Udava and Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Vi
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
286 km
Riding-time estimate
5 h 08
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.
A 286 km round trip from Cisna - roughly 5 h 08 in the saddle. The stops in between: Ladomirová, Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Vi and back through Ladomirová. It crosses from Poland into Slovakia - carry ID and check vignette or toll rules.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. 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
Udava is where the day begins. Next is Ladomirová.
2. Ladomirová
In the village of Ladomirová, just north of Svidník in north-eastern Slovakia, a small wooden church dedicated to the Archangel Michael stands on a gentle rise among trees. Built in the eighteenth century by the Greek Catholic community without using a single nail, it has three wooden towers with onion-shaped tops, rising in height from east to west, and its interior holds an iconostasis of painted icons. It is one of the eight wooden churches of the Slovak Carpathians inscribed together by UNESCO in 2008, and its simplicity and craftsmanship are deeply moving.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Ladomirová comes up about 86 km into the recorded legs. Next is Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Vi.
3. Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Vi
Haczów, a village in the foothills of the Carpathians in southeastern Poland, has a church that is considered the largest Gothic wooden church in Europe, and one of the oldest. Built in the fifteenth century, probably on the site of an earlier church, the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St Michael the Archangel is a massive structure of larch logs, with a steep shingled roof and a bell tower, standing among old trees. Inside, the walls are covered with polychrome paintings, the oldest from the late fifteenth century, showing saints, biblical scenes and decorative patterns, and the atmosphere is dim, warm and fragrant with old wood. In 2003 the church was listed by UNESCO among the Wooden Churches of Southern Małopolska, along with five others in the region. It is still used for worship, so check visiting times and dress respectfully.