Natural History Museum of Bieszczady National Park, Ustrzyki Dolne

The Natural History Museum of Bieszczady National Park (Muzeum Przyrodnicze Bieszczadzkiego Parku Narodowego) stands right in the centre of Ustrzyki Dolne, a small town on the road from Sanok to the Krościenko – Smilnytsia border crossing with Ukraine. It is the park's main exhibition venue: in an hour you can see what would take a week in the mountains, from the geological history of the Carpathians to bears, lynxes and the flowers of the poloninas.

The idea of a museum of Bieszczady fauna in Ustrzyki dates back to 1968. Construction of the present building began in 1974 and it opened in 1986; in 1991 it was taken over by Bieszczady National Park and today it works together with the park's Ecological Education Centre. After a break of almost two years for a thorough modernisation, the exhibition was completely renewed: it is now interactive, with multimedia, touch screens and tasks that encourage visitors to find the answers themselves.

What to see

• First floor – inanimate nature and regional history. The tour starts in the Time Cave, which "takes" visitors into an ozokerite mine. Next comes a cast of the woolly rhinoceros from Starunia (the famous find from the Precarpathian region of Ukraine) and bones of Pleistocene animals, plus a station where you can set off the formation of sediments on the floor of the ancient Tethys Ocean yourself. A fog screen shows a world that has vanished – the life of the former inhabitants of the Bieszczady in photographs, maps, models and apps.
• Second floor – animals and plants. The exhibition is designed as a walk along one of the park's tourist trails, from the "land of valleys" up to the summits of the poloninas. Forest dioramas with touch screens explain the life of the wild inhabitants of the Carpathian forest, and the "hike" ends on the summit of Tarnica, where you can sit on a bench and take in a wide mountain panorama.
• Children's zone "The Wild Kingdom of Pędzelek the Lynx". Little ones can measure themselves against a Bieszczady bear and even crawl into its den.
• Temporary exhibition hall on the ground floor – the museum regularly holds temporary exhibitions, including photographic ones. Films and slide shows about Bieszczady nature are screened in the audiovisual room.

Practical information

The museum is on Bełska Street, a few steps from the market square. Ustrzyki Dolne lies on national road 84 from Sanok via Lesko; from the Ukrainian side the nearest crossing is Smilnytsia – Krościenko. Buses link the town with Sanok and Lesko. The park's website gives no separate parking information – it is easiest to leave the car in the centre.

The museum is open all year from Tuesday to Saturday, and in July and August also on Sunday mornings; a standard ticket costs 27 zł and a reduced one 17 zł (full schedule and prices in the "At a glance" box). A visit takes about an hour; last entry is one hour before closing. You can rent an audio guide in Polish or English or download the free phone app. Organised groups with a museum guide must book a time slot online. The building has a lift and is adapted for disabled visitors, parents with pushchairs and older people. For families with children it is an excellent rainy-day option.

Nearby: trails and peaks

The museum is the best "introduction" before hiking in the high Bieszczady: the summit diorama recreates the view from Tarnica, the highest peak of the Polish Bieszczady, reached by trails from Ustrzyki Górne and Wołosate (about 45 km to the south). That is also where the Main Trail of Beskidy, Poland's longest mountain route, begins. If you are short of time, Lake Solina and the Solina Dam are half an hour's drive from the museum.

Official website: bdpn.gov.pl

Photos: Bartosz Nadolski, CC0, Wikimedia Commons.