Smolnik-Tserkva of Saint Michael the Archa and Turzańsk-Tserkva of Saint Michael the Arch
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
201 km
Riding-time estimate
3 h 56
Journey
Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
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Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
201 km from Lutowiska to Lutowiska, about 3 h 56 of riding. It goes by way of Stužica - Bukovské Vrchy, Udava, Turzańsk-Tserkva of Saint Michael the Arch and back through Udava. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
Scenic road chapters
Bieszczady Loop
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For 24 km this is Bieszczady Loop, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
Length
25 km
Named road
Bieszczady Loop
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Smolnik-Tserkva of Saint Michael the Archa
In the Bieszczady mountains of south-eastern Poland, close to the border with Ukraine, a wooden church stands on a gentle rise above the San valley at Smolnik. It is dedicated to St Michael the Archangel and built in the style of the Boyko people, with three log sections stepping up from east to west under shingled roofs. Since 2013 it has been part of the World Heritage Site 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
Smolnik-Tserkva of Saint Michael the Archa is where the day begins. Next is Stužica - Bukovské Vrchy.
2. Stužica - Bukovské Vrchy
At the very eastern tip of Slovakia, where the borders of Slovakia, Poland and Ukraine meet on the summit of Kremenec, lies a forest that has been left to itself for longer than anyone remembers. Stužica, in the Poloniny National Park, is one of the most valuable fragments of primeval beech forest in Europe, with trees several hundred years old, fallen trunks rotting slowly on the ground, and an extraordinary richness of fungi, insects and birds. It is part of the UNESCO site of the Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe, a transnational listing that started with forests in Slovakia and Ukraine.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Stužica - Bukovské Vrchy comes up 29 km in. Next is Udava.
3. Udava
Out where Slovakia, Poland and Ukraine meet, the eastern Carpathians fold into long, rounded ridges covered in beech forest so continuous that from a high point it looks like a green sea. Udava is one of the Slovak pieces of the UNESCO Primeval Beech Forests listing, protected within Poloniny National Park, the most easterly and least populated corner of the country. Here the forest has been left to its own rhythms for a very long time: giant trees, fallen trunks covered in fungi and moss, a dense understory of young growth wherever light breaks through. Wolves, lynx, brown bears and even European bison roam the area, and the dawn chorus in May is unforgettable.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
58 km in you reach Udava. Next is Turzańsk-Tserkva of Saint Michael the Arch.
4. Turzańsk-Tserkva of Saint Michael the Arch
The wooden church of Saint Michael the Archangel in Turzańsk stands on a gentle slope in the foothills of the Bieszczady mountains, in the far southeast of Poland, near the borders with Slovakia and Ukraine, with its onion domes rising above the trees. It was built in the early nineteenth century by the Lemko or Boyko communities, the Ruthenian highlanders who once lived in these mountains, and it is one of the wooden tserkvas of the Polish and Ukrainian Carpathian region listed by UNESCO in 2013. Inside, an iconostasis of painted icons separates the nave from the sanctuary, and the church is still used for Orthodox services.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Smolnik-Tserkva of Saint Michael the Archa closes the day.
Leg by leg
Smolnik-Tserkva of Saint Michael the Archa to Stužica - Bukovské Vrchy
Smolnik-Tserkva of Saint Michael the Archa → Stužica - Bukovské Vrchy is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Stužica - Bukovské Vrchy to Udava
Stužica - Bukovské Vrchy → Udava is 32 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Udava to Turzańsk-Tserkva of Saint Michael the Arch
Udava → Turzańsk-Tserkva of Saint Michael the Arch is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Turzańsk-Tserkva of Saint Michael the Arch to back through Udava
Turzańsk-Tserkva of Saint Michael the Arch → back through Udava is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Udava to back through Stužica - Bukovské Vrchy
back through Udava → back through Stužica - Bukovské Vrchy is 32 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Stužica - Bukovské Vrchy to Smolnik-Tserkva of Saint Michael the Archa
back through Stužica - Bukovské Vrchy → Smolnik-Tserkva of Saint Michael the Archa is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.