Top 16 Natural Monuments around powiat augustowski

The Holy Place can be reached by bike better from the direction of Rączki than from the direction of Janówka (a steep, sandy descent).

At this board we have the opportunity to observe the unique vegetation of peat bogs on the paths. Nearby there are also low woodpecker tracks - also interesting. In the south-west we have a wetland (peat bog) and I came across 2 beautiful red deer bulls in these thickets. I practically walked on them for 15m and then they got scared and I saw them. A beautiful encounter. Going from the north-west it may seem that the path ends here. It is difficult to find its continuation. Practically opposite the board you should turn left at a right angle to the north-east into the forest and after about 20-30m you will see another information board. However, if someone is not very observant, it is better to turn back at this point to the fork in the path. In this thicket nearby there may be wild animals.

Góra Solistowska has a sad history: it is the place where former inhabitants of the village of Grzędy were executed in 1943, during World War II. There is a really great and detailed information board about it. Today it is a beautiful dune area. There is a shelter here, so sit down and, apart from the sad and tragic history, admire this beautiful area.

A atmospheric place, pleasant for cycling and hiking.

Kalejty reserve was established in 1980. Its area is 740.67 ha. The reserve protects the lake and its buffer zone: fresh, humid and marshy forest and a peat bog covered with rich vegetation, including relict species of bryophytes. In addition to many species of plants that are impossible to mention (including the forest sweetgrass, bog blueberry, narrow-leaved lungwort), many species of birds and animals live here. Even the untrained eye will notice traces of beavers. Lake Kalejty, which is protected by the reserve, is correctly called Długie. And so is its shape - elongated. From the south, it connects with a bay called Kaleta (also elongated). The lake has an area of 159.7 ha. Its maximum depth is 12 meters. The shoreline is irregular, "winding". Two twisting peninsulas penetrate the lake. One of them is called "Buffalo Horn" due to its shape. From the headland of the peninsula there is a view of the lake with mysterious names such as "To Chilmona na Róg", "To Pieca", or "Bagienko". The shores of the lake are also very diverse. There are marshes, peat bogs, meadows, as well as dry, sandy areas. A cognitive path has been marked out in the reserve. http://kalejty.pl/str/rezerwat-kalejty

Perkuć – a water-peat-forest reserve, established in 1970 on an area of 64.50 ha and enlarged to 209.82 ha in 1985. The reserve includes the forest-overgrowing Kruglak lake and the surrounding peat bogs and forests. The peat bog and water vegetation is very rich, including a number of rare and endangered plant species. Among the forest communities, pine forest and mixed forest groups dominate, less frequently hazel-spruce mixed forests and oak-hornbeam forests. Alder forests and spruce peat bog forests can be found on small areas. https://plaska.bialystok.lasy.gov.pl/rezerwaty-przyrody

Overall great, just a shame that many places are not available.

The Holy Place is located on the banks of the Rospuda River next to the Jałówka River and Lake Jałowe. There is a chapel built in the fence from 1990 and several wooden and stone crosses, as well as a large wooden shrine. On one of the wooden crosses - which draws attention with its appearance - a copper plate is nailed with a text by Father Antoni Kochański, the deceased parish priest of Janówka. It informs that this cross was erected by the Yotvingians from the Skometa team after they were baptized in 1283, before going to Samland. The cross, supposedly burned and destroyed by pagans, miraculously survived and was re-erected by converted enemies. This place is surrounded by an aura of mystery and extraordinary. Miracles that have appeared here through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary have long been told. The first miracle is said to have occurred during the times of the Yotvingians, when a cross thrown into the water, instead of floating down, returned to the same place. The second miracle occurred when the Mother of God saved people surrounded by Tatars by covering them with an invisible cloak. Sometimes this extraordinary event is transferred to the times of the January Uprising. In fact, the sacred place is most likely located on the site of the former cemetery of the Orthodox church built by Bohdan Hrynkowicz Wołłowicz after receiving the grant of the forest - around 1514. It was patronized by St. John the Baptist - hence so many names related to the name of John in the area. Local people have been gathering in this place on June 24 for a long time. They prayed, ate a ritual meal, washed themselves in the nearby Jałówka river, made offerings under the crosses - money and food, and tied decorative towels on them. As ethnographers explain, these rites are characteristic of the Orthodox holiday of Jordan. Similar behaviors are seen in the Mińszczyzna region, where some of the population probably came from. Today, the holiday is officially sanctioned by the local parish priest. https://suwalszczyzna.com.pl/info/miejsca/uroczysko-swiete-miejsce