Waliły forest inspectorate there. It was overseen by a famous sculptor Paweł Althamer.

5. Meet the Tatar culture in Kruszyniany

Kruszyniany is a place that needs no introduction in Poland. This small town near the Polish-Belarussian border was settled by Polish Tatars a few hundred years ago. The oldest Polish mosque is its symbol. A guide will explain the history of Tatar settlement and will show around mizar, the Muslim cemetery. The oldest graves date from the late XVII century. Kruszyniany is also famous for its excellent kitchen. Here you can try some pierekaczewnik, czeburak or a manta.

6. Face the Polish Amazon

The Śliwno-Waniewo footbridge is a Podlasie evergreen. You should put it on your to-do list when deciding to visit the Narwiański National Park to see the Polish Amazon. The Narew river meanders and is full of backwaters just like her bigger South American sister. You can buy a ticket at the Kurów Park or online via npn.eparki.pl. 

7. Spend time in Tykocin

There are places you have to see and Tykocin is one of them. The town lies on the Narew river and is a perfect place to visit in the summer. You can feel the town’s atmosphere walking down the cobbled streets and along the old houses. Its highlights include the baroque Saint Trinity Church and the Great Synagogue, one of the oldest synagogues in Poland, formerly a centre of Jewish intellectual life. You should check out the castle too, as its history is full of surprises. It was razed and rebuilt twice and it’s the place where king August II launched the Order of the White Eagle. You can eat traditional Jewish cuisine at Tejsza Restaurant and sail down the Narew river too!

8. Check out the storks in Pentów

Pentów has been named the European Stork Village. Every spring dozens of storks fly here and you can count over thirty nests. Be sure to check out this natural wonder.

9. Swamp adventure

The Biebża National Park is full of picturesque paths. One of them called “Długa Luka” is an educational path taking you to the biggest peat bog complex in the Biebża Swamps. It starts with the Tsar’s Road and ends between the Laskowiec and Dobarz villages. There’s a huge chance that at one of the footbridges you can stand face to face with a moose.

Pic. Mateusz Duchnowski, Wioletta Bondurak, Maciej Nowakowski, Zielona Wśród Drzew, PROT, Małgorzata Pawelczyk.

This Article was created in coooeration with Podlaska Regionalna Organizacja Turystyczna.