Bieszczady Mountains

The Bieszczady Mountains form the easternmost section of the Polish Carpathians and cover a sparsely populated, heavily forested area in southeastern Poland. The region is characterized by rounded, grassy ridges and protected natural areas.

The Bieszczady have a complex social history, including settlement changes and border shifts in the 20th century; large-scale depopulation after World War II altered traditional land use and contributed to rewilding of parts of the range. Conservation measures established national park status and protected habitats.

The mountains lie in Poland’s Podkarpackie Voivodeship in the country’s far southeast, bordering Slovakia and Ukraine, and are dominated by forested valleys and rounded alpine ridges.

• Highest summit: The highest summit on the Polish side is Tarnica at 1,346 metres, a frequent destination for hikers on marked routes.
• Landscape and wildlife: The area is noted for extensive beech and mixed mountain forests, open grassy ridges called połoniny and opportunities to see large mammals in remote valleys.

What to See #

• Połonina Wetlińska: Połonina Wetlińska is a broad grassy ridge famous for panoramic walks and seasonal shepherd huts, commonly reached from the village of Wetlina.
• Połonina Caryńska: Połonina Caryńska is another high meadow ridge offering long ridge hikes and viewpoints across the Bieszczady massif to neighbouring ranges.
• Bieszczady National Park: Bieszczady National Park protects large tracts of forest and open ridges and contains waymarked trails, visitor centres and wildlife habitats.