The Bieszczady are the most beautiful mountains in Poland.
You won't forget this scenery: the carpets of flowers spreading on the mountain meadows, the slopes softly descending towards the valleys, or the sun setting over the peaks and colourful beech forests in autumn. The Bieszczady are the most beautiful mountains in Poland - traveller Elżbieta Dzikowska has always emphasised. She has travelled all over the world, but her heart belongs to the Podkarpackie, to this land of peacefulness.
The Bieszczady mountains, the lowest range of the Eastern Carpathians, stretch through Poland, Ukraine and Slovakia. On the Polish side there are the Western Bieszczady, with the highest peak of Tarnica rising to 1346 m above sea level, and featuring the iron cross in memory of Father Karol Wojtyła, later Pope John Paul II, who visited the Bieszczady in 1953. These mountain trails saw many travellers, one of those being the legendary wanderer and symbol of freedom known to everyone in Poland as Majster Bieda from the song by Wojtek Bellon. His paths leading through Mounts Połonina Caryńska and Połonina Wetlińska, Szeroki Wierch, Halicz and Rozsypaniec are followed by tourists mesmerized with these landscapes. This is the final part of the Main Beskid Trail, the longest hiking route in the Polish mountains, which starts in the Silesian Beskid. Before World War II, the route led all the way to Chornohora, today in Ukraine. It was designed by the great traveller and author of the first Polish guidebooks Mieczysław Orłowicz, which is why one of the Bieszczady mountain passes was named after him. In one of his guidebooks he marvelled at the beautiful rocks on Mount Bukowe Berdo, and talked about the Bojko people living in the valleys.
Today, in the valleys, visitors can stay in the cosy guesthouses with the lovely views of misty mountains at dawn and enjoy the delicious regional cuisine. On top of Mount Połonina Wetlińska they can have excellent tea at the legendary Chatka Puchatka hostel, and in the evening, after they descend from the mountain they can stop by the iconic Siekierezada tavern in Cisna. Its name refers to the novel by Edward Stachura and the film which was based on it.
The Bieszczady Mountains continue to attract filmmakers like a magnet. The crew of the popular TV series Wataha (The Border) returned here several times. They found raw natural beauty, as well as footprints of wolves and bears in the snow. These primeval forests are invariably associated with a sense of freedom. Perhaps that is why years ago, the poet Jerzy Harasymowicz asked for his ashes to be scattered over the mountain meadows.
Discover Bieszczady for yourself.