Bialowieza

 

Białowieza Forest is an extraordinary place for one very simple reason: in the whole of the world's temperate zone, this is the only truly natural lowland forest that has survived almost intact. Its survival is a miracle and its characteristics are unique.

No other temperate forest has such a diversity of rare habitats, nor so many species in such complex ecological networks, nor such vast amounts of fallen deadwood, as the Białowieza Forest. Despite the total absence of beech tree, it is both a window through which we can glimpse the past and a reference standard to which other European forests can be compared. As such it is definitely one of our most important natural treasures.

Among ecologists and naturalists worldwide, Białowieza Primeval Forest is now one of the best-recognized windows into our evolutionary past. This is not only due to the extensive patch of primeval forest that - against all odds - remained largely governed by natural processes, but also due to researchers that studied this unique ecosystem, bringing novel findings to an international audience.

Since April 2010 until recent May 2023, I had the opportunity to explore this mythical forest in both Polish and Belarusian parts over the course of several months spent there in total, almost exclusively in total and solitary immersion with memorable bivouac nights deep in the woods.

The most exceptional and best protected part, which runs across state boundaries from north eastern Poland to Belarus has been designed as UNESCO World Heritage Site.

What a pleasure and what emotions to explore this naturalist's paradise over the seasons; for magic still happens there. Above all the magic of one winter day, when three bull bisons accepted me for a couple of hours and I was privileged to share unforgettable moments with the «Emperors of the Forest» roaming free in their natural environment, offering me fleeting visions of how our own part of the world was, thousands of years ago.

Do take a moment for a picture journey into the last well-preserved lowland deciduous and mixed forest, a precious remnant of the primeval forests that once stretched across the whole of Europe.