Bieszczady, or home at the end of the world

Angels are said to live there. One thing is certain - you will not meet random people in this desolate, wild corner of Poland.

Jagoda and Maciej first came to Bieszczady 20 years ago. She owned an advertising agency, he was a conservationist. They lived far from here, in Szczecin, located at the opposite end of Poland.

One trip was enough to turn this orderly life upside down - and start a new one.

The dialogue that started it all looked like this:

– Is there any land for sale here?

– There they still sell land!

Jagoda and Maciej are the owners of the agritourism farm Chata Magoda in Bieszczady. They treat us to tea, by the fireplace, in one of their original reconstructed wooden huts from the region, where guests of the farm stay overnight.

They have always kept their love for folk architecture deep in their hearts.

They found one of the huts near Rzeszów, nearly 200 kilometers away, and the other at a neighbor’s premises. In the first case, they built the hut log after log and recreated at their home, in the second… they lifted the entire building on car jacks to add foundations.

We do not ask for more. We step out onto a beautiful terrace with rocking chairs, which offers a sweeping view of a deserted valley, a dense beech forest, and mountain meadows-closing the horizon – the mountain pastures. If it were summer, we would lie down on a hammock and forget everything.

Zbyszek Sierko

Space for thought

Jagoda and Maciej were not looking for mountains that are high. As a matter of fact, reaching an altitude of 1200-1300 meters, the Bieszczady Mountains were low mountains for Jagoda.

They fell in love with emptiness and spaces. In the seas of herb-scented meadows, dense forests full of wildlife, in the traces and memory of the mysterious former inhabitants of this land – Boykos and Lemkos.

Despite the growth of tourism in recent years, these words remain relevant. Jagoda and Maciej also have their beloved “secret” places in the Bieszczady that they recommend to their guests.

Hospitality “Love is sincerity and loyalty, and chopped firewood," Jagoda once wrote on her blog.

I prepare all meals personally, using local products. Cheeses made from the milk of our own goats, homemade jams (ever heard of carrot jam?), and in autumn – mushrooms in every form – land on the communal table.

Meals at Chata Magoda are served at a communal table. The hosts leave space, but if necessary, they offer advice and loose stories like from a sleeve. “A visitor is another world coming to us. A guest is a story – the one he comes with and the one we share with him,” says Jagoda.

After sleeping off the backlog, it is time to head outdoors!

The old wooden house has its own unique charm, but this does not mean giving up the comforts of civilization. Spacious, carefully furnished rooms with bathrooms bring peace and bliss. You can lounge for a long time, although preferably only the first morning.