The Barycz River Valley, one of the most beautiful river basins in Poland, offers wonderful landscapes and the opportunity to commune with nature without the hustle and bustle and crowds of tourists. On the Barycz River, among fields, meadows and forests, large fish ponds have been built for centuries. This unusual mosaic of environments has become a refuge for many plant and animal species. Barycz Valley is Poland’s largest ornithological reserve Stawy Milickie – a true bird paradise and an ideal place for birdwatching. It’s centuries-old oak avenues, inaccessible alders, flowery meadows and vibrant waters encourage nature-friendly tourism.

One of the greatest curiosities of the Barycz, even on a European scale, is the phenomenon of bifurcation. The waters of this river in its initial course between Ostrow and Kotlow do not have a definite direction of outflow, or they drain simultaneously in two directions – westward through Odolanów and Milicz into the Oder River (Barycz Proper) and eastward flowing into Olobok and Prosna (Barycz Lazy).

Europe’s largest complex of artificial fish ponds, the Milice Ponds, attracts birdwatching enthusiasts. And it’s hard to surprise them. At the Milice Ponds we will meet such a rare white-tailed eagle, which is the prototype of the emblem of Poland, or another impressive bird predator – the pond harrier. In addition to them, you can observe several species of herons, black stork, lapwings, corncrakes or beautifully feathered hoopoes.

The rich natural world here adjoins equally interesting but little-known cultural monuments, such as unique ore houses, half-timbered churches and historic but still operating weirs – traces of the former inhabitants of these lands.