“First Steps” is intended for “advanced beginners,” i.e., riders who are comfortable with walking and trotting and are at the stage of their first gallops. This edition is also a good choice for those who used to ride horses, had long breaks from riding, and have recently resumed learning/training.

Dates: 

  • June 19-22, 2025 (Thursday – Sunday)

Program:

The routes of the 3 or 4-day weekend ride lead through the most interesting natural and cultural areas of the Knyszyn Forest. Every day we set off on a horse expedition from picturesque Załuki, located in the middle of the Knyszyn Forest on the Supraśl River. The goals of our hikes include, among others, the Bison Farm in Kopna Góra, the Wyżary Reservoir with a Sculpture Gallery, Jeleni Mostek, and Wierszalin, or the Świętojańskie Hills. All routes also pass through places associated with the 19th-century struggle of Poles for independence: the November Uprising and, above all, the January Uprising.

In addition to great horse trails, delicious Podlasie cuisine, and the inseparable “Spirit of the Forest,” we would like to offer you the opportunity to participate in a local event at each of the weekend rides. The villages and settlements of the Knyszyn Forest are famous for each having at least one annual celebration where both residents and visitors have a great time. Events such as “Sabantuj” in Kruszyniany, “Siebrauskaja Biesieda” in Gródek, “Kupalnoczka” in Zasady, or “Dance at Anna’s” in Królowy Most, among many others, already have established reputations. We hope you will have a great time until the early morning. And then? Then, of course, back on the horse and conquering the Świętojańskie Hills, which is always the last day of our ride.

Day 1: Arrival in Załuki and accommodation at 2-3 PM.

Riding with an instructor in the arena in Załuki.

Horseback riding in the Knyszyn Forest.

Day 2:

Route: Załuki – Turowo – Wyżary Reservoir – Radunin – Załuki. Route length approx. 21 km.

The Knyszyn Forest is mainly forests, but… near the village of Radunin, deep in the forest, there is a “lake,” specifically the Wyżary Reservoir. Despite its beauty, the reservoir is not a gift of nature but was created by humans and has served a fire protection and recreational function since 1970. An educational path runs around the reservoir.

Following the path deeper into the forest, we reach footbridges over the Radulinka River’s wetlands. This place is simply magical… Directly behind the footbridge, in 2017, a forest sculpture gallery was created. The authors are students from the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw and members of the Nowolipie Group, i.e., people with multiple sclerosis who, as part of therapy, created these unique sculptures under the artistic supervision of Paweł Althamer.

The “January Uprising Trail” passes through here and leads through the forest to the place where one of the largest battles in the Białystok region took place on April 29, 1863, in the Komotowszczyzna wilderness, at the Piereciosy site: the Battle of Waliły.

Day 3:

Route: Załuki – Jeleni Mostek – Lipowy Most – Załuki. Length of the route approx. 24 km.

After leaving Załuki, we soon immerse ourselves in the depths of the Knyszyn Forest. After about 11 km, we reach Jeleni Mostek. It is a modernized bridge over the Starzynka River. The beautiful wooden construction of the bridge spans is finished with deer carvings that blend perfectly with the surrounding space.

Once, on the route between Waliły and Czarna Białostocka, there was a narrow-gauge forest railway with a length of 48 km (the total length of the narrow-gauge railway sections in the Knyszyn Forest at its peak was as much as 158 km). Officially, the railway ceased to operate in the early 1990s. Many sections of the tracks were dismantled and scrapped. In Sosnowik, the tracks have not been preserved, but semaphores remain on both sides of the bridge.

Day 4:

Route: Załuki – Nowosiółki – St. Anne’s Hill – Królowy Most – Jakubin – Załuki. Route length approx. 20 km.

The Świętojańskie Hills are the highest moraine hills in the Knyszyn Forest. Relative heights reach up to 80 m, with slopes up to 30 degrees (steep slopes of the hills). Ahead of us: St. Anne’s Hill (202 m above sea level) with a place commemorating the January Uprising insurgents of 1863, Mount Kopna (211 m above sea level) with an observation tower, and Mount John (214 m above sea level).

On that day, an unforgettable gallop awaits us, a very long but fairly gentle climb up the hill. The climax of our effort is a short stop at the observation tower located on Mount Kopna with a breathtaking view of the endless forest “sea.” And if there are still mists… Then a descent down a very steep slope, which we overcome on foot with the horse in hand, to reach Królowy Most, famous among other things from the series of films “At the Lord’s in…” There is an opportunity to go to the cinema for the fourth part of the cult Polish comedy entitled, of course, “At the Lord’s in Królowy Most.”

We return to Załuki through Jakubin, a place that today is just a spot on the map and where we can only see the ruins of the Jakub Sakowicz estate.

Price:

  • 2550,00 PLN

Reservation link: https://lisowczycy.pl/produkt/podlasie-w-dlugi-weekend-wariant-pierwsze-szlify/