Guber: a quiet river of the Masurian borderland

The Guber – a quiet, easy kayak trail of the Warmia-Masuria borderland

The Guber is a little-known river on the border of Warmia and Masuria, a right-bank tributary of the Łyna. It rises south-west of Lake Guber, in the Ryn commune, is 83.5 km long and flows into the Łyna at Sępopol; the paddleable part is its lower course, about 44 km. It runs through woods and meadows, passing Kętrzyn, Biedaszki, Linkowo, Garbno, Saduny, Prosna and Sępopol. Its catchment lies in three regions: the Great Masurian Lakes, the Mrągowo Lakeland and the Sępopol Lowland.

This is a quiet, rarely visited river. The slow current suits families, but as on any wild river you have to reckon with a few natural obstacles.

The Guber route: Biedaszki – Sępopol

The Guber is short and mostly easy. The current is slow, so whole families paddle it, but the difficulty shifts with the obstacles: in places lie trees felled by wind and beavers, there are small riffles and silted, shallower fragments. The character of the river depends on the water level, so it's worth checking before the trip.

The biggest obstacle is at Sępopol: before the former mill the river divides, and from a distance you can see a low weir by the old mill - you have to keep to the left branch and carry the kayak along the left bank. Otherwise there are no large damming structures on the Guber, but just past Biedaszki there are 2-3 km of a wooded stretch with fallen trees, small drops and portages whose layout changes from season to season. The banks are now wooded and shaded, now open, grassy and sunlit; on the lowland, exposed stretches the wind adds its share. The trip begins in Biedaszki near Kętrzyn - the zero kilometre of the trail; Kętrzyn itself is the nearest base with facilities. You can see the whole course on the interactive trail map.

Nature along the Guber: the valley and its birds

The Guber valley is protected as the Guber River Valley Protected Landscape Area: meadows, wetlands and stands of trees. The quiet of the river makes the difference here - the fewer people, the more animals come down to the water.

Beavers manage the river and the white-tailed eagle hunts over it. Herons - grey, and increasingly white - are tied to the wetlands and damp meadows, along with white storks, of which a good many nest in the region. This is a route where, from the kayak, you really can watch the bird life of the Warmia-Masuria valleys.

Region and history: Kętrzyn and the Wolf's Lair

The main town of the trail is Kętrzyn, formerly Rastenburg, founded on the lands of the Prussian tribe of the Barts. In 1329 the Teutonic Knights built a watchtower here, and the town received its charter in 1357 under Chełmno law. From that time comes the Teutonic castle of the second half of the 14th century, seat of the Order's procurator, burnt in 1945 and rebuilt in its Gothic form (today it houses a museum).

The most precious building is the Basilica of St George, raised from 1359 and extended into the early 16th century - the best-preserved fortified church in Masuria; in 1999 John Paul II raised it to the dignity of a minor basilica. A few kilometres from the town, at Gierłoż, lies the Wolf's Lair - Hitler's former headquarters. That is already off the river, but many combine a Guber trip with a visit there.

Stretches of the Guber trip: from Biedaszki to Sępopol

The Guber is most conveniently paddled in two stages. The upper stretch, Biedaszki-Sątoczno, is a quiet, winding river of the Warmia-Masuria borderland, among fields and copses; just past Biedaszki there are 2-3 km of a wooded fragment with small drops and portages, and at Sątoczno the Sajna joins it. The lower stretch, Sątoczno-Sępopol, about nine kilometres, leads on a calm current to the outflow into the Łyna - the best choice for a single day with the family. You can see every stretch on the map below - in "Take it easy" mode, with facilities and water levels along the way. And if you'd rather plan the trip your own way, you can draw your own route in "Your own way" mode.

See the trail on the interactive map Click to load the map with the route drawn in

Towns and villages along the Guber

The trip begins in Biedaszki near Kętrzyn, and the town itself is the best base - with its monuments and facilities. It ends in Sępopol on the Sępopol Lowland, where the Guber gives its waters to the Łyna; a small, sleepy town with a former mill and medieval roots. The Guber is a proposal for quiet and calm paddling far from the crowded routes. At Sątoczno, a few kilometres before Sępopol, the Sajna flows into the Guber.