It was established in 1993 and its characteristic feature is high forest cover (62% of the Park area) and relatively high lake cover (27% of the Park area). The natural and landscape axis of PKPI is the longest lake in Poland (27.5 km) - Jeziorak. Within the protected area there are 43 lakes that are picturesquely integrated into the landscape.
The park covers areas characteristic of a young post-glacial landscape. Post-glacial landscape forms such as terminal moraine hills, ground moraine, outwash fields and dead ice depressions filled with lake water are numerously represented here.
Among the fauna, noteworthy birds are 135 species nesting here, including many that are at risk of extinction both in the country, Europe and even the world, such as: ferruginous crake, white-tailed eagle, bittern, little bittern, lesser spotted eagle, red and black kite , osprey, crane. Popular and rarer game species live in forest complexes: deer, wild boars, red deer, and elk. Wolves sometimes appear in winter.
The longest lake in Poland, Jeziorak, is 27 km long.
The Iława Lake District Landscape Park, fot. Pomorskie.travel
Three nature reserves have been established in the Park
- “Jasne” – includes the lakes Jasne and Luba along with a series of raised peat bogs adjacent to the lake,
- “Czerwica” – a fauna reserve created to protect the colony of the black cormorant (the colony existed from 1934 to 2010, when the birds left the colony for reasons still unexplained) and the grey heron on the islands and peninsula,
- “Lake Gauda” – includes the lake. Gauda and the swamps adjacent to the lake on the eastern side.
The area of the Ilawa Lake District Landscape Park coincides with the borders of the Natura 2000 Special Protection Area for Birds “Ilawa Forests”, and within the boundaries there are two Special Natura 2000 Habitat Protection Areas – “Ilawa Refuge” and “Ilawa Lake District Avenue”.
