Bieszczady County (Pol. powiat bieszczadzki) is one of 21 land counties in Subcarpathian Voivodeship, Poland. The county covers an area of 1182.1 km², its total population is 163,000 people, the population density is 141.8 p/km². The county's administrative centre is Ustrzyki Dolne. Bieszczady County was formed on January 1, 1999 as a result of an administrative reform.
The ranges of Polish Beskids start on the territory of the county by the western spurs of Ukrainian Carpathians. Beskids or Bieszchady Mountains is a kind of Polish "Wild West" myth, which has been formed for decades in the minds of average Polish and tourists who have visited Subcarpathian Voivodeship. Nowadays these territories are not that wild as before, however they generally retained their original look which attracts many tourists to the region.
Polish Bieszchady are located on the highest, north-western ridge of the Eastern Carpathians. Only their western part, Western Bieszczady, are located on the territory of Bieszczady County in Poland. They stretch from Uzsok Pass (853 m above sea level) to the east and to Łupków Pass (640 m above sea level) to the west. The largest part of its territory belongs to Bieszczady National Park and unofficially it is called "Zielony róg" of Poland. The highest peaks of Bieszczady Mountains are located here: Tarnica (1346 m), Kremin (1355 m), Bukowska (1321 m), Rozpysanec (1273 m). In the west Bieszchady border with Low Beskids, the lowest and longest part of Carpathian meadows, in the east along the territory of Ukraine Ukrainian Carpathians stretch.
Almost all Bieszczady Mountains embrace the territories which are protected on the legislative level: Bieszczady National Park, Sana Valley Landscape Park and Cisna-Wetlina Landscape Park. In 1992, as based on the unique mountain landscapes of this territory, the International Biosphere Reserve "Eastern Carpathians" was created, it was enlisted into UNESCO World Heritage List. Bieszczady National Park covers the area of 29,200 hectares and is considered to be one of the biggest in Poland. The nature of the protected area impresses by its diversity. There are many rare plant species, wild mammals, including bisons, bears, deers, woolves, lynxes, wild cats, large birds of prey, such as golden eagle, small spotted eagles. Tourists are attracted here by extensive mountain meadows that are located at an altitude of 1150 m above sea level.
For those who enjoy alpine skiing there are such sport and tourism centres on the territory of Bieszczady County: