Belavezhskaya Pushcha

Belavezhskaya Pushcha is the last substantial fragment of the primeval forest that once covered the whole of this plain, protected for eight centuries first as a royal hunting ground and now as world heritage shared with Poland. The European bison survive here in the only population that never died out entirely, and in winter they gather at feeding stations where they can be watched at close range from wooden hides. Oaks of quite enormous age stand along the marked trails. A residence of the Belarusian Father Frost draws vast numbers of children here through December.