Hidden in a fold of the Vihorlat hills near the Ukrainian border, the little village of Ruská Bystrá has a wooden church built in the early eighteenth century, dedicated to Saint Nicholas, with a tower and a roof of wooden shingles and an iconostasis of painted icons inside. It is one of the Greek Catholic churches included in the World Heritage listing of the Wooden Churches of the Slovak Part of the Carpathian Mountain Area, inscribed in 2008, along with Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox churches across the country.
The Vihorlat hills are a volcanic range covered with beech forest, part of which is included in the World Heritage listing of the Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians. Morské oko, a lake in the Vihorlat formed when a landslide of volcanic rock dammed a valley, is a beautiful spot reached by a short walk from the road. Zemplínska šírava, a large reservoir to the southwest, is a popular summer resort with beaches and water sports, known locally as the Slovak sea.
This is a quiet, rural corner of eastern Slovakia, with small villages, many of them home to Rusyn communities, a Slavic people with their own language and Greek Catholic or Orthodox traditions. The area is poor by Slovak standards, and many young people have left, but the landscape is beautiful.
The riding here is relaxed and empty: winding roads through forests and villages, with little traffic and good views. Surfaces can be rough, and wildlife, including deer and wild boar, crosses the roads. The border with Ukraine is close; the Ubľa crossing is the nearest, but travel to Ukraine is not advisable at present because of the war.
Sobrance, fifteen kilometres away, sells fuel and feeds travellers, and Snina, eighteen kilometres away, is a larger town. Try halušky, potato dumplings with sheep cheese, and the local plum brandy, slivovica, after the bike is parked.