Europe has a reputation as a domesticated continent. Its mountains are threaded by roads, its rivers are regulated, and its rural landscapes have been shaped for generations. However, among the Alps, the Carpathians, the Balkans and the great eastern plains, some territories survive that tell a very different story. They are primeval and ancient forests where human intervention has been kept to a minimum and where natural cycles still set the pace.
As we venture into them, we encounter trees that exceed in age many of the cities that surround them, fallen trunks that have remained there for decades, clearings opened by storms, and a fauna that finds in these thickets its last great refuge. Some form part of UNESCO World Heritage, within a network that brings together ancient and primary beech forests in 18 European countries. A return to the deep roots of this planet.
Białowieża, Poland
On the eastern border of Europe, where Poland meets Belarus, the Białowieża Forest preserves a fragment of the immense forest that once covered a good portion of Europe’s lowlands. It is one of the most important examples of natural forest mass on the continent and hosts an extraordinary variety of trees, from oaks and ashes to hornbeams, lindens and birches. Some specimens reach imposing dimensions, but what is really impressive is the structure of the whole. Those that die remain on the ground, others topple during storms, and clearings appear and disappear following natural processes.
Its most famous resident is the European bison. Białowieża constitutes one of the great refuges for this species, which was on the brink of extinction in the 20th century. Walking along its trails means stepping in a territory where it is still possible to follow the footprints of these enormous animals as they move among the trees.
In autumn, the early-morning fog and the reddish and golden leaves give the forest an almost primal atmosphere.
