Recommended route

The proposed Exotic Poland Cycle Route follows minor roads along the eastern border of Poland, with a possible exception in the southeastern Lubelszczyzna (see below). The route has been well-tested and partially described. Please come back later to find out more details!

Train access

The best access points are Suwalki, Augustow, Dabrowa Bialostocka, Sokolka, Terespol, Chelm, Zamosc, Zwierzyniec and Przemysl. Trains also reach Hajnowka, Czeremcha, Krasnystaw, Susiec and Horyniec, but the connections may be not so convenient. See also the section about bikes on trains.

Some details

Kruszyniany - Jalowka

The roads Kruszyniany - Bobrowniki and Bobrowniki - Swisloczany - Jalowka are not paved. In fact, they are quite sandy. As far as we know, there is no simple workaround for this part of the route - the paved detour takes nearly 100 km and involves some sections of heavy traffic and cobblestones - so you just need to prepare for 25 km of really slow cycling (especially if you travel with heavy luggage).

Crossing Bug

Between Czeremcha and Terespol you have to cross the river Bug. You can either go to the nearest bridge (in Siemiatycze, 20 km away from the border), use the ferry between Mielnik and Zabuze (seasonal, 10 km away from the border), or find a boat in Niemirow and Gnojno (just next to the border). Bear in mind that to make use of the last option you will probably have to speak a few words in Polish. The operator lives in the last house in Niemirow, just before the turn to the ferry. The usual fee is 10 PLN per crossing (regardless of number of people).

Along Bug

Between Terespol and Wola Uhruska (Zosin if you prefer the eastern option, see below) the main route follows road nr 816 along Bug. Although it is a regional road, there is not much car traffic on it.

Chelm and Roztocze

After Wola Uhruska it is worth considering leaving the border for a while. The alternative route leads through Ruda, Chelm, Krasnystaw, Nielisz, Szczebrzeszyn (hah! pronounce this! ;-), Zwierzyniec, Jozefow, Susiec, Narol and Wola Wielka to Werchrata, where it comes back to the border. It is less hilly and better surfaced than the original border route, and it offers great sights as well. More accommodation options and regular public transport access are also arguments for going a bit west. But of course, if you are a hardcore adventurer, you are very welcome to try out the eastern option.

Map

English version of the route map is under preparation. Meanwhile, take a look at the Polish version.

Sights you should not miss

- Wigry - the red monastery on the lake;

- Augustowski Canal;

- Bohoniki and Kruszyniany - the villages of Polish Tatars;

- Bialowieska primeval forest, part of UNESCO World Heritage List;

- bisons in Bialowieza;

- narrow-gauge forest railroads - on the southern shore of Wigry lake and between Hajnowka and Topilo;

- orthodox sanctuary in Grabarka;

- stud farm with thoroughbred Arab horses near Janow Podlaski;

- orthodox monastery in Jableczna;

- Wlodawa - the city of three cultures (catholic, orthodox and Jewish);

- limestone undergrounds of Chelm;

- Renaissance Old City of Zamosc, part of UNESCO World Heritage List;

- the Church on the Water and the old brewery in Zwierzyniec;

- "szumy" ("noises") - small waterfalls on various rivers in Roztocze;

- wooden orthodox churches in southern Roztocze (especially the one in Radruz);

- bunkers of the "Molotov's line" (near Lipsk and in in southern Roztocze);

- the ring of forts around Przemysl (for example Bolestraszyce).