Bieszczady Poloniny

The Bieszczady are lower than the Tatras but feel emptier than anywhere else in the Polish mountains. Above about eleven hundred metres the forest stops and the ridges turn into poloniny, long open grasslands that run for kilometres with nothing on them but wind, grass and the occasional wooden shelter. The valleys below hold very few villages, and large animals that are rare elsewhere in Europe live here in numbers, including wolves, brown bears and reintroduced bison, though seeing them is a matter of luck. The whole area is also protected for its dark night skies, which are among the least light polluted in the country.

What you actually see

• Polonina Wetlinska - the most walked of the open ridges, with a small wooden shelter on the crest serving food.
• Tarnica - at 1346 m the highest summit on the Polish side, a stony cone at the end of a long ridge walk.
• Polonina Carynska - a steep climb straight from the road onto a narrow grass ridge with views both ways.
• The night sky - very little artificial light in the valleys, so the Milky Way is visible on clear nights.

When to go

June to September is the reliable hiking season, with July and August the busiest and most likely to bring afternoon storms. Late September and October give clear air, autumn colour on the beech slopes and cold nights. Start early: the poloniny are fully exposed and thunderstorms build fast over them in summer afternoons.

Honest expectations

It is a long drive from anywhere, roughly two hours past Rzeszow on winding roads, and the single loop road jams on summer weekends with parking full by nine in the morning. Trails are muddy for days after rain and the clay is slippery. Accommodation is limited and books out early, shops are few, and the weather on the ridges changes quickly.

Nearby

Lake Solina and its dam are under an hour west, and the wooden churches of the San valley are scattered along the way.