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Wieś Gawrych Ruda
Suchar Wielki is the largest of the nineteen dystrophic post-glacial pools lying within Wigry National Park. It sits by Gawrych Ruda, close to the Słupiańska Bay of Lake Wigry, ringed by dense forest. The water has a dark, tea-like colour, the result of humic substances washed in from the surrounding peat bogs.
The word suchar comes from a local term for dead trees and bog-peat vegetation. The surface of the lake is gradually being overgrown by a floating mat of peat mosses creeping in from the shores towards the middle. This process will in time turn the lake into a peat bog, and its successive stages can be observed in a single place.
A wooden boardwalk ending in a viewing platform leads to the lake, so the floating mat can be examined without stepping onto boggy ground. The area is under strict protection, so leaving the path, swimming and fishing are all firmly prohibited. A visit works best as a short, quiet stop on a longer route through the park rather than a day-long attraction.
