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The Bieszczady Mountains are the most beautiful in autumn. There are no other so colorful mountains. Why? It's all because of the beeches. In the fall their leaves turn yellow, redden, brown… Above them are the red grass of the meadows. The whole world in warm, autumn tones. A bit hazy in the morning, then illuminated by the gentle September sun.
We go to Bieszczady mainly for views. The most beautiful can be found in the mountain pastures. It is enough to go above the upper border of the forest, here it is relatively low - at an altitude of approx. 1100-1200 m above sea level. In good weather, we will see the Ukrainian Gorgany, Czarnohora, and on the other side even the Tatra Mountains.
In the world of mountain pastures
As a starting point for this part of the mountains, it is best to choose the vicinity of Wetlina and Ustrzyki Górne, and preferably one of these places first, then the other. From Wetlina we can reach the peaks of Wielka and Mała Rawka, Połonina Wetlińska and Smerek, from Ustrzyki Połonina Caryńska and the highest peaks of the Bieszczady Mountains on the Polish side - Tarnica (1346 m), Halicz, Krzemień, Bukowe Berdo….
Natural and historical paths have been created here for several years. As a rule, they lead along the routes of tourist routes, and in the area there are numbers marked with numbers where it is worth paying attention to particularly interesting natural phenomena and a few relics from the past. For each path, there is a booklet telling about interesting facts that we might not have noticed without this help. It is worth buying at least some of them. Not all of them, because the nature information is a bit repeated. The books cost from PLN 0.70 to PLN 6, and the price does not depend on the thickness of the publication, but on the intensity of tourist traffic on the trail. The most expensive is Połonina Caryńska, the cheapest - - The Upper San Valley. We can buy them at the gates to the park (adults have to pay 4 zlotys a day, youths 2 zlotys for admission. You can also buy a four-day pass, which will cost as much as three single tickets).
A significant and higher part of the Bieszczady Mountains is already beyond the Ukrainian border (culmination at the peak of Pikuj - 1409 m), and a small part of them belongs to Slovakia. The three borders meet at the top of Kremenaros also known as Kremenets (1221 m). The borders, although they hinder tourists (there are no crossings here, the closest to Ukraine via Krościenko near Ustrzyki Dolne, to Slovakia via the tourist crossing in Roztoki Górne near Cisna) do not interfere withnature conservation. Since 1992, the UNESCO International Biosphere Reserve "Eastern Carpathians" has been located here. Part of it is our Bieszczady National Park, which - as the only one in Poland and Central and Eastern Europe - can boast the prestigious PAN-Parks (Protected Area Network) certificate.
To the very end
Exactly: the upper San valley. The educational trail leads from the parking lot in Bukowiec (entrance from Stuposiany via Muczne) to the southernmost point of Poland - the San springs near the Użocka Pass. It is worth taking advantage of this proposal. We will follow the path along the Ukrainian border through areas that were not available for generations of tourists from Bieszczady, at least officially. There were and once were daredevils who would venture wildly into the Tomb of the Countess. They made their way through the bushes to see the place of the village of Sianki (before the war, a thriving resort with boarding houses, restaurants, tennis courts, and even a ski jump and a toboggan run), the church in Beniowa, or the ravine of the stream aptly named Negrylów. They risked a meeting with our or, worse still, Soviet border guards. Now relaxed: we leave the car in the parking lot (there is no other way, unless by bike) and walk for about three hours in a picturesque, wild valley over a small stream, which only a few dozen kilometers away will resemble a serious river that marks the border of the Bieszczady - San.
Who once could find the countess' grave was someone. Now signs will lead us to it. Who was the Countess? One of many, the owner of the village of Sianki. Why are we on pilgrimage to her grave? Because it is almost the only trace of civilization swept away by the Polish-Ukrainian war right after the Second World War. We will learn more about the villages that no longer exist, about the nature that has developed places abandoned by people in the aforementioned brochure.
And finally, other Bieszczady
Maybe even more colorful. Wooded ridges to the west and north of the mountain meadows. Wooded, but not without views. On the ridges of the Wołosania, Łopiennik or border ranges and under the peaks of the highest mountains, we can find vast clearings. The panoramas are therefore different, but no less attractive. Raspberries are late in the glades, blueberries are still on the bushes, and the blackberry season is in full swing. Mushroom power. There are real mushrooms, there are also rigs that have been forgotten in many regions of Poland. You can collect at will. Here we are outside the national park. We can walk on bushes, animal paths, discovering places where no one has been for years. We can even go camping in the wild … Or spend the night on the farmsagritourism in Cisna, Komańcza, in the villages around Baligród, or on the Solina Lagoon.
And we will not meet many wanderers. Especially now, after the season.
Where to live?
And it depends on your preferences. I believe that a tent is the best for the Bieszczady Mountains. You cannot spend the night in the wild in the national park and its surroundings, but there is an excellent network of campsites - from almost forest standard (like in Bereżki) to almost camping - with showers as it should - in Wetlina and Ustrzyki. But if someone
prefers more comfortable conditions, he can easily find places in private accommodation, now known as agritourism farms, shelters, and excursion houses. It is harder to find a very high hotel standard in this area, but it will also be found. It is worth asking for accommodation in the tourist information in Lesko, Ustrzyki Dolne and Cisna.