Bieszczady: Poland’s wild south-east corner

Route description

Take the A4 motorway east from Kraków towards Rzeszów, about 170 km to Łańcut; this eastern stretch of the A4 is toll-free. Łańcut Castle, a grand aristocratic residence in a moated park, holds one of the largest collections of horse-drawn carriages in Europe. From there head south on country roads to Sanok, about 80 km, the gateway to the Bieszczady.

Sanok has one of the largest open-air museums in Poland, with wooden Orthodox and Greek Catholic churches, cottages and a rebuilt market square, and the castle in town holds a gallery of works by the painter Zdzisław Beksiński. Continue south through Lesko to Lake Solina, a large reservoir with a dam you can walk across and boats in summer.

From Solina, the Big Bieszczady Loop runs south-east through Cisna to Wetlina and on to Ustrzyki Górne. Villages here are small and scattered, with wooden churches and meadows at the foot of the połoniny, the grassy ridges above the tree line. Park at the Wyżna Pass for the walk onto Połonina Wetlińska, about 1 hour 15 minutes up to the Chatka Puchatka shelter.

Ustrzyki Górne is the starting point for Tarnica, the highest peak of the Polish Bieszczady, a round walk of five to six hours. Fuel up in Sanok or Lesko: stations are few in the mountains. Roads are narrow and winding but fine for motorhomes at a gentle pace. Bieszczady National Park charges a small trail fee, and late September brings bright beech forests.