At the end of summer 2020 we decided to spend two days and one night in Poloniny National Park, in the far east of Slovakia, very close to the Slovakia–Ukraine–Poland border. The main goal was to verify all those myths about the perfectly dark night sky that Poloniny are famous for and for which people travel here from great distances.
A long journey to the end of Slovakia
We arrived in Poloniny by car after a fairly long drive from Bratislava. We gradually approach the village of Nová Sedlica, which was to be our starting point. Just before the village we stop by the road and begin preparing for the hike – changing clothes, unpacking and repacking backpacks, carefully considering what to take with us and what to leave in the car. Nobody wants to carry unnecessary extra kilos on their back.
Shortly after, a border guard vehicle pulls up beside us. No one asks us anything, so we don’t get into a conversation either. After all, we are in the area of one of Slovakia’s most heavily guarded borders, so their presence doesn’t surprise us.
We finally leave the car parked at the very end of the village of Nová Sedlica and, fully loaded, set off along the red hiking trail toward a place called Temný vŕšok.
Ascent to Temný vŕšok
Temný vŕšok is a ridge section of the route that offers several open spots without dense forest. It is precisely there that we plan to pitch the tent and enjoy the views of the night sky. The weather is on our side – the sky is completely clear with no sign of clouds.
The ascent, however, is not entirely easy. It’s been a while since I carried a tent, sleeping bags, sleeping mats and other gear up into the hills. But what wouldn’t one do for nice views and a powerful experience.
Perhaps the steepest part is the very beginning of the route that goes through the Skládka pod Kýčerou. The climb noticeably eases only after roughly the first hour of walking. Another hour later we arrive at our first destination.
Temný vŕšok is actually the spot where the red trail crosses an unmarked route running along the ridge. We turn onto this unmarked variant and start looking for a suitable camping spot. To be honest, it’s more wooded here than I expected, and in most places the views of the sky are fairly limited.
In the end we find a small clearing that leaves a large portion of the sky open. We don’t want to keep looking, so it’s decided – we’re sleeping here tonight.
Evening under the stars
There’s still plenty of time before sunset, so everything proceeds calmly and without stress. We have dinner in the form of Iva’s excellent rolls and wash it down with absinthe mixed with fresh grapefruit juice. Apparently we didn’t skimp on the preparations.
In high spirits we watch the colours of the sky slowly change. The sun itself is hidden somewhere behind the dense forest and quietly disappears below the horizon. Before long the first stars appear. Expectations are high – I know how powerful it is to see the Milky Way or even distant galaxies. The question remains whether such an experience is possible in Slovakia, which is otherwise almost entirely covered by light pollution.
Before midnight the sky is completely dark and there are visibly many stars. The Milky Way also shows itself. The views are magnificent and our expectations are met. We lie on our mats on the ground and watch this nocturnal spectacle while lying down. One could watch this for a very long time, but gradually the cold forces us to crawl into the tent. Still, we step outside a few more times to bask in this exceptional experience. Of course, I hauled a tripod and a DSLR with me, so I also manage to take a few night shots.
Shortly after midnight we finally crawl into the tent and straight into our sleeping bags, as the cold had become unbearable.
Morning in the Poloniny
Early in the morning I’m surprisingly cold inside the tent, while Iva complains that she’s warm. We swap sleeping bags and everyone is happy. It’s still dark outside, so we allow ourselves a bit more sleep. We are only woken by daylight.
We pack the tent, all our little bits and pieces, and think about what to do next. Our next objective is the Kremenec summit. We don’t feel like carrying the tent and more overnight gear, so I look at the map and find a way to make a small loop without returning along the same route.
This allows us to leave part of our gear near the place where we camped. We hide a backpack full of things we no longer need in the nearby undergrowth and continue along the red trail with a plan to come back for it later.
To the Stužica River and beyond
The route then descends into the valley toward the Stužica River. At the spot where the path crosses the river by a small bridge we stop and make breakfast. It’s the perfect place – flowing water, a bridge that doubles as a bench and peace all around. Pure morning romance.
After a short refreshment and morning hygiene we continue on the trail toward Kremenec. The route starts to climb again, but the ascent is not dramatic. After about an hour we reach the Slovakia–Ukraine border. Besides boundary stones and posts, it is clearly defined by a wide cleared strip with no trees that runs along its entire length and creates a distinct line in the otherwise continuous forest.
It’s only a short distance from there to the tripoint, but over relatively steep terrain. It should be clarified that the Slovak, Polish and Ukrainian borders do not meet directly on the summit of Kremenec. That lies further east, already outside Slovak territory.
What’s of touristic interest is precisely the place where the borders meet. There is a stone monument marking this point. The red trail (Východokarpatská magistrála) meets a blue trail that comes from the Polish side. There are a few benches and even a spring that rises not far from this spot on the Slovak side of the border.
We find ourselves here almost completely alone. Mission accomplished. Although I have never been to Košice, I have reached the easternmost point of Slovakia.
After a few photos we also move to the actual summit of Kremenec. Unlike the tripoint, here only a boundary stone stands; nothing else marks the summit. It is not even located directly on the mentioned blue trail but a little away from it. The summit reaches an elevation of 1 221 m a.s.l.
From this otherwise unremarkable summit we get a view of the nearby Wielka Rawka (1 307 m), which already lies outside the border on Polish territory. It looks as if you could literally throw a stone at it, but it is separated from us by a fairly deep saddle. Nevertheless, we can’t resist the temptation and head in its direction.
It takes about 40 minutes and we are on the top of the hill that we hadn’t planned at all. The hill is extensive but still offers nice views. The weather is perfect, so in the end we spend more time here than on Kremenec.
However, it’s time to start thinking about retreating from these parts. We return to Kremenec and realise that being here early in the morning has its advantages – by midday there are noticeably more people. We continue along the Slovak–Polish border on the red trail toward Čierťaž.
The route alternates between forest and small meadows, stays on the ridge and we pass a boundary stone every now and then. It’s straightforward, following a dirt track. Although the terrain slightly undulates up and down, we essentially descend about 150 vertical metres.
Along the way we pass one of the larger open meadows called Kamenná lúka (1 200 m). Here the route leaves the forest for a while and the views open in all directions. If we had known about this spot earlier, we probably would have chosen it for watching the night sky.
At the saddle of Čierťaž we join the green trail and begin our descent from the ridge. We descend to a place called Lúky pod Príkrym, where we leave the marked trail and continue back to the spot where we left our backpack, not far from Temný vŕšok.
Although it is an unmarked section, navigation is simple – the route is wide and we have no trouble getting back to our backpack. Fortunately no one stole it, which of course pleases us. We are less pleased that from there we continue across open fields.
The original steep climb turns into an endlessly long and at times unpleasantly steep descent back to the car. The last metres make our shoulders tingle from the weight we carry.
In any case, we finally arrive at the car successfully – though thoroughly wrecked. Filled with joy from a great hike, we leave this eastern corner of Slovakia. The stars will remain in our memory for a very long time and this experience will repeatedly motivate us to seek out similarly dark places anywhere in the world.