The Bieszczady are the wildest mountains in Poland, a corner where the country meets Ukraine and Slovakia and the forest has had decades to reclaim the land. The border ridge, running along the frontier, and the valley of the upper Solinka, below it, are part of the Polish section of the Carpathian primeval beech forests, protected within Bieszczady National Park. There are no roads up here: the ridge is reached on foot, and the forest, with its old beeches, fir and sycamore, is home to wolves, lynx, brown bears, and the European bison that were reintroduced to the area.
The emptiness has a history. Before the Second World War, these valleys were full of villages of Boykos, a Ukrainian-speaking highland people, with wooden churches, mills and fields. After the war, in fighting between the Polish army and Ukrainian insurgents and in the deportations that followed, the population was removed and many villages vanished entirely. Today, all that remains in some valleys are fruit trees gone wild, the foundations of houses, overgrown cemeteries and roadside crosses. Walking through the meadows where Solinka and its neighbours once stood is a melancholy experience.
For riders, the Bieszczady are a favourite destination, mainly thanks to the Great Bieszczady Loop, the Wielka Obwodnica Bieszczadzka, a circuit of roads linking Lesko, Ustrzyki Górne, Wetlina, Cisna and Lake Solina. The road between Cisna, Wetlina and Ustrzyki Górne runs through forest and along valleys under the grassy high ridges called połoniny, with good curves, a few steep climbs and wonderful views. Surfaces are generally good, but watch out for gravel, wildlife and cyclists, and for heavy traffic on summer weekends. There are no road crossings into Ukraine along this stretch of the border, so plan your route accordingly.
Facilities are modest. Cisna and Wetlina are small villages with guesthouses, bars and limited shops; for reliable fuel and supplies, fill up in Lesko or Ustrzyki Dolne before heading into the mountains. Bring rain gear: the weather changes quickly, and fog can sit on the passes.
In the evening, in a wooden guesthouse in Wetlina, eat a plate of pierogi with local cheese or a bowl of bigos, the hunter's stew of cabbage and meat, and listen to the stories of people who came here to escape the city. The Bieszczady attract artists, dreamers and eccentrics, and the atmosphere in the evenings is half the reason to come.