The Pszczewski Landscape Park is located on the border region of the wielkopolskie and lubuskie voivodships – near the towns of Międzychód, Pszczew and Nowy Tomyśl. The jewels of the park are the lakes, most of them elongated channel lakes, but also some are small and charming ponds. The largest lakes in this area are Lake Chłop, Lubikowskie, Szarcz and Wielkie. They are rather shallow, but with a very varied shoreline with many peninsulas and islands.

Over half of the park is covered by forests, some of them very precious deciduous forests as, for example, the beech forests on the slopes of the sides of the Kamionki valley or the hornbeams and alders near the villages of Mnichy and Krzyżówko. There are also unique peatbog clusters which have formed on the slopes of Kamionka. The natural oak forest on one of the islands on Lake Wielkie is precious as well, and an ornithological reserve in its entirety with a large colony of cormorants. In the outskirts of the forests, apart from quite a numerous population of hoopoes, there are also feeding grounds of the green woodpeckers. Beavers and otters are not too hard to spot here, and one can even observe an elk wandering around.

What is unique about this area is the presence of bats – among the 12 various species residing in the park there are: the barbastelle, the brown long-eared bat, the greater mouse-ear bat and the much rarer Natterer’s bat.

There are hiking and cycle paths running through the park, following the picturesque post-glacier channels. Rafting on the river Obra or a hike down one of the three designated educational trails is very much recommended. In Pszczew itself there is an interesting outdoor beekeeping museum as well as a Regional and Natural Education Center. In the town of Lewice in turn, there is an oak tree with 7 meters in diameter.

Text: Jacek Y. Łuczak
Translation: Kaja Kurczewska