Snina is a small town at the foot of the Bukovské Hills, in the far north-east corner of Slovakia, a place where the road seems to run out of country. Beyond lies the Ukrainian border and the forests of the Eastern Carpathians, and the ancient beech woods around Rožok are part of a transnational UNESCO site, listed in 2007 and since enlarged, that protects some of the last primeval beech forests in Europe. Here the trees grow in the old way, with fallen trunks left to rot, mosses carpeting the forest floor and giant beeches reaching skyward. The silence is deep and green.
The ride to this corner of the country is a long one, and that is part of its attraction. Roads cross wide valleys and rolling hills, with small villages and wooden churches of the Carpathian Rusyn tradition, built without nails and capped with onion domes. Several of these churches in Slovakia are listed by UNESCO as well, and some stand near the route. The surface can be uneven, with frost damage in places, and traffic is light. Mist forms in the valleys, and the temperature drops quickly in the evening, so layers are essential. Late spring and early autumn are lovely, with the beech leaves fresh or golden.
Snina has over twenty-two thousand people, ten kilometres away, and it is the place for fuel, food and a bed, with the cheerful practicality of a border town. Sobrance, farther south-west, is smaller, with about six thousand inhabitants. The villages in between have shops and an inn or two, but late hours are a rarity. The Poloniny National Park, which adjoins the beech forests, is home to brown bears, wolves and lynx, and the chances of seeing any of them from the road are slim but not zero, so keep a watch at dusk.
The reserve itself is for walkers, and entry to the strictest zones is limited, so check before you go. The paths are well signed, and the beech woods are a rare chance to walk in a forest that has never been managed. Take your time, listen for woodpeckers, and give the trees a minute of your attention. Some are over three hundred years old.