The local people in eastern Slovakia do not understand the interest in their trees; they have been surrounded by them for millenia. But having these forests protected for the future is priceless.

I felt a certain ownership of this WHS as I had attended the meeting in Christchurch when the site was first listed in 2007. I was reminded of this each time I inspected a National Park information board. I visited two parts of this site :

Vihorlat : I reached the end of the road in Zemplinske Hamre by bus from Snina, the same spot that Els reached. I crossed a bridge and found a few marked tracks into the forest, but without the benefit of a trail map did not follow them very far.

Stuznica : this part of the Poloniny National Park is accessed by bus from Snina to Nova Sedlice. From the bus stop a track continues past the National Park office up the corner where Slovakia, Ukraine and Poland meet.