Natural curiosities of the western part of the Sobieszewo Island

The western part of the Sobieszewo Island hides a natural pearl – Ptasi Raj Reserve (The Birds’ Paradise Reserve). The route of our ten-kilometre trek allows you to get acquainted with both the didactic path leading here, as well as an intimate beach far away from local recreation centres and the settlement of Górki Wschodnie (The Eastern Hills).

The route mostly leads along compacted dirt roads and forest paths without higher hills. To diversify the journey, we also cross the wooden footbridge over the peat bog and observe the reserve from two viewing platforms. The first of them is located on Lake Karas, the second on the reservoir with the same name as the reserve – Ptasi Raj (The Birds’ Paradise). On some sections, the educational trail is narrow, which certainly makes it difficult to cross, e.g. with an off-road pram. Here and there, there  is also muddy sand, but such is the charm of Sobieszewo Island.

In the first part of the journey, our route focuses primarily on the stops and described boards of the ornithological route. You can learn from them what birds occur here, what they eat, which of them winter or fly away to warm countries. In the spring and summer, from the viewing platforms that are on the route you can observe up to several thousand birds at once, and this view is truly breath-taking.

In the second part of the journey we get to know the intimate, almost wild beach and picturesque forest, mostly coniferous. Strolling, from time to time we also come across signs of local tourist routes. In addition to the ornithological educational trail mentioned earlier, it traverses this green-marked walking trail and the blue bicycle trail named after Wincenty Pol.

The time taken to travel along the stops will take a minimum 2.5 hours
If you combine the trip with relaxation on the beach and consumption in a local restaurant, it is worth spending half a day on it.
Route distance: 10 km
Communication:
We start and end our route in Gdansk: Gorki Wschodnie (The Eastern Hills), end at Nadwislanska Street.
– You can get here by car and free parking is located at the end of the street.
-You can also take the city bus line 186, which leaves from the centre of Gdansk.

Local gastronomy:
In Górki Wschodnie (The Eastern Hills), at the end of  Nadwislanska Street there is a recommended restaurant that is open all year round. The Ptasi Raj marina is very popular on weekends and in the summer season, especially when it comes to fish dishes.

Link to the place: https://www.facebook.com/PrzystanPtasiRaj/
GPS track described:
https://www.traseo.pl/trasa/ciekawostki-przyrodnicze-zachodniej-czesci-wyspy-sobieszewskiej