Czoło (Bieszczady)

Czoło (Slovak Čelo, also Vysoký vrch) is a wooded summit about 1,159 m high in the Western Bieszczady on the border between Poland and Slovakia; the Slovak part of these mountains is called the Bukovské vrchy. It lies on the border range — the main watershed ridge of the Carpathians — between Riaba Skała to the west (via a pass at 1,083 m) and Borsuk to the east. A side ridge, Wobnoha, runs north-east from the summit to the Kiczera top (964 m) and drops to the Górna Solinka valley; it is flanked by the parallel valleys of the Tarnica and Beskidnik streams.

The southern, Slovak slopes fall into the Zbojský potok valley and belong to the Black Sea basin, while water from the northern and eastern slopes flows via the Górna Solinka to the Wetlina in the Vistula basin. The Polish part of the summit lies in Cisna commune (Lesko County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship), the Slovak part in the cadastre of Zboj (Snina District). The nearest villages are Wetlina in Poland (about 6 km) and Nová Sedlica in Slovakia (about 7 km).

How to get there / trails

The border ridge trail crosses the summit and is waymarked differently on each side:

• the blue Polish Biała – Grybów trail (Rzeszów – Grybów), on its section Okrąglik – Riaba Skała – Czoło – Krzemieniec – Wielka Rawka;
• the red Slovak East Carpathian Trail (Východokarpatská magistrála): from the west from the saddle below Ďurkovec via Jarabá skala (Riaba Skała), from the south-east from Kremenec, where three countries meet, via Čierťaž.

From the Slovak side, a green trail climbs from Runina via the saddle below Ďurkovec and a yellow one from Nová Sedlica via Jarabá skala. On the Polish side a yellow trail climbs from Wetlina via Jawornik to Riaba Skała. Krzemieniec is not far from Wielka Rawka, so Czoło is often crossed as part of a long ridge walk.

What you can see from the summit

The summit and slopes are forested, so there are no viewpoints on the top itself. According to Slovak Wikipedia, open spots on the ridge give views of the neighbouring Bukovské vrchy peaks, the Slanské and Vihorlat hills, the Polish Bieszczady and the Ukrainian Carpathians.

Nature and history

The slopes of Czoło are a valuable natural area: a site of Tozzia carpathica, a plant rare in Poland, was discovered here. The boundary between two national parks — Poland's Bieszczady National Park and Slovakia's Poloniny National Park — runs over the summit, and the southern part of the massif belongs to the Slovak Borsukov vrch nature reserve. Besides its Polish and Slovak names the mountain is also known as Vysoký vrch ("High Peak").

Safety, season and rules

The Polish part lies in Bieszczady National Park. Under the park rules in force from 14 April 2026, entry to the trails is charged all year (tickets at the entry points or online), you may walk only on marked trails and only between sunrise and sunset; dogs are not allowed on most trails and drones are banned. The border with Slovakia is an internal Schengen border, so crossing on marked trails is allowed, but carry an identity document. In winter the ridge is deep in snow, and in fog the forest makes navigation harder.

On the Polish side help comes from the Bieszczady group of GOPR (station in Ustrzyki Górne): 985 or +48 601 100 300; on the Slovak side from HZS: 18 300 (+421 18 300). The general emergency number is 112.

Photos: Ben Skála, Benfoto, CC BY-SA 3.0; Ben Skála, Benfoto, CC BY-SA 3.0; Ben Skála, Benfoto, CC BY-SA 3.0 — Wikimedia Commons.