Tarnica, at 1346 m above sea level, is the highest peak of the Polish Bieszczady Mountains and the crown jewel of the połoniny ridge. Its slightly elongated, twin-summited silhouette stands out on the skyline, and the views from the top rank among the finest in the entire Polish Carpathians.
On a clear day, the panorama from Tarnica is extraordinary. You can see the ridges of the Polish Bieszczady, the distant Tatra Mountains, the Gorgany range, Połonina Równa, Połonina Krasna, Świdowiec and Ostra Hora. In exceptional visibility conditions, the eye reaches all the way to the Vyhorlat-Gutyn range, the Ignis Mountains and even Pietrosul Rodnei in the Rodna Mountains of Romania. The narrow, rocky ridge is littered with stone debris, and a steep rock face drops away to the south — wild, rugged scenery that is most spectacular in early autumn when the open grasslands glow with colour.
How to reach the summitThe summit cross commemorates the visit of Karol Wojtyła — the future Pope John Paul II — who hiked here on 5 August 1953, making Tarnica a place of quiet pilgrimage as much as a hiking destination.