Wda: the Black Water of the Tuchola Forest

Wda – the Black Water of the Tuchola Forest

The Wda is one of the loveliest rivers of Pomerania and has been one of the most popular kayak trails in Poland for decades. It is about 198 km long, and its basin is almost entirely bound up with the Tuchola Forest - one of the largest forest complexes in the country. Hence its nickname, the "Black Water": the name refers not to pollution but to the dark colour of the water, which comes from organic compounds washed out of the forest peat bogs.

The Wda's popularity comes from a rare combination of qualities. Most of the trail is technically easy, the current calm, and more serious obstacles appear rarely. At the same time the landscape changes almost by the day - the river passes through broad lakes, deep forests, peat bogs and cut-in valleys, making it one of the most varied waterways in Poland. Add to that an extensive support network: campsites, water stations and rentals spread along the whole route mean the Wda can be paddled for a single day or for a whole week.

Where the Wda rises and where it flows

The Wda rises on the Charzykowy Plain, near the village of Osława Dąbrowa close to Bytów, and flows south to join the Vistula at Świecie after about 198 km. Along the way it crosses two lands with distinct cultures: Kashubia in its upper reach, Kociewie in its lower. They are stitched together by the belt of the Tuchola Forest, through which the river threads for most of its length.

Paddlers rarely do the whole thing in one go. The classic, most often described stretch runs from Lipusz to Tleń and is about 140 km, which makes for a 7-10 day trip. Beyond that, all the way to Świecie itself, the river changes character: artificial reservoirs and hydro power stations appear, which have to be worked around overland.

Wdzydze – the Kashubian sea and the oldest open-air museum in Poland

One of the most popular starting points is the Wdzydze lakes, known as the Kashubian sea. The largest of them, Lake Wdzydze, covers about 1,420-1,460 hectares and reaches 68 metres deep; together with the neighbouring waters it forms a broad, connected system a dozen or so kilometres long. It is here that the Wda's link with Kashubian culture shows best - a region that has developed its own language, tradition and folk art over the centuries.

On the shore, at Wdzydze Kiszewskie, stands the Kashubian Ethnographic Park - the oldest open-air museum in Poland, founded in 1906 by Teodora and Izydor Gulgowski. On more than twenty hectares beside Lake Gołuń, several dozen historic buildings from the 17th to 20th centuries have been gathered, showing the vernacular architecture of Kashubia, Kociewie and the Tuchola Forest. For many paddlers it is a natural stop right at the start of the trip.

Nature: two landscape parks and a UNESCO biosphere reserve

In natural terms the Wda is among the most precious rivers of Pomerania. In its upper reach it enters the Wdzydze Landscape Park, created in 1983, which protects a mosaic of post-glacial lakes, peat bogs and forests. In the lower reach, below Tleń, it is surrounded by the Wda Landscape Park (1993) - the most natural part of the trail, where the river runs through a deeply cut valley between high banks and old forests. All of it lies within the Tuchola Forest Biosphere Reserve, recognised in 2010 by UNESCO as the largest such reserve in Poland.

The banks are covered with pine woods, alder carrs and riparian forest, and in the water live pike, perch, zander, tench and bream. Along the river you can watch kingfishers, white-tailed eagles, grey herons and cranes, and in quieter spots beavers and otters; the surrounding forests are home to red deer, roe deer and wild boar. One of the most beautiful stretches is the Krzywe Koło w Pętli Wdy reserve, where the river winds in numerous meanders through a deep, forested valley.

Stone circles, Czarna Woda and the towns along the river

There is no shortage of traces of former inhabitants on the Wda. Not far from the river, at Odry near Czarna Woda, lies the largest concentration of stone circles in Poland and the second largest in Europe - a relic of the Goths, protected as a reserve since 1958. About ten complete circles survive here, from a dozen or so to over thirty metres across.

Czarna Woda itself, a small town of about three thousand people, was for years a centre of the timber industry - which captures the character of a region where forest and river have always set the rhythm of life.

Tleń – the heart of the Tuchola Forest

The best-known place on the Wda is Tleń. This small settlement in the very middle of the Tuchola Forest has drawn paddlers, cyclists and nature lovers for decades. It is a good place to stay a while - there are walking trails, viewpoints and nature reserves nearby, and most one-day trips start or finish here.

Stretches of the Wda trip: from Wdzydze to Świecie

The Wda is best explored in stages. The upper stretch, from Lipusz through the Wdzydze lakes, runs on a swift current through wooded ravines and broad, sprawling waters; this is where the river is most often started. Below Wdzydze the channel narrows and turns scenic - narrow, forested sections alternate with weirs at which the kayak has to be carried around.

The middle reach, from Czarna Woda through Wojtal to the Tleń area, is considered the most beautiful part of the trail: the river meanders through a deep valley, past campsites and pine woods, and the most varied stretch is below Błędno, full of bends. The lower reach, from Tleń through the reservoirs at Żur and Gródek to Świecie, is technically undemanding, but it is the most logistically difficult part of the trail: just past Tleń the twelve-kilometre Żur Reservoir begins, where a wave builds in the wind, and further on come long portages at the dams and rapids studded with stakes - the PTTK calls these portages the most serious obstacles on the whole Wda. You must not paddle up to the damming structures; the Gródek-Świecie section alone is about 23 km and takes around eight hours. You can see all the stretches 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

Obstacles and portages on the Wda

The Wda is an easy river, but not one without obstacles worth knowing about in advance. The most serious are the portages at six hydro power stations: at Wojtal, Wdecki Młyn, Żur, Gródek, Kozłowo and Świecie-Przechowo. The detours vary greatly: about 15 m at Wojtal, about 40 m at Wdecki Młyn, but at Żur and Gródek it is already about 200 m and more, with an awkward launch at Gródek, and at Świecie the kayak is carried across a busy road. At Żur the trail enters the power station's headrace channel - before entering you must report to the dispatcher and get permission. In all, there are about eleven portages along the whole trail.

Beyond the power stations there are also weirs and sills, among them the mill at Lipusz, the sluice at the outflow of Lake Wdzydze at Borsko and the weirs on the Wda Canal. A lot also depends on the water level, and below Żur and Gródek it is set by the power stations' operating regime: when the turbines are idle, the section becomes shallow and cluttered with obstacles, which the gauge will not show. When the level is low, shallower stretches have to be dragged, so before you set off it is worth checking the current water level at the nearby gauges.

Świecie – where the Wda meets the Vistula

Near the end of the journey the Wda reaches Świecie and flows into the Vistula. In the fork of the two rivers stands a Gothic Teutonic castle, raised between 1335 and 1350; its cylindrical main tower, nearly 35 metres high and clearly leaning off vertical, still makes an impression today. This is already Kociewie - a land with a tradition different from Kashubia's, closing the kayak journey through the Tuchola Forest. Another river flowing down to the Vistula, the Drwęca, has a similarly forested, lowland character.