Bieszczady National Park Nature Museum

The Bieszczady National Park Nature Museum in Ustrzyki Dolne ("oo-STSHI-kee DOL-neh") is the best place to understand the Bieszczady Mountains in about an hour: how they formed, who lived here and which animals roam the beech forests and high meadows. Its modern displays, with dioramas, touch screens and a dedicated kids' zone, are ideal on a rainy day or at the start of a hiking trip. It is run by the national park, part of which belongs to a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Where it is

Ustrzyki Dolne is a small town in Poland's far southeastern corner, close to the Ukrainian border, on national road 84 from Sanok via Lesko. It is about 25 km (16 miles) from Lesko and 50 km (31 miles) from Sanok; from Kraków, plan on roughly four hours by car. The nearest airport is Rzeszów-Jasionka.

Bieszczady National Park at a glance

The park was established in 1973 and now covers more than 29,000 hectares (72,000 acres). Since 1992 it has been part of the East Carpathians Biosphere Reserve, and in 2021 some of its forests were added to the UNESCO World Heritage List as part of the ancient and primeval beech forests of the Carpathians and Europe. The park's emblem is the lynx. Its headquarters are in Ustrzyki Górne, higher in the mountains, while Ustrzyki Dolne hosts the museum and environmental education center.

What you will see

• Ground floor: a temporary exhibition hall (currently nature photography from the Bieszczady) and the Przyziemie café, where nature films are shown.
• First floor: it opens with the Cave of Time, a reconstructed ozokerite (earth wax) mine with a cast of a woolly rhinoceros found at Staruń. Next come geology (rocks, minerals under magnifiers, how the mountains formed) and regional history and tourism, including a Boyko wooden cottage, local legends and folk remedies.
• Second floor: wildlife and plants, from meadows and peat bogs to forest dioramas with touch screens, a hide for watching animals, and a section on the high mountain meadows (połoniny) that ends at the summit of Tarnica, the park's best-known peak.
• Kids' zone: "The Wild Kingdom of Pędzelek the Lynx", with games, a bear den and a quiz.

Visiting tips

• Allow about one hour.
• The museum has an elevator and is adapted for visitors with disabilities.
• An English audio guide is available (also with audio description), and you can download the app version for free.
• Photography for private use is allowed without flash or tripod.
• Pets are not allowed, except assistance dogs.

Is it worth visiting? Yes, especially with children or before your first hike in the park: it puts names and context to everything you will see on the trail.

Opening hours and tickets

As of October 2026, according to the park's visitor rules and price list of March 9, 2026:

Opening hours

• April 16 to October 31: Tuesday to Saturday, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.
• November 2 to April 15: Tuesday to Saturday, 8:00 am to 4:00 pm.
• In July and August also Sundays, 9:00 am to 2:00 pm.
• Last entry one hour before closing.
• Closed on public holidays including January 1 and 6, Easter, Corpus Christi, August 15, November 1 and 11, and December 24 to 26.

Tickets (in Polish zloty)

• Standard 27 PLN, reduced 17 PLN (children, school pupils, students, retirees, people with disabilities and their carers; proof required).
• Children under 5 free.
• Audio guide 10 PLN.
• Museum guide 100 PLN per group of up to 25, booked online via the park's e-booking system.

Tickets are sold at the museum desk; cash, Visa, Mastercard and BLIK are accepted. Address: ul. Bełska 7, 38-700 Ustrzyki Dolne. Phone: +48 13 461 10 91.

Nearby

• Lesko, with its 17th-century synagogue, Jewish cemetery and the Lesko Stone.
• Lake Solina, the region's largest reservoir and a summer favorite.
• Bieszczady National Park trails from Ustrzyki Górne and Wołosate, including the hike up Tarnica.