Carpathian Trail

The Carpathian Trail begins outside of the city of Rzeszów at Przylasek, and you can get there by bus. You will almost directly walk into the first forest of many. Ensure you have the right trail. Since 2025, the first two stages have been changed due to too many asphalt roads, which used to be a trail back in the day. After 40 kilometers, the old trail and the new merge again, just a bit before the historic village of Dynów.

Once you cross the river San, which you’ll meet again and again on the trail, you’ll enter Pogórze Przemyskie Landscape Park. And these stages are wild. The trail is partly overgrown, with nettle and thorny bushes and lots of mud. You will also enjoy beautiful views around Huta Brzuska: some old churches, the impressive castle in Krasiczyn, and Mur Krzeczkowski, a sedimentary rock formed on the bottom of the former ocean about 100 million years ago. Around Przemysl, you’ll pass many fortifications, constructed by the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the mid-19th century.

Hiking through forests and fields with a little bit of climbing now and then, you will arrive in the 17th-century pilgrimage village of Kalwaria Pacławska. It offers an alternative to pilgrimages to Jerusalem with annual Way of the Cross processions. With 42 chapels, the basilica, the Mount of Olives, and an artificial Golgotha, the Way of the Cross of Jesus is reflected. Instead of Jerusalem, the Szlak Karpacki brings you close to the border with Ukraine and enters the Słonne Mountains (meaning ‘salt mountains’) with nine nature reserves and the Sanocko-Turczańskie mountain area. You can feel the history while hiking through desolate areas and abandoned villages.

In the village of Ustrzyki Dolne, you can restock and recover a bit before heading to the southeast corner of Poland onto the trail’s highest parts. All the climbing will be worth it: this mystical mountain area, called Bieszczady, brings you amazing mountain meadows and impeccable views. Here you’ll be on the highest point of the trail; Bukowe Berdo (1311 m) or Tarnica (1346 m) if you go for the summit.

The Carpathian Trail then leads you down to Ustrzyki Górne, a small but popular village, as it is the gateway to Bieszczady’s most impressive area. Here you will cross the Main Beskid Trail, Poland’s longest trail. You’ll also be able to stock up before you go all the way up again to Krzemieniec (1221 m): the point where three countries meet: Poland, Ukraine, and Slovakia. It will be hard to get lost in the upcoming stages. If you miss a trail mark, the many border posts will show you the way, as you will be walking on the border for quite some time. Mostly in the forest, but you’ll find that the panoramic view of Riaba Skała compensates for the monotony. In this section, you will travel back in time to the historic Balnica railway station, which has had a train in operation since 1898, and in Łupków where you can stay overnight in Schronisko na Końcu Świata: ‘the hut at the end of the world.’

Now you will enter the last mountain area, Beskid Niski. These stages are filled with military history with many defenses from the late 18th century, still visible as pits and ditches along the route. There are also uninhabited villages from the Wisła operation and many cemeteries and monuments from the First World War.

On the last stages, you will pass the lake of Klimkówska, one of the artificial but charming reservoirs in the Carpathian Mountains. One more climb to the top of Chelm, a look over the landscape to say goodbye, and you’ll finish the Szlak Karpacki in the small village of Grybów.

The best time to hike the Carpathian Trail is May-September. You can enjoy the spring on this trail in April, May, and early June and can expect hot summers, a lot of greenery, and crowds in Biezszcady and some other tourist highlights you will come across in the summer months.

But Poland is famous for its golden September, where the weather is mostly sunny and comfortable and you can see the wild forests changing their colors during your hike. October could be still possible as well, but some huts can be closed and the weather can be more changeable since you’re still in a mountainous area, although not at a high altitude.

The Carpathian Trail is well-marked for the most part, but there are sections with some bushwacking, so it is not uncommon to get lost now and then. Although chances are small, you could encounter wildlife like bears, lynxes, and wolves. Make sure you understand what wilderness and wildlife mean.

Pack your food properly and know what to do in case of an encounter. You can download the app Ratunek (choose Górne for ‘mountain area’ after downloading). Then you have an emergency button on your phone, just in case. Bring your trekking poles, as the trail can be muddy after rainy days.