The best hiking routes in Bieszczadzki Park Narodowy

Bieszczadzki Park Narodowy is characterized by its distinctive long, parallel mountain ridges known as polonynas, which are high-altitude meadows rising above the tree line. Unlike many other mountain ranges where rocky peaks dominate the horizon, these summits are covered in dense grasses and bilberry bushes. Walkers will notice a sharp transition around 1100 meters, where the beech forests abruptly give way to these open, wind-swept grasslands. This unique timberline structure means you spend much of your ridge walk entirely exposed to the elements, with wide views of rolling green or golden slopes depending on the month.

Underfoot, the trails consist of a mixture of packed earth, exposed sandstone rocks, and clay that becomes slick after wet weather. On the most popular ascents, such as the routes leading up to Tarnica or Połonina Caryńska, wooden steps and log erosion barriers have been installed to stabilize the path. The lower sections of the trails wind through deep beech forests, where the ground is often damp and crisscrossed by thick tree roots, requiring careful foot placement.

This park does not offer rugged alpine crags or dramatic granite cliffs. Instead, the landscape is one of long, continuous ridges and deep, forested valleys. In October, the beech canopy turns a deep copper red, making the forest sections particularly striking, while the high meadows turn a dry, pale straw color. The main ridge paths are well-marked and can be busy during national holidays, but the quieter valley trails, which often follow old, abandoned village sites marked only by wild fruit trees, offer a much flatter and more solitary walking experience.