National Parks cover a mere 1% of Poland's territory. But what a 1%! Everything can be found in them, mountains, sea and lakes as well as bison, shifting sand dunes or the tree beneath which King Jagiello once rested.

There are 23 national parks in total. The oldest is the Bialowieski National Park, founded some 86 years ago, which consists of an area of virgin forest that is inhabited by Europe's largest mammals, the bison, as well as its smallest, the pygmy shrew, weighing only a few grams. The park is also famous for its record-breaking trees, in terms of both age and size. It is said that under Jagiello's Oak, which has a circumference of 550cm and a height of 39m, King Jagiello rested on his way to the Battle of Grunwald.

The latest National Park, at the mouth of the River Warta, provides protection for a valuable area of flood plain near Slonsk, where over 250 varied species of birds have been observed. 170 species nest here, while others stop over during their migratory journeys across the continent.

The largest, Biebrzanski National Park, is almost entirely covered by water, consisting mainly of a river and spongy peat bogs. The smallest National Park is the pocket-sized Ojcow National Park, a 12km section of the Pradnik Valley full of calcareous rocks in fairy-tale shapes, caves and castles from the time of the Piast dynasty.

Each of the national parks is a treasure-house of records. One of only two primeval forests that border on a great metropolis anywhere in the world lies in the suburbs of Warsaw, in the Kampinoski National Park. The other is in Nigeria. The River Narew, a long section of which is protected within a National Park, is one of only two braid-like rivers in the world. And the Gory Stolowe (Table Mountains) National Park has the only plate-structured mountains in Europe.

Although the national parks are places set aside for the protection of nature, they also contain reminders of historical events. Sosnowica, in the Poleski National Park, is the place where the young Tadeusz Kosciuszko, in love with the daughter of an estate owner, was served, as the saying goes, "Czarna Polewka", the traditional black soup of rejection by the father. And Zelazowa Wola, close to the Kampinoski National Park, was the birthplace of Frederic Chopin.

The Wielkopolski, Tatrzanski and Karkonosze National Parks are the most frequented parks by Poles but many foreign visitors come each year, particularly to those national parks which are noted for their bird life like the Slowinski, Biebrzanski, Narew, Poleski and the park at the mouth of the Warta.

National Parks by bike - Active Holiday