The river flows rapidly, it carries the canoe by itself. You don't even have to wave the oars. All you need to do is to correct the rafting path from time to time to fit into the meanders of the current, not to bump into a stone, not to get caught on a tree leaning over the water.
The river flows rapidly, it carries the canoe by itself. You don't even have to wave the oars. All you need to do is to correct the rafting track from time to time to fit into the meanders of the current, not to bump into a stone, not to get caught on a tree leaning over the water.
You don't have to rush. Everything indicates that environmentalists have won the battle to protect nature in the Rospuda Valley. Via B altica will bypass the local swamps and run through the fields, crossing the river near the village of Raczki. Unique nature will not be destroyed by great construction. So it will probably survive, if it is not destroyed by tourists who come here from afar, attracted by the fame that the ecologists attached to the trees brought to the river. Newcomers, as well as local fishermen, leave beer cans and plastic bottles in the stream. And the hosts throw "into the river" what is no longer needed on the farm. After all, the large tires of a heavy tractor will not be carried by the water to other people …
Nature defends itself here despite the omnipresent rubbish.
Long distance
The river flows from the Black Lake, into which several source streams flow from the moraine hills of the Suwałki Region. The small Struga flows into the lake called Rospuda. Here, at the campsite in Supienie, those who wish to cover the entire 67-kilometer route will start their trip. At first, it will lead through the following narrow ribbon lakes: Kamienne, Długie, Garbaś, Głębokie, Sumowo and Bolesty. There will be a lot of paddling, although in narrow waters you can feel the trail of the river current. On the high banks, fields will approach the water, sometimes forests.
Through the saved swamps
Behind the village of Raczki, through which, according to the latest plans, a conflicting road will lead, the most beautiful and most river-like part of the trip begins. Rospuda is gaining momentum as it rolls over the stones lying on the bottom and under the trees that have fallen into the water, and then it slows down again in the reed backwaters. When it comes close to the forested moraine hills, we can count on a deep dark shadow, when it flows out onto the marshy meadows, there is no escape from the sun.
The vegetation is raging. Various species of reeds and grasses enter the water, branches of alders and bend over themwillow. Thick seaweed grows from the bottom of the river, we flow like on a green carpet. Only where the current accelerates you can see the bottom: once somewhere deep, then again quite shallow, strewn with small pebbles. There are just no birds or wild animals promised in the guides. Did they hide in the forest against the heat or in front of people passing by? We are supposed to sail alone, but as soon as we stop even for a short stop, more crews pass us. There is traffic on Rospuda.
Who wants to go down the entire Rospuda trail should spend at least three days on such a trip and have some idea about kayaking. If you want to taste the local nature quickly, you can stop at a one-day trip. Recommended one-day routes lead from Małe Raczki to Lake Rospuda (all day) or to the Holy Place (approx. 4 hours). Enough to feel the atmosphere of the river.
To the goal
The closer to Augustów, the meanders get wider and wider. The river flows over swamps, meanders among the greenery, the current slows down. Less impressions here, because the banks are covered with dense reeds. The journey becomes monotonous, but before we get bored, we will sail to the lake, the second one is called Rospuda on our route. Here you have to grasp the oars harder to reach your destination: across Necko Lake to Augustów. From here our river will flow out as Netta to flow into Biebrza.
From the land side
We will know the unique charm of Rospuda only from the water side. The river is inaccessible from its banks, and looking at it from the numerous bridges in total is only a substitute for what we will see from the kayak, from the inside. But the river does not flow in a vacuum, so it is worth getting on the bike to gain context for the impressions already gained. Driving on gravel roads through the high pine forest of the Augustów Primeval Forest, or along dirt, sometimes sandy roads winding among cultivated fields will certainly be a lot of fun. There are plenty of wild strawberries, raspberries and buttermilk in the forest. There are wide idyllic views in the fields. The goal of a bicycle trip is Bakałarzewo with the church, whose baroque towers are beautifully reflected in the surface of Lake Sumowo, the Holy Place with a chapel and a cross supposedly erected by the Yotvingians, or the ruins of Pac's palace in Dowspuda (it is in connection with the splendor of this building that the saying: worth Pac palace a Pac palace) with a beautiful, well-kept park, in which a well-thought-out educational trail helps to explore.
www.augustow.pl
www.augustow.com
www.um.augustow.pl
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