Styr Nature Reserve

The Styr nature reserve protects 97.83 ha of forest on the Styr massif in Bieśnik, in Zakliczyn municipality. It was established in 1998 to preserve natural forest communities typical of the Carpathian Foothills, and lies within the Ciężkowice-Rożnów Landscape Park.

Forest above the Paleśnianka gorge

The forest covers the rise above the gorge section of the Paleśnianka river and is cut by ravines of its unnamed tributaries. It forms a mosaic of communities: fertile Carpathian beech forest, acidic montane beech forest, oak-hornbeam forest, a foothill form of mixed coniferous forest and Carpathian alder carr. Within the reserve there is also the disused Bodzianty quarry, where bats hibernate: the greater mouse-eared bat and the lesser horseshoe bat.

Plants and animals

Sites of protected plants are reported from the reserve, among them ostrich fern, daphne and common columbine. In the 1990s breeding by 55 species of birds was recorded, among them the black stork, black woodpecker and dipper. Amphibians also live here, for example the fire salamander and the yellow-bellied toad.

Practical information

• The reserve is open to visitors, and a green hiking trail crosses it.
• It lies in Bieśnik, in Zakliczyn municipality. In the area is Melsztyn Castle.
• The reserve's protection rules apply, so keep to the trail. Check current restrictions with the Gromnik Forest District.