Augustów Primeval Forest, Old-growth forest in Podlaskie Voivodeship, Poland

Augustów Primeval Forest is a woodland complex of about 160,000 hectares, of which over 114,000 hectares lie in Poland's Podlaskie Voivodeship; the rest extends into Lithuania and Belarus. The north-western part around Lake Wigry is hilly, with heights reaching 182.8 m near Cimochowizna, while the larger central Równina Augustowska is a flat sandy outwash plain. The forest is drained by the Czarna Hańcza and Rospuda, and its northern section forms Wigry National Park.

Until the 13th century the area was inhabited by the Yotvingians; resettlement began only in the 15th century, when the woods were divided into forestry units such as Perstuńska, Przełomska and Berżnicka. In the mid-16th century they were royal hunting grounds for aurochs, bison, elk and bears, and timber was floated down rivers to Baltic ports. During the January Uprising the backwoods sheltered insurgents; a rebel cemetery in the Kozi Rynek reserve holds those killed on 29 June 1863. In World War I about 15% of the trees were cut down, and in 1941–1944 around 8,000 people, mainly Jews, were murdered near Szczebra.

The forest's name comes from the town of Augustów, and its older names were Grodno Forest and Perstunskaya Forest. Villages such as Bartniki and Rakowicze were founded by beekeepers guarding royal hives, while settlements like Starożyńce and Markowce trace their names to the osocznicy, hereditary forest guards. Honey-hunting rights were recorded from the 15th century near Tobołów and on Lake Serwy.

The area has marked trails allowing visitors to explore different forest sections, with educational centers offering information about local wildlife and plants. Visitors should prepare for natural conditions and be ready for longer walks through the woodland.

The forest holds graves of insurgents from 19th-century uprisings, serving as silent reminders of past struggles embedded within the landscape. These burial sites testify to people who sought refuge among the trees during times of conflict.