European Bison Show Reserve

What makes it special

The bison enclosure holds a family group: one adult bull, several cows and their young. The reserve still breeds bison today as part of the programme that protects the European bison.

Look for the żubroń, a cross between a bison and domestic cattle, and for the Polish koniks, a Tarpan-type breed, not wild horses.

Elk, red deer, roe deer and wild boar each have their own enclosure, so every hoofed mammal of Białowieża Forest is here. The enclosures cover about 27 hectares under the forest's own vegetation. The animals are fenced, so you often see them clearly from the path.

Wolves and lynx, the forest's large predators, live here too, with a chance of seeing either.

Visiting

Entering through the educational pavilion is the only way into the reserve. Use its free toilets and drink machines before you set out, and look in on its temporary exhibitions.

Give the pavilion's interactive room about half an hour. Touching a panel starts a short presentation on that topic, and the room is laid out for you to explore at your own pace.

Then go out to the enclosures. The walk past them takes about an hour, and a children's play area sits on the grounds.

Tips

Dogs cannot enter, apart from assistance dogs, but kennels stand by the pavilion.

Buy your ticket online ahead of your visit to skip the queue at the desk, and save it to your phone before you set out, because the mobile signal at the reserve is weak. Arriving by bike, you can lock it in the covered racks beside the pavilion.