Narew National Park — a river with many channels

A river that never picked one bed

The Narew behaves here unlike almost any river left in Europe. Instead of one meandering channel it flows through several channels at once, which divide, rejoin and divide again around islands of reed and sedge. Hydrologists call such rivers anastomosing, and very few survive, because most European rivers were straightened and embanked during the 19th and 20th centuries.

The protected stretch runs about 50 kilometres, from Suraż in the south to Rzędziany in the north, west of Białystok. From the air you do not see a river at all, but a braid of water across a wide, flat floodplain — which is where the nickname came from and why it stuck: the Polish Amazon.

From ground level the impression is entirely different. Water is everywhere but low down, hidden behind reed that grows taller than a person. Only from the boardwalk, a tower or a canoe does the pattern become legible, and you realise it is one connected system that every flood rearranges.

A park with very little dry land

The park was created on 1 July 1996 and covers 68.1 km². Wet habitats dominate: reed and sedge beds, silting-up oxbows, wet meadows and willow scrub. There is little woodland, and where it holds on it is mostly black alder carr and white willow — communities that tolerate standing water for weeks at a time.

None of this is purely natural. For centuries the surrounding villages mowed the valley and hauled the hay out in winter over the ice, and that regular cutting kept the landscape open. When meadow farming collapsed, reed and scrub began to take over the sedge fens, so the park now mows selected areas to keep the low vegetation that certain birds depend on.

The valley is a Ramsar site, listed as a wetland of international importance. The park's offices are at Kurowo, in the buildings of a 19th-century estate on the edge of the valley, and in practice everything a visitor can see starts from there.

What lives here

• Marsh harrier — the park's emblem; it works low over the reeds in a slow hunting flight and is a near-daily sight from the boardwalk.
• Bittern — nearly the size of a goose and still invisible among the reeds; the male's deep booming call carries over a kilometre at dawn.
• Corncrake and great snipe — species threatened across Europe and tied to wet meadows; their presence is the main reason the fens are still mown.
• Birds by the numbers — 203 species recorded, 154 of them breeding, which for an area this small puts the valley among the best in Poland.
• Beaver, otter and elk — beavers remodel the place on their own initiative, and the elk wading through shallow water is the largest animal you are likely to see from the boardwalk.

The boardwalk through the marsh

The best-known route crosses from Śliwno to Waniewo. It runs over a kilometre on timber decking laid just above the water, through reed beds and open shallows, from one side of the valley to the other. In a few places the boardwalk simply stops because the channel is too deep — there you cross on floating platforms that you haul across by rope yourself.

The second option is a canoe. The Narew here is calm and technically undemanding, but route-finding needs attention: many channels end in reeds and force you to backtrack. At low water it pays to stay with the main flow.

The third is simply the viewing towers and platforms along the valley edge. A few metres of height is enough to reveal the structure of water and reed, and in good light you can scan the meadows opposite — with binoculars and some patience, the most comfortable vantage point in the park.

Getting there

• By car — west from Białystok towards Łapy, Uhowo, Waniewo or Kurowo; village approach roads are narrow and the car parks small.
• By train — rail to Łapy, a few kilometres from the valley; from Białystok or Warsaw this is the simplest way without a car.
• By bike — the plain around the valley is made for cycling, and quiet lanes link the villages on both banks.
• On foot — the Śliwno–Waniewo crossing is a destination in itself, and the walk in from Suraż or Uhowo fills an unhurried day.

Practical advice

Everything depends on the water level. When it is high, parts of the boardwalk are submerged; when it is very low, the floating platforms ground on the bottom and the crossing stops working altogether, so check the park's current notice before travelling. Water also means mosquitoes: from May to August repellent and long sleeves matter more here than footwear.

For wildlife, the first hour after sunrise and the last before dusk are worth the early start; at midday the reeds go quiet. Binoculars turn this from a walk into something else entirely, and quiet steps on the decking let you get surprisingly close. Leave dogs behind — to ground-nesting birds they are a genuine threat.

How to get there and practical info

Location

upper Narew valley between Suraż and Rzędziany, Podlaskie Voivodeship, west of Białystok; park offices at Kurowo

Area

68.1 km², mostly wetland habitats

Established

1996

International status

Ramsar site — wetland of international importance

Time needed

Śliwno–Waniewo boardwalk there and back — about three hours; canoe trip — from half a day

Current opening times and tickets

the park's official website

When to go