Bieszczady„I have a shelter on mountain pasture, more beautiful than a house in a town…” - these words of an old song reflect longing of the first after war people who traveled across Bieszczady, looking for romanticism and freedom in desolated, wild mountains. They went there in search for quietness, untouched nature, encounters with a bear, that is to say, a true man’s adventure. The myth of the Polish Wild West and the film “Łuny w Bieszczadach” for decades has been creating an image of the mountains in imagination of an average Pole; thus creating their tourist attractiveness.
Why do we come to Bieszczady nowadays? A real mountain trekker finds here scarcely populated and remote regions in Poland. They are no longer as wild as they used to be a quarter of a century ago, but still - although cut across by roads - they retained a lot from their past beauty. Long distances among mountain shelters and other tourist points plus poor communication enforce long, physically demanding, but at the same time very rewarding, daily walks. Most of the tourist activity is centered around Tarnica, Wielka Rawka, Wetlińska and Caryńska Mountain Pastures, as these parts offer magnificent panoramic views. On a sunny day, one can see peaks of the Ukrainian Gorgany, which are situated a hundred kilometers away. Huge, covered with wavy grass, surfaces of mountain pastures offer feeling of freedom, but in the summer season they can become sometimes too crowded. Western part of Bieszczady – the Hyrlata and Rosocha mountain ranges, Matragona, Chryszczata, Łopiennik and Korbania – are a lot more less popular among regular tourists as they do not offer such dramatic landscape. They are lower, almost completely covered with woods, but they are definitely more empty wilder and much more interesting to explore. Here one can find traces of the old beauty of Bieszczady. If we divert from a marked trail, we may spot a deer or a bison, we may pick up blueberries, raspberries and mushroom. The Bieszczady forests are very dense and sometimes we have to push through thick bushes and climb steep ravines. Of course, such expedition is only for experienced tourists who are well acquainted with a map and compass and who do not panic when the sun sets down and there is no tamped way under their feet.
History lovers may slow down their pace for a while and look around empty hills that used to be surrounded by church bells of once lively villages. Among nettles we may spot here and there old, tilted crosses of tombs. Such landscape is very typical for Bieszczady, but I strongly recommend the valley of river San, between Zatwartnica an Tworylne, bewildering with its landscape beauty. There you can see ruins of orthodox churches in Krywe and Hulskie. It is also worth visiting so called Bieszczady’s Bag, the most South – Eastern tip of the region, and Poland. There you can drink water from the spring of river San. The landscape of villages of Paniszów, Rosolin and Wola Sokołowa, situated to the west of Czarna and very rarely visited despite crowded tourist places at Solina Lake, is also full of nostalgic atmosphere… Among traces of old village households sheep breed and cherry trees, that have run wild, bear small but sweet and tasty fruit…
Enjoy Bieszczady in Poland!
Anja
Poland Bieszczady
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