What to see in Snina and Poloniny National Park: Milan’s tips

I’d give Snina and Poloniny a few days if you want to get to know Rusyn culture and the quiet countryside of Slovakia’s far east. My picks are the hike to Sninský kameň and Morské oko, the wooden churches in and around Ulič, and stargazing at Kolonické sedlo. If you have time, also climb Kremenec, the tripoint with Poland and Ukraine.

Quick factsby Milan Bez Mapy

Sninský kameň

With the students we did the hike in three hours there and back; in summer ordinary lace-up shoes are enough, and I’d climb both rocks

Watch out for

The mobile network. In Poloniny my phone connected to a Ukrainian network several times and charged me for expensive data, so switch off automatic network selection

Cash

Bring some. Many places take cash only, and there are cash machines only in the bigger towns

Where I stayed

Superchyža Poloniny in Uličské Krivé

Church in Uličské Krivé

Ring the number on the door and a man from nearby will show you round for a voluntary donation; the interior blew me away

Where to eat

Hotel Kamei by the Snina ponds; I recommend the mačanka and the chicken liver with rice

What to see in Snina and nearby Poloniny? My good friend Oli Džupinková had been telling me for years that I had to visit her native Poloniny and get to know Rusyn food, culture and the places worth seeing. (The Rusyns are an East Slavic people of the Carpathians.)

One thing led to another, and one Saturday afternoon I got off in Snina with a few days ahead of me to explore Poloniny National Park (Národný park Poloniny). In this post you’ll find my tips on what to see in Snina, good restaurants and places to stay, and what to visit in Poloniny.

Things to do in Snina: Milan Bez Mapy’s picks

1. The hike to Sninský kameň and Morské oko
2. The heritage trail and cycle route through Snina
3. A swim at the Sninské rybníky natural swimming area
4. Snina manor house with the statue of Hercules
5. Mini ZOO
6. The OMV petrol station 🙂

The hike to Sninský kameň and Morské oko (Great Vihorlat Lake)

By far the most popular outing among the people of Snina is the hike to Sninský kameň (Snina Rock). I did it with students from the Snina Youth Parliament, and although they’d warned me it would be tough, we did it in three hours there and back, and the climb was gentle. Nothing anyone can’t manage.

• Tip from Milan I’ve written a detailed article with tips for the hike to Sninský kameň, covering the different routes, the car park and a spot for a campfire.

In summer you don’t even need hiking boots; ordinary lace-up shoes will do. Sninský kameň is actually two rocks, a small one and a big one. I’d climb both, as they’re right next to each other. From the big rock you can see the whole of Snina and the villages around it, while the small one looks out over the forest and Morské oko.

Morské oko is the third largest natural lake in Slovakia, so strictly speaking its name is wrong. Officially, the name Morské oko (‘sea eye’) can only be used for lakes of glacial origin, which this one isn’t. Its proper name is Great Vihorlat Lake (Veľké Vihorlatské jazero).

The Za históriou Sniny cycle trail, one of the things to see in Snina

What pleasantly surprised me is that a cycle trail runs right through Snina, designed to take visitors through the town’s history. It has eight stops in all and passes through both the centre and the quieter parts of town. The first stop is in the Old Square (Staré Sninské námestie), right in front of the church. It’s worth doing the whole route.

The dendrological trail in Stakčín

Tip from Milan In the neighbouring village of Stakčín there’s a dendrological trail. I didn’t walk it myself, but it’s a short stroll past the 15 most interesting trees and shrubs in the park in Stakčín.

Swimming at the Sninské rybníky natural swimming area

I’ve known about the Sninské rybníky natural swimming area for a long time. I’d seen loads of photos from there, because it’s where the people of Snina loved to go swimming in summer. As far as I know, there are currently problems with land ownership and water quality, so the Snina ponds are closed to the public.

Anyway, until they reopen, I’d take a walk around the grounds and have a good lunch at Hotel Kamei right next door. I recommend the mačanka (a thick Rusyn sauce) and the chicken liver with rice, or the pancakes. I really liked their home cooking, and in its heyday this hotel was a very prestigious venue for company and family celebrations.

Snina manor house and the statue of Hercules

For me, Snina’s greatest pride is clearly its manor house (Sninský kaštieľ) and the finely detailed statue of Hercules. A friend of mine from Snina even has it tattooed on his leg. I didn’t go inside the manor house, but I’d walk around the grounds and admire this muscular statue. Apparently there are three of them, but this one is the most beautiful.

This statue, along with two others, was one of the major works of art commissioned by the entrepreneur Jozef Rholl. The manor house dates from 1781 and is an example of Classicist architecture. It used to be surrounded by French gardens and an English park, part of which survives to this day.

Beneath the manor house are extensive cellars, which once held a bread oven and a bathroom. Over its history the house has been renovated several times. The most important renovation was completed in 2013, when the manor house reopened to the public as a national cultural monument.

Mini ZOO and the Anča statue

The Mini ZOO in Snina is a mix of a good restaurant and a zoo in the town centre, where I’d go to see the animals and perhaps have lunch. They have hefty European bison, donkeys, goats, all sorts of colourful birds and a collection of ostriches. What caught my eye most was a white ostrich. I’d never seen one in my life.

‘Let’s meet at Anča’, Oli tells me. What’s Anča? Anča is a statue of victory and peace by the artist Teodor Baník, and the meeting point everyone in Snina uses. Anča waves a napkin right in the heart of Snina, in front of the cultural centre the locals call Obývačka (the Living Room). If someone tells you to meet at Anča, it means you’ll see each other in the very centre of town.

The OMV petrol station in Snina

I’m including this purely as a joke. When I asked my followers on Facebook what to visit in Snina, several of them answered: the petrol station. At first I didn’t get it and thought they were pulling my leg, but then I understood that meeting up at the OMV petrol station is part of local tradition and culture in Snina 😀

Snina is currently short of places that stay open late at night. So if you’re heading home from a night out and don’t feel like sleeping yet, pop over to the 24-hour OMV station. You’ll always find a few locals there showing off.

Visiting Poloniny National Park: where to go and what to see

Tip from Milan Before you head into Poloniny National Park, switch off automatic network selection on your phone. Here my phone connected to a Ukrainian network several times and charged me handsomely for data. I usually use Airalo, an app for buying eSIMs abroad, but I didn’t expect to need it here. Today (2026) Ukraine is part of the EU roaming zone (roam like at home has applied since 1 January 2026), so with an EU SIM card, connecting to a Ukrainian network shouldn’t cost you more than at home. With the code MILAN1877 you get a discount on your first Airalo eSIM.

TIP 2: Bring cash. In many places you can pay only in cash, and there are cash machines only in the bigger towns.

1. Stargazing at the astronomical observatory at Kolonické sedlo and the darkest place in Slovakia
2. The Mini-gallery of wooden churches in the village of Ulič
3. The church in Uličské Krivé
4. The Topoľa craft centre and baking bread in a clay oven
5. Deduško Večerníček’s house and Medová baba in Nová Sedlica
6. The hike to Kremenec, the tripoint of Slovakia, Poland and Ukraine
7. The viewpoint over Starina lake

The observatory at Kolonické sedlo and stargazing in Slovakia’s darkest place, the Dark Sky Park

Where should you go stargazing? To eastern Slovakia, of course. Not far from this observatory is the darkest place in Slovakia, the Dark Sky Park, where light pollution at night is so low that it’s the best place in Central Europe to watch the night sky.

The observatory opened in 1999, and its centrepiece is the Vihorlat National Telescope, one of the most powerful telescopes in Slovakia, with a 1-metre mirror. It lets astronomers study objects in deep space, such as distant galaxies and nebulae, and it plays an important role in astronomy. Kolonické sedlo is part of the Dark Sky Park.

The Mini-gallery of wooden churches in Ulič

Ulič is one of the easternmost villages in Slovakia, and what really puts it on the map is the Mini-gallery of wooden churches. It has several 1:10 scale models, made mostly of hard oak and pine, right out in the open air. It’s worth a stop when you’re passing.

The church in Uličské Krivé

From the outside, the church in Uličské Krivé may look fairly ordinary. But walk up to the door and ring the phone number written on it. It belongs to a man who lives nearby, and he’ll show you round for a voluntary donation.

The decoration inside floored me. I also stayed in Uličské Krivé, at Superchyža Poloniny.

The Topoľa craft centre and baking your own bread

The Topoľa craft centre is a perfect place for a company team-building day or a visit with children. You just book ahead and say you want to come and bake your own bread. It’s run by the Košiar civic association and was set up to preserve cultural heritage and traditional crafts.

You can bake your own bread in a clay oven, work with clay or learn how to process an old grain variety called kribica. Here’s their contact page. I really liked it there. I don’t usually eat bread and pastries because they tend to give me stomach ache, especially all kinds of rolls. But here I ate almost a whole loaf with butter and onion and felt absolutely fine. Their bread is good quality, home-made and free of additives and preservatives.

Deduško Večerníček’s house and Medová baba in Nová Sedlica

Nová Sedlica is the easternmost village in Slovakia, and it has two sights. The first is Medová baba (roughly ‘Honey Granny’), a meadow with a log beehouse and a wooden statue. But the one every Slovak knows is the little house of Deduško Večerníček, the grandfather from the Slovak children’s bedtime TV programme Večerníček. It’s a typical folk house, restored only recently after years of decay.

It has been a national cultural monument since 1987, a replica of a house that was brought here from a private plot. What makes it special is its thatched roof: it’s the last house with a thatched roof in the whole Prešov Region.

The hike to Kremenec, the tripoint of Slovakia, Poland and Ukraine

If you fancy a hike, the best-known one is the hike to the tripoint of Slovakia, Poland and Ukraine. I was told, though, that it isn’t a very interesting hike: it’s long and there’s no particularly good view from the top. What you can do is carry on from the top towards Poland to Wielka Rawka, which is worth it.

The viewpoint over Starina lake

Starina is the largest drinking-water reservoir in Slovakia. It lies in the north-east of the country, near the village of Starina in the Prešov Region, and it’s an important source of drinking water for the surrounding area, including the cities of Košice and Prešov. Building the Starina reservoir meant relocating several villages and moving their people out.

This was necessary to create the reservoir, which today is the main source of drinking water for a large part of eastern Slovakia. The relocation took place in the 1980s and affected seven villages.

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Rusyn dishes and food from Poloniny worth tasting

• Vlčie sirupy (Wolf Syrups)
• Mačanka
• Potatoes baked in embers (zemiaky v pahrebe)
• Tatarčané pirohy filled with potatoes
• Holubky (cabbage rolls)

If you want to dig deeper into Rusyn cooking, I recommend the book Mamina rusínska kuchyňa (Mum’s Rusyn Kitchen) by Oli Džupinková and Peter Šuchtár.

More places to see around Snina and in eastern Slovakia

There’s a lot to see in the east. Here’s a quick list of more places worth visiting, as picked by Milan Bez Mapy.

• The Andy Warhol Museum in Medzilaborce
• Košice: here’s my article on what to see in Košice
• Slovak Tokaj and the Chateau Grand Bari winery
• Michalovce manor house
• Vinné Castle (Viniansky hrad)
• The town of Bardejov

Above all, happy travels!
Milan