For the night, we stayed in the buffer zone of the Roztocze National Park, in the Zwierzyniec village. It’s a small village, in the middle of which is a historic church on the island.
We pitched our tent at the Echo campsite. We got there early in the evening. The campsite was nice, with buildings arranged around a square, and in the middle there were sports fields and space for tents.
The next morning, we drove to the forest of the national park. We left our car in the parking lot near the road by Echo Ponds. It wasn’t the best choice. There was parking fee, later we discovered other places that were free.
Echo Ponds are artificial reservoirs of Świerszcz river. Established in 1929-1934. The shoreline had eroded over the years. Today, to preserve this unique phenomenon a wooden footbridge was built there. We could walk safely without damaging tree roots.
We walked the trail through the forest to the Centre of Education and the Museum of Roztocze. There, we visited the permanent exhibition called “The land of fir, beech and tarpan.” Tour takes place in groups with a guide. Inside is a beautiful reproduction of the flora and fauna that can be seen in the national park. With the guide, we went through rooms that featured exhibitions of animals inhabiting the park. The tour was accompanied by appropriate lighting and sounds, which were controlled by the guide with a mobile app. We learned a lot about different animals and their habits. We started from ancient times, showing the primeval forest, then went through a peat bog, pine wood, beech wood and fir forest and the rut. Each of the rooms was very interesting.
We think such an educational center and museum is a great idea. In one visit, during opening hours, we could discover the beauty of the national park. In the wild, it would be difficult to find them.
On the ground floor of the center, there was also a temporary exhibition about the Arctic, the land of ice and cold. The exhibition featured animals of the far north, as well as the history of discoveries and research (including Polish expeditions) on Norway’s largest island, Spitsbergen.
In front of the center was parking, which was free.
After the walk, we decided to go back to the car and then to Zwierzyniec for dinner. We ate at the Mill Tavern, which was located right next to the “pedestrian zone”. Along the way, we had the opportunity to see (though only from the outside) the historic church on the water.
Early in the afternoon we set off – our goal was Cieszanow, a small village in Lubaczów county, which is famous for its organized every year rock festival Cieszanów Rock Festival, which we had tickets for.