Bieszczadzki Park Narodowy

Bieszczady National Park in southeastern Poland’s Subcarpathian Voivodeship is the country’s third-largest national park, covering 292 km². Established in 1973, it has been part of the International Biosphere Reserve “Eastern Carpathians” since 1992, and its ancient beech forests gained UNESCO World Heritage status in 2021. The highest peak, Tarnica, reaches 1,346 m. The park’s defining feature is its open subalpine ridges — połoniny — with panoramic views stretching into Ukraine and Slovakia. Wildlife is exceptional: brown bear, grey wolf, over 500 European bison, Eurasian lynx, European wildcat, moose, European otter, and the Aesculapian snake. It is one of the few places in Poland where large predators and herbivores coexist in near-wilderness conditions.