Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the and Matkiv-Tserkva of the Synaxis of the Bless
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
318 km
Riding-time estimate
7 h 01
Journey
Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
From Snina it runs 318 km to Snina; allow about 7 h 01 of riding. It goes by way of Rožok, Wolosatka stream valley, Matkiv-Tserkva of the Synaxis of the Bless and back through Wolosatka stream valley. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 800 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available. It crosses Slovakia, Ukraine and Poland - carry ID and check vignette or toll rules. Much of it runs through woodland.
Scenic road chapters
Bieszczady Loop
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For about 34 km this is Bieszczady Loop, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
Length
34 km
Named road
Bieszczady Loop
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the
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.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the is where the day begins. Next is Rožok.
2. Rožok
Rožok is a small patch of very old forest on the eastern edge of Slovakia, close to the borders with Poland and Ukraine, and it is one of the components of the Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe, a World Heritage Site that stretches across many countries. Here, on a steep slope above the Starina reservoir, beech trees have grown undisturbed for centuries, some of them huge, with smooth grey trunks and wide canopies, and fallen trees lie rotting on the forest floor, feeding fungi, insects and birds.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Rožok comes up about 65 km into the recorded legs. Next is Wolosatka stream valley.
3. Wolosatka stream valley
The Wołosatka is a mountain stream in the far south-eastern corner of Poland, draining the slopes below Tarnica, at 1,346 metres the highest summit of the Polish Bieszczady. Its valley is part of Bieszczady National Park and of the World Heritage listing of primeval Carpathian beech forests: dark, mossy woods of beech and fir where dead trunks are left to fall and rot, and where bears, wolves, lynx and wildcats still move freely. Above the treeline the ridges open into the połoniny, high grass meadows that turn tawny in autumn and give the range its rolling, almost Scottish silhouette.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 99 km into the recorded legs you reach Wolosatka stream valley. Next is Matkiv-Tserkva of the Synaxis of the Bless.
4. Matkiv-Tserkva of the Synaxis of the Bless
Matkiv is a small village in the upper valley of the Stryi river, in the Turka district of the Lviv region, high in the Ukrainian Carpathians. Its wooden church, the tserkva of the Synaxis of the Blessed Virgin Mary, was built in the first half of the nineteenth century, and it is a fine example of the Boyko tradition, named after the highland people who have lived in these mountains for centuries. The church has three log frames topped by tiered pyramidal roofs, each level slightly smaller than the one below, and the whole building is covered in wooden shingles that have weathered to a silver grey. It is part of the UNESCO listing of wooden tserkvas of the Carpathian region in Poland and Ukraine.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the closes the day.
Leg by leg
Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the to Rožok
Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the → Rožok is 65 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Rožok to Wolosatka stream valley
Rožok → Wolosatka stream valley is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Wolosatka stream valley to Matkiv-Tserkva of the Synaxis of the Bless
Wolosatka stream valley → Matkiv-Tserkva of the Synaxis of the Bless is 60 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Matkiv-Tserkva of the Synaxis of the Bless to back through Wolosatka stream valley
Matkiv-Tserkva of the Synaxis of the Bless → back through Wolosatka stream valley is 59 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Wolosatka stream valley to back through Rožok
back through Wolosatka stream valley → back through Rožok is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Rožok to Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the
back through Rožok → Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the is 65 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.