"Southern Lakeland" is a PTTK yellow trail about 102 km long, leading from Sosnowica through Urszulin to Hnišuv on the Bug. This page covers its northwestern part, from Sosnowica to Urszulin: 44 km according to our track through forests, meadows, and bogs on the border of Polesie National Park. The route is linear, marked with a yellow stripe between two white ones. It takes two days to walk with an overnight stay near Lake Vytiko or in Stare Załucze; the southeastern part, from Urszulin to Hnišuv, is described separately.
Sosnowica and the forests near Turno
The start is in Sosnowica by the Piwonia River. This is a former town with municipal rights since 1685; it features the Holy Trinity Church, the Orthodox Church of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, and the so-called Kościuszko Manor, a reminder that in 1775 the future leader of the uprising taught the daughters of Hetman Sosnovsky here. The trail heads east through Izabelin and makes a hook north to the forests near Turno, a village that was the gmina center until 1927. From there, it turns south to Pieszowola, where the national park's "Perehod" ornithological trail with two observation towers has been laid out near the ponds.
Voloskovolia and Lake Vytiko
Fields and damp meadows stretch between Marianka, Voloskovolia, and Lovishuv. Voloskovolia is an old Polesian village; its Orthodox cemetery features a brick chapel of Saint Michael the Archangel. Near Vulka Vutytska, the trail approaches Lake Vytiko, the largest in the Łęczna-Włodawa Lakeland. It is now a reservoir of the Wieprz-Krzna canal system with embanked northern and eastern shores. Along this section, the yellow trail runs together with the blue Włodawa – Urszulin trail for several kilometers.
Babsk and Stare Załucze
From Vulka Vutytska, the route turns west, through Babsk to Stare Załucze. This is where the educational and museum center of Polesie National Park is located, featuring collections on the archaeology, ethnography, and nature of Western Polesia, along with the short children's "Żółwik" trail featuring a pond where European pond turtles can be seen. The "Spławy" trail to Lake Łukie, the park's largest water body with over four kilometers of boardwalks, also starts from Stare Załucze. The final kilometers run through Dembovets to Urszulin, where the yellow trail crosses the Lublin – Włodawa highway and continues southeast to Hnišuv.
How to get there and what to consider
This is Poland: Ukrainian citizens need a foreign passport. The easiest way to get to Urszulin is by the Lublin – Włodawa bus; Sosnowica is connected by buses with Parczew and Lublin, but there are few runs, so it is better to check the schedule in advance. The route itself is free, but the national park's nature trails are paid: according to the park, 7 zlotys for one trail or 16 zlotys for a day ticket for all of them. The museum center in Stare Załucze is marked as temporarily closed on the park's website — please check before your trip. You can stay overnight in Sosnowica, in the farmsteads of Stare Załucze, and in Urszulin. The season is from May to September; there are many mosquitoes in the swamps and meadows, and ticks in the forests.
