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Volkovysk Upland

Plizio editorial teamUpdated: Jun 2026Data Sources

Mountain

Weather…

The Volkovysk Upland in western Belarus, located predominantly within the Grodno Region, is a large-scale, agriculturally oriented moraine landscape. With a maximum elevation of 242 meters, the upland features a comparatively gentle relief of broad, rounded hills and wide depressions sculpted by the glacial advances of the Sozh Ice Age. The most outstanding geological feature of this region is the massive presence of chalk deposits lying just beneath the surface. These prehistoric marine deposits have been commercially extracted in huge open-pit mines. Today, these abandoned quarries, having filled with groundwater, glow in an intense, almost unnatural turquoise-blue due to suspended calcium carbonate particles, earning them the popular nickname of the 'Belarusian Maldives'. Aside from these spectacular industrial landscapes, the upland is composed primarily of highly fertile loess-like soils, which has resulted in the region being heavily deforested and dominated by vast tracts of arable farmland.

Location: Belarus
Nearby: Vawkavysk (6 km)

Best time to visit & climate

The most pleasant time to visit is Jun–Aug.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Avg °C	-6	-4	1	7	13	17	20	19	14	7	2	-3
Rain mm	44	37	40	41	75	70	88	70	55	54	47	47

📋 Practical info

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Getting there

This heavily agricultural, wide region with its many rolling, gentle hills in the west of the country is particularly well reached by car utilizing regional connecting roads and smaller, quiet local farming roads.

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Best season

The reliably sunny spring and the warmly inviting summer are particularly pleasant for longer visits, consistently offering lush green landscapes and fully dry, easily navigable paths straight across the gently rolling agricultural hills.

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Terrain & paths

The very wide area is heavily characterized by highly easy on the eye, gentle hill ranges and truly massive open fields; the highly relaxing hikes here mostly take place on rural dirt roads or on relatively flat, very simple trails.

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What to bring

Comfortable, well-worn running shoes or light hiking shoes are completely sufficient; however, in midsummer, you must definitely remember strong sun protection, as wide agricultural areas often provide very little welcome shade from trees.

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Parking

Visitors can generally park completely without any problems and quite safely right in the local small villages or on the wide edge of the country roads just before they stroll perfectly through the highly idyllic, scenic farming landscapes.

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Safety

Always be highly considerate of the absolutely many private agricultural properties, consistently stay right on the public paths, and pay very close attention to surprisingly heavy agricultural machinery on the sometimes confusing dirt roads.

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Time needed

A very quiet, deeply relaxed walk or even a remarkably scenic, slow drive right through the perfectly gentle hills of this beautiful western highland region usually takes about two to three highly restful, unhurried hours in total.