Halicz

Halicz is a 1,333 m peak, the third-highest in the Polish Bieszczady and in the whole Western Bieszczady. It stands in the eastern part of the Tarnica and Halicz group, between Kopa Bukowska and Rozsypaniec, inside Bieszczady National Park. Its triangular summit rises above the head of the Wołosatka valley and above the upper San valley, along which the Polish–Ukrainian border runs here. The nearest villages, Wołosate and Tarnawa Niżna, are both about 6 km away.

An eastern ridge leaves Halicz towards the flat top of Wołowe, often wrongly called «Little Halicz», separated by a small saddle called Sidło. The mountain is built of hard Krosno-series sandstones and shales, so outcrops, rock ribs and boulder fields are common on the summit ridge. The Halicz stream, a left tributary of the San, springs on the eastern slope at about 1,200 m. The origin of the name has not been explained.

Getting there / trails

The red Main Beskid Trail (part of the European route E8) crosses the summit – one of the most popular paths in the Bieszczady. The park's «Rozsypaniec – Krzemień» nature trail follows it.

• From Wołosate via Bukowska Pass and Rozsypaniec – about 3 h 35 min (2 h 30 min down).
• From the pass below Tarnica – about 1 h 35 min (1 h 15 min back). The pass is reached by the blue trail from Wołosate or the red trail from Ustrzyki Górne via Szeroki Wierch.

The most common option is a loop from Wołosate: blue trail to Tarnica, then red over Halicz and Rozsypaniec to Bukowska Pass and back to Wołosate. Descents from the ridge on the Polish side are only allowed on marked trails.

The view from the summit

Halicz is famous for its all-round panorama. In good visibility you can see the Ukrainian part of the Bieszczady – Polonyna Bukovska with Kinchyk Bukovskyi, Polonyna Rivna, Starostyna and Pikui – and far away even the Gorgany peaks Popadia and Velyka Syvulia. The upper San valley towards the Uzhok Pass is clearly visible, Magura Łomniańska dominates to the north, and to the west the Tarnica ridges rise above the Wołosatka valley.

Nature and history

The summit is entirely covered by mountain meadow with scattered rocks; natural spruce forests grow on the north-eastern slopes. Plants rare in Poland include arnica, Kotschy's knapweed, Bukovina monkshood and Dacian sedge, and the Carpathian spurge is an endemic. Green alder takes the place of dwarf pine here. The most numerous birds are the water pipit and the raven.

The meadows of Halicz were long used by the Boykos, whose main livelihood was grazing oxen high in the mountains – in 1913 some 1,900 oxen grazed on Halicz. According to Hungarian chronicles, the borders of Poland, Hungary and Rus met somewhere here in the Middle Ages. The first tourist trail to Halicz was marked in blue in 1933 from Sianky (now a village in Ukraine), and the first winter ascent was also made from there in 1909. After the war Halicz was for many years the end of the Main Beskid Trail, laid out in 1953 by Władysław Krygowski and Edward Moskała; it was extended to Rozsypaniec in 1975 and to Wołosate in 1980. On 5 August 1953 Father Karol Wojtyła climbed Halicz from Ustrzyki Górne.

Safety, season and rules

The ridge from the pass below Tarnica to Bukowska Pass runs over open meadows with no shelter from wind, storms or fog, so shorten the hike in bad weather. In winter the trails can be icy. The state border with Ukraine in the San valley is an external EU border; crossing it outside official checkpoints is prohibited, and the Polish Border Guard may check documents in the border area.

The summit lies within Bieszczady National Park. Under the park rules in force since 14 April 2026, entry to the trails is charged all year: a ticket costs 11 zł (reduced 5.5 zł, children under 7 free), is sold at the pay points by the trailheads or online, and is valid on all park trails on the same day. Walking is allowed on marked trails only and only between sunrise and sunset – night hiking is prohibited. Dogs are not allowed on the trails (except a few short sections, on a lead and muzzled); flying drones and leaving litter are also banned.

The Bieszczady are covered by the Bieszczady Group of the mountain rescue service GOPR (station in Ustrzyki Górne): call 985 or +48 601 100 300, or the general number 112; installing the «Ratunek» app is recommended. In winter the park advises reporting longer planned routes to the GOPR station in Ustrzyki Górne.

Interesting facts

• The flat neighbouring top of Wołowe is often wrongly called «Little Halicz».
• In the early 20th century a cart road even led up to the Halicz meadows from the church in Tarnawa Niżna.

Połonina Bukowska

Halicz is the highest summit of Połonina Bukowska, a treeless ridge that also includes Kopa Bukowska (1320 m), Rozsypaniec (1280 m) and Kińczyk Bukowski (1251 m) on the border. The red Main Beskid Trail follows the meadows from Bukowska Pass to Kopa Bukowska, while on the Ukrainian side a trail leads to Bukowska Pass from Uzhok Pass via Opołonek and Kińczyk Bukowski.

Kińczyk Bukowski stands on the state border, which here also forms the southern boundary of Bieszczady National Park. The summit is under strict protection: hikers may not go there from Poland, and from Ukraine only with the border guard's permission. It carries Polish and Ukrainian border posts No. 173 and remains of First World War trenches.

The meadows are valued for their East Carpathian flora. The East Carpathian catchfly (Silene dubia) grows here at about 1140 m near the trail – its only site in Poland, where only about 100 shoots were counted in 2002. Melampyrum saxosum, a cow-wheat endemic to the Eastern Carpathians with only a few sites in Poland, all in the Western Bieszczady, and the sedge Carex dacica also occur here. Leaving the marked trail to look for these plants is forbidden.

Photos: Pudelek, CC BY-SA 4.0; Henryk Bielamowicz, CC BY-SA 4.0; Henryk Bielamowicz, CC BY-SA 4.0; Henryk Bielamowicz, CC BY-SA 4.0; Pudelek, CC BY-SA 4.0; SkyMaja, CC BY-SA 4.0 — Wikimedia Commons.