Wielka Rawka, Bieszczady National Park

Wielka Rawka - the highest peak of the border range in the Western Bieszczady Mountains.

The massif of Mt Wielka Rawka lies in the central part of the border range; the border with Transcarpathia, which was the Kingdom of Hungary in 1945, runs along its southern slope. The summit dome has the character of a balanced ridge running NW-SE with the topline length of about 700 m. It is a lateral ridge diverging from the keystone located at the southeastern end of the summit plateau, where it joins the main ridge of the Carpathians. It runs further north, towards Mala Rawka, descending first to a shallow pass and then reaching the peak. In the main ridge the neighboring culminations are in the southwest Krzemieniec separated by a pass with an altitude of 1137 m, and in the southeast an unnamed peak with an altitude of 1123 m, behind which rises the Great Semenova.

The crest of Mt Wielka Rawka culminates in several indistinct peaks. The highest point is a sandstone outcrop situated in its central part, 1307 m high. A few dozen meters from this place there is a concrete pillar, an old geodesic sign. The north-western peak of 1303 m is still marked on maps. The slopes are quite steep, sometimes avalanches come down from the north-eastern slopes. Western slopes fall to the Upper Solinka valley, the north-eastern - to the Rzeczyca, while the southern, belonging to the basin of the Black Sea, drains Bystry Potok in the basin of the Uzh river.

Wielka Rawka is the most outstanding, that is, characterized by the highest minimum relative denivelation, elevation of the Western Bieszczady. The height of the peak 1307 m and the Beskid Pass 784 m, 523 m is due to the fact that there are no higher peaks in the area, and the Beskid Pass, against which this factor is calculated, lies relatively low. Also the altitudes in relation to the bottoms of the neighboring valleys are high - from 450 m to 800 m.

The top parts of the mountain are covered by the Poloniny, the lower border of which runs extremely high - from about 1200 to over 1260 meters. This is due to the fact that due to the steep slopes here were not grazing cattle. However, due to the lack of forest on the peak, as well as the location and elevation above the surrounding terrain, Wielka Rawka is an attractive scenic spot. From here stretches a panorama of all massifs of the Poloniny range, the border range, the Eastern Bieszczady, Poloniny Rivne, and the mountains of Slovakia, including Wyhorlat.

On the crest of Mt Wielka Rawka there is a yellow liaison tourist trail from Mt Mala Rakawka, on the keystone it connects with the blue trail leading from Ustrzyki Dolne along the border range, through Krzemieniec to Nowy Lupkow.

Of the plant species rare in Poland, rock cherry and Carpathian tocia were found.