Dalkowskie Jary Nature Reserve

Dalkowskie Jary Nature Reserve protects a section of forest in the Wzgórza Dalkowskie hills, in the Dalków forest district, in the municipality of Gaworzyce, about a kilometre south-west of Dalków.

Gorges and a difference in elevation

The reserve covers the wooded summit part of Garb Kocich Gór, in the main ridge of the Wzgórza Dalkowskie. The terrain has steep slopes carved by a network of gorges, and the difference in elevation reaches 65 metres, between 150 and 215 metres above sea level.

Two beech woodland communities

Two beech woodland communities grow in the area, lying at the edge of beech's range: fertile lowland beech forest and acid beech forest, in an impoverished form characteristic of the Wzgórza Dalkowskie. Alongside mature stands there are also stages of regenerating forest. The reserve also protects spreading oaks and a fragment of moist forest dominated by beech.

Hillforts in the summit area

In the highest part of the reserve, the remains of two hillforts with defensive moats have survived, entered in the heritage register as traces of Lusatian culture and the early Middle Ages.

History of protection

The reserve was established on 23 June 1972 over an area of 17.17 hectares, with the aim of preserving a fragment of mixed forest with the features of a natural community. In 2002 it was enlarged to 36.12 hectares.

Practical information

• The reserve lies in the municipality of Gaworzyce, in Polkowice County, about a kilometre south-west of Dalków.
• Nearby, about a kilometre from the reserve, stands the palace in Dalków.
• Further on, in Czerna, you can see the manor house in Czerna.
• The reserve is forest terrain; trail markings and path accessibility are worth checking before a visit.