Magura National Park

Magura covers about twenty thousand hectares of the Low Beskids, the lowest and gentlest section of the Polish Carpathians, and it is roughly ninety-five percent forest - mostly beech, with fir, in stands old enough to hold wolf, lynx, bear passing through, and one of the denser populations of lesser spotted eagle in Europe. What makes the landscape read as it does is history: this was Lemko country, and the population was deported in 1947 under Operation Vistula, after which the villages were abandoned and the fields, orchards and pastures were left. Walking here you come across orchards gone wild, foundations under moss, cemeteries in clearings and wooden churches standing in villages that are otherwise gone. The forest has been advancing over it for nearly eighty years. It is one of the least visited national parks in Poland and the quietest walking in the Carpathians.

What you actually see

• Ninety-five percent forest - beech and fir over twenty thousand hectares.
• Fields going back to wood - orchards, foundations and cemeteries in the trees.
• Wooden churches - standing in villages that no longer exist around them.
• Very few people - among the least visited national parks in the country.

When to go

May to October; autumn for the beech colour. Two days.

Honest expectations

There is very little infrastructure - few marked facilities and sparse accommodation. A car is needed; public transport is minimal. The forest is continuous and views are rare. Ticks are a real issue here from spring to autumn.

Nearby

Krempna is the park base; the Bieszczady are east.