Tourist routes in the Carpathians by car. Milk Stone, road to Hoverla. Where to eat in Uzhgorod

Travel to the Carpathians_June-July 2015

To help tourists

We couldn’t decide where to go on vacation this year - to the Crimea or the Carpathians - for quite some time. The decisive factor was that I no longer wanted to melt in the heat, so the choice fell in favor of the Carpathians. A year ago, my daughter and I visited Skole, this time we chose the tourist capital of the Carpathians - the Yaremche region. But not the city itself, but the village of Mykulychyn behind it along the highway - I wanted less fuss. The road was planned with a stop at several interesting points, the existence of which a year ago I either did not know at all, or knew little about.

Day one (Brest - Kremenets)

Before leaving, I collected information primarily on these sites: get directions , road , Carpathians.info , Yaremche and surrounding areas, city forums of Dnepropetrovsk.

We left Brest on Friday at about 16.00, before leaving we stopped at Belkelme to buy a second pair of sneakers - it often rains in the mountains, and it’s better to go with two. We crossed the border very quickly - 15 minutes at 2 customs offices, in one line we were first, in the other - second. In Ratno - first money exchange, exchange rate 21.68. They change who they are right at the bus station - it’s easy to find.

Around 7 pm we were in Lutsk, but both planned overnight accommodations were occupied, so we had dinner at the Varenichnaya and went further to Kremenets, having previously called and booked a room at the Kremen Hotel. The price tag there is lower than in other hotels in the city, and the comfort is the same, but it is far from the center. Junior suite - 210 UAH for three. Excellent condition. Wi-Fi is available.

Day two (Kremenets - St. Anna's source - Zalishchiki)

From the very morning - to the source of St. Anna, a place where people come from all over Ukraine and even from Belarus. The water, even in the heat, is only +4, more details.

Then - to Zalishchiki, but there are castles along the road. We missed Vishnevetsky and stopped at Zbarazh - a small detour from the highway. A completely normal castle, worth a visit once. The main difference from others is a magnificent exhibition of wood carvings by a local master, I have never seen anything like this before. .

Zalishchiki is a picturesque place, also worth visiting once. The main attraction is the view of the city from the neighboring village: the Dniester River makes a bend here and goes around the city on three sides:

To get to viewing platform, you need to cross the bridge that once connected Poland and Austria, and go to the neighboring village of Khreshchatyk. Advice: it is better to turn left from the highway into the village not at the first, but at the second turn - the road is better.

We spent the night in the mini-hotel "In the Park" - 200 UAH per suite. An original attic room with pros and cons. The location is on the top floor of the restaurant. To get to our room, we walked through 3 halls. It was interesting to hear, “What time are you leaving tomorrow? It’s just that we have a restaurant from 11, we’ll come at what time you need, we’ll open it for you. If anything happens, call.”

Day three (Zalischiki - Manyava, waterfall and monastery)

The roads are directly shorter, but worse. We took care of the car. Looking ahead, I’ll note that the roads where we were driving were better than they were written about. Many places are undergoing renovations. Map of the state of roads in Ukraine - http://autostrada.info/ua/map. Forum - roads of Ukraine - http://www.doroga.ua/forum/chapter/17. On the way to Manyava, we got our first refrigerator magnet - we constantly gave voting Ukrainians free rides, and it was interesting to talk, girls from Chernivtsi talked about their city and gave us a magnet.

After the Ivano-Frankivsk bypass we turn onto Yaremche, and mountains begin to be visible in the distance. Another turn to the right - onto the Bogorodchany - Guta highway. In Guta there is the luxurious residence of the ex-President of Ukraine Kuchma "Sinegora" - 3 underground floors (), from which there is a road to the Manyavsky Monastery. Using clippings from the Internet, we found a cafe with the old name “Merry Monarch”, which, as the owner explained, we were urgently asked to change, now there is something unmemorable there. Dumplings with potatoes for 12 UAH, dumplings for 14 - then we have such low prices did not have. After having a snack, we set off to conquer the highest waterfall in the country - Manyavsky, 20 meters high. We left the car in the village and walked for 2 hours. It was possible to leave further, but the road through the village was not pleasant anyway, and there was nowhere to rush - the next day in Ukraine was the last of three days off in honor of Constitution Day, so I wanted to arrive at the place of settlement right then - more places free up, more choice. On the way to the waterfall you need to ford the river 5 times, some pass by by car, we even saw a taxi. The waterfall itself is, of course, gorgeous.

Then - the monastery, searching for a place to stay for the night (there are no hotels there), and the most expensive price tag for the trip - 300 UAH for a simple room not far from the monastery. Not far from the monastery there is another attraction - the Blessed Stone, they write that the climb to it takes 20 minutes - this is not true, it takes 10 minutes. There, according to legend, healing water was found there in the 13th century.

Day four, etc. (Mykulychyn with trips to the surrounding area)

It’s the last day off for Ukrainians, and there’s just a crowd of cars moving towards them - people are leaving for home after their vacation. We pass Yaremche, and there are fewer cars. I spent a long time choosing between the villages of Tatarov and Mykulychyn. I stopped at the last part of Mykulychyn, marked in red. In general, Mykulychyn is considered the longest village in Ukraine - 44 km. The mountain villages here present themselves as follows: the road, railway and river run side by side, every now and then intertwining with each other, from the road to the right - a house or two, to the left - a house or two, and behind them are mountains, i.e. the village is located in a gorge. In some places there is more space between the mountains, and side streets lead off the highway. Here is the section of the village that interested me, in which we settled:

I don’t book accommodation in advance either in Crimea or in the Carpathians - there are enough places, it’s better to look on the spot so as not to take a pig in a poke. So here we looked at a couple of places and stayed in “Cheremshyn”, junior suite 200 UAH per room. Separate entrance and kitchen with refrigerator, electric kettle and microwave for 2 rooms, TV, bathroom with shower in each room. And a nice veranda where we loved to drink tea while looking at the mountains (our first floor):

There was Wi-Fi, but the signal was only received at the owner’s house, she assured that her son would come in the evening and sort it out. I decided that treating computer addiction would be useful for me, and paid for 3 days, explaining that if there was no Internet, we would move out. The next day, the owner’s son told me the password for the Wi-Fi of the neighbors across the street, and the Internet was in order. As they explained, they had a router, but it was hit by lightning. For the first 5 days there was no one except us, then people joined us. Even a family from Brest came for 2 nights and talked, although we saw very few cars with Belarusian license plates. Berry sellers on the highway said that Belarusians were mainly going to Bukovel. Price list for berries (liter): cherries - 20-25, strawberries - 60, raspberries - 30, blueberries - 30-40. Cherries were rarely seen. We ate at the hostess's - 35 UAH breakfast, 65 UAH late lunch for me, 40 UAH for my wife and daughter. There was still some left to heat up for dinner - the portions were large. Sometimes we ate in other places. Price tags and quality in kolybas (cafes) are approximately the same. In the end, we went to the Ukrainian restaurant "Kufar" at the exit from Mykulychyn towards Tatariv - 300 hryvnia (without alcohol), for a strong four. I can’t recommend the estate: in general it was ok, there were good things, but there were also unpleasant moments, for example, lunch a couple of days before departure, after which we stopped ordering food from the owners. In general, I advise you not to pay much in advance - the owners relax - this is still a Crimean experience. Better in parts, both for accommodation and food.

Now about where we went and went. Not far from the house began the Zhenets tract with the dacha of the ex-President of Ukraine Yushchenko. Yushchenko, by the way, visited the owner’s sauna, which we also visited once (it’s gorgeous - but it’s big, and the price tag is 300 UAH per hour, you can find it for 100), they showed us a photo of him from 4 years ago. From Yushchenko’s dacha it’s another 4 kilometers to the Zhenetsky Guk waterfall. You can drive most of it, but it’s more interesting to walk - the road is beautiful:

If at the entrance to the tract we do not cross the barrier, but take a left, we will end up on the road to the mountain Hamster(1542 m). The road to the mountain took us 3.45. The trail is marked, it is impossible to get lost, only at the very beginning of the trail (10 meters) sharp turn to the left, the mark is hidden there. There is a steep climb only at the very top, when you have to wade through the thickets of alpine pine, already on the stones. Before this, there was a simple serpentine path, where we took shortcuts every now and then. From Khomyak you can see Yaremche, Tatariv, Bukovel, and our part of Mykulychyn. Later it turned out that the peak was visible from our porch.

The climb was not easy for my daughter, so I signed up for the hike to Hoverla alone. For excursions you need to go to Yaremche - there I signed up, left my phone number, and they picked me up at my house. 150 UAH, there are 19 of us on the bus, all the seats are occupied, some were picked up in Vorokhta. Hoverla is the highest mountain in Ukraine, height 2061 m. The ascent starts from the Zaroslyak base - 1300 something above sea level. The road to it is bad. We were lucky with the weather - there was no rain. Having seen the composition of the group, I realized that, most likely, I was the oldest in it; there were also 5 people over 30, not counting the 60-year-old guide. The guide said that the road up takes about 3 hours. Pretty soon it became hard for me, meanwhile the group held firm. Then things got easier, and I decided not to wait for the others. Onwards and upwards, overtaking more and more new groups. In the end, on the decisive steep climb, when I took breaks every 50 meters, a guy from Dnepropetrovsk overtook me, but it’s not bad to become second from the group. I remembered a story that I tell my students every now and then, when a young stallion ran halfway and died, and the old mare slowly and leisurely reached the goal.

Way up - 1 hour 54 minutes. At the top there is a crowd of people, everyone is happy and taking pictures. There is also tea and coffee at the same prices as on Khomyak - 10 UAH for tea, 12 for coffee. 10 hryvnia is less than 7 thousand for ours, in our cafes it’s more expensive, but here people still carried water and gas burners up! The way down takes 54 minutes instead of the two hours stated by the guide, here I am already the first. 4 of our group did not make it and turned back. People with poor health should not go. On the other hand, children can also handle the climb. In normal sneakers, of course. In general, before going uphill, it is better to find trekking poles or simple ones. While there are plenty of simple ones on Khomyak, there are almost none on Hoverla. I found it only on the rise. The guide said that they are sorted out by the earliest groups. The pole helps both on the ascent and on the descent. But, according to the guide’s recommendations, it should be higher than your shoulder, so that if you slip or stumble, it will not get into your eye, stomach, etc. At the bottom of Goverla there is a platform where they sell a variety of things from refrigerator magnets. Despite the height, the price tag is the same as at other points. First I took kvass. Then - a glass of mulled wine. You can guess what I took third (the answer is at the bottom of the page).

Someone else's story about the climb to Goverla - http://www.svirsky.ru/photo/album.php?thema=50.

We went to the Yablunetsky Pass and to Bukovel. The pass is nothing special - the border of the Ivano-Frankivsk and Transcarpathian regions, souvenir tents. Paved in Bukovel new road For a couple of years now, if you drive from Yaremche, you need to drive to Yablunytsia and turn off there. The old one is in the pits and through the village. By my mistake, we took a wrong turn and went along the old one. Advice: don’t turn at the first sign “Bukovel”, then there will be a second one.

Bukovel is like Yalta in Crimea. Beautiful, solid. The lift took us to the top of the mountain where we could admire the views. Price tag - 45 UAH. The rope town did not pass the attention of my daughter, who never misses an opportunity to climb it, despite the height limit of 140 cm, which she does not reach.

I followed her (reluctantly, but it’s good to push yourself), but she didn’t need help. Interestingly, the price tag is lower than in Yalta 2 years ago - 60 UAH versus 90, despite the fall of the hryvnia. Another impression from Bukovel was a polite riot policeman, who, seeing that we were confused at the turn, came up and told us how to get to the parking lot, adding that the parking was free.

We went to Yaremche twice. First time - on Probiy waterfall and markets where you can’t find anything:

Usually people buy and take home a variety of teas, mugs, skiers (local woolen blankets - 600 UAH), the same woolen socks, slippers, embroidered shirts. If you need embroidery and have the opportunity to go to Kosiv, it’s much cheaper there. But the road there is a mess. Dry porcini mushrooms by weight - 80 UAH per 100 grams. Prices in different markets are approximately the same. In Yaremche, it is believed that the price tag at the waterfall market is slightly lower than at the souvenir market.

The second one is on Dovbush stitch, simple and have a nice walk, which, if desired, can be continued by climbing Mount Makovitsa (984 m). We desired. Entrance to the stitching is 20 UAH, children 5. The same is in the Zhenets tract.

We tried apitherapy - it's sleeping on a beehive. A house is built on the hive, you lie down on the boards on which a blanket is laid - and under you there is a swarm of bees. Medicinal properties- calms nerves, relieves stress, etc. It is believed that a person lying down on a hive will soon fall asleep. I could not. The price tag is 50 UAH per hour, we took it for 2 hours. It's worth a try. The website karpaty.info lists estates that offer this service. In Mykulychyn - “Solomyya” and “Hunter’s Hut”, there are 300 meters between them. My wife and daughter are in one, I’m in the other, because... Each house has only one place per hive. In the same area of the village there is the famous Mykulychyn brewery, where there was always a queue for us. A branded tag is attached to each bottle. I recommend "Honey". In addition, they sell kvass there. Beer - 20 UAH liter, kvass - 12.

The first couple of days the weather was cool, but then the weather cleared up - about +25, while in Belarus the heat was about +35. A couple of minutes from our estate we found a small beach where we sunbathed and swam in the Prut mountain river. IN deep places(4 meters, according to the owners) did not go in, but lying among the stones, where it is shallow and the stormy mountain current creates an analogy of a jacuzzi, is a great pleasure.

On July 8, we decided that we had seen everything, they promised rain for tomorrow, so we had to go. But we were driving back by a different route - we wanted to stop in Skole, the place of last year’s deployment:

In front of Skole on the Kyiv-Chop highway in the village of Nizhne Sinevidnoe there is an excellent motel "Viking Carpathians", a 3-bed suite for 350 UAH, this includes breakfast for three. At night, there were no other guests at the motel except us. And in the evening - a motel sauna with a wonderful swimming pool for 150 hours. No one except us. Nearby is the Dikanka cafe, where we had lunch and dinner. My 40s were celebrated in advance, as if feeling that tomorrow would not work out.

And before checking into the motel, we visited Skole - half an hour’s drive. We wanted to show our wife the place where we were a year ago and go to a local thrift store. The old one closed, but there was another one. Half an hour of choice - and we made the hostess happy, perhaps making her a week's income. Made in USA, Switzerland, etc. Out of 10 things, about 1 is normal. For example, an American jacket of excellent quality for 26 UAH. After Skole - drive to the Kamenka waterfall. It is lower than the ones we have already visited on this trip - 8 meters. But it is more suitable for swimming, and it is pleasant to stand under a small waterfall 3 meters high.

In the morning we left for Belarus towards Luninets - we wanted to visit our homeland. I didn’t guess which border crossing to go to, and we got stuck at the border for 4 hours.

Results: we had a great rest, saw new off-the-beaten-track places, and climbed the mountains. It took $560 for everything except clothes.

The answer to the riddle above: another mulled wine.

We have never seen snakes. Advice from the hostess: before going out, smear your shoes with garlic, snakes scatter for a kilometer.

I would like to note that going to Yaremche is also possible for those who do not have a car.

From Brest: bus Brest - Kovel, then train 668 Kovel - Chernivtsi 17.15 - at 4.17 in Ivano-Frankivsk or at 5.49 in Kolomyia - on even numbers - compartment to Kolomyya 167 UAH, reserved seat 108. From I-F minibuses, drivers will find you at the exit from the train, or diesel Kolomiya - Rakhiv 8.17 chz Yaremche, Mykulychyn, Tatarov, Vorokhta.

Additionally: Diesel: IF 9.22 - Yaremche 11.23; back: train Chernivtsi - Kovel 22.13 Kolomyia - 9.25 Kovel, bus to Brest, there are a lot of buses and minibuses to Kolomyia from Yaremche.

Or train 606 Yaremche 3.06 - 8.10 Lviv 76 UAH reserved seat / 110 compartment, bags in a storage room, walk around the city, train 814 Lviv - Lutsk 17.02-19.57 - 75 UAH, night in Lutsk (inexpensive in rest rooms at the railway station), in the morning bus to Brest.

I'm posting clippings from the forums:

I'm revealing a secret. We went out to the road, waved our hand, and went where we needed to go. Locals willingly take travel companions, for a nominal fee or even free of charge. We travel around the Carpathians so often, and not necessarily over short distances... We got there this way - by train to Ternopil (arrival 10-24), then directly from the railway station on a private microbus to Ivano-Frankivsk (price from 70 to 100 UAH ) - the advantage of such transport is that it flies in 2 hours and is very comfortable. And from Ivano-Frankivsk there are no longer any problems getting to Tatariv, about every half hour there are buses in the Nadvornyansky direction (most often to Bukovel), the price of such a bus is about 30 hryvnia and about 2 hours of travel... I arrive at the Ternopil railway station and there are a lot of private drivers who will take you to Yaremcha.

...since students chose the most cheap way getting there. By Truskavets train to Ternopil (reserved seat 100 UAH, for students 50), then took a suburban diesel to Zalishchyky (7.56-12.17, 11 UAH). By the way, Zalishchyky is a very beautiful and colorful place on the banks of the Dniester. From Zalishchiki to Kolomyia there is also a diesel train (12.45 - 15.43, 11 UAH) and from Kolomyia to Vorokhta (20.20 - 22.37 via Yaremche, 9 UAH). From Vorokhta we went on excursions to Rakhiv, Yasinya, Yaremche, Ivano-Frankivsk by diesel trains.

...They’ll throw slippers at me right now, but I always go through Lviv. And I will never trade this route for anything...Dnepr-Lviv. Next is the Lviv-Rakhiv transfer. In Lviv, I throw my luggage into a storage room and go for a walk to my favorite places! In the evening already in Yaremche. Go to bed right away. Like a cucumber in the morning! ...

Carpathians - mountain system in Central Europe, also located on the territory of Ukraine. This is a story about a small wonderful journey through the Carpathians. The story of crocuses and the May thunderstorm.

The travel plan was simple: to go through the “Carpathian mega-route”, i.e. the entire Marmaros, Montenegrin and Svydovetsky ridges. This is a classic route, trampled by the feet of thousands (if not millions) of tourists from all over the world.

It’s simply wonderful in the Carpathians in spring. It’s so wonderful that the soul sings and asks to fly. All around there is fresh grass, streams, cherry blossoms. There are flowers in the forest: yellow, purple, white. And the aroma of cherries, apple trees, hay and rain in the villages...

The beauty of the Carpathians brightens up the difficult climb: the first day is always difficult, your legs are not yet accustomed to the load.

Morning. The birds sing melodiously in their morning songs, and the warmth from the grass is greeted with pleasant currents of air.

We pass an old abandoned kosh: here once was a farm of shepherds, but now it is in ruins. And here are the first rays! Under the sun it suddenly appeared that to our left - a whole field of crocuses. And we almost missed them...

Crocus. The name is beautiful, and the meaning of the word comes from the Greek “kroke”, which means “thread”, because the dried columns or stigmas of crocuses resemble strings of fiber. In ancient times, paint was made from crocus pollen. Hence the second, more common name for this little miracle is “saffron”, from the Arabic “sepheran”, which means “yellow”. More precisely, crocus stigmas are better called saffron.

Crocuses open under the first rays of sunshine:

Legends about crocus - the sea. They can be traced in the history of Asia, the Middle East, and in the history Ancient Greece. Yes, according to ancient Greek legend, the emergence of crocuses occurred in the following sad way. A young man named Krok practiced throwing the discus with the messenger of the Olympic gods, Hermes. During the competition, the disc accidentally hit Krok, and the young man died. And drops of Croc's blood turned into a field of beautiful flowers... This is just one of the many variations of the legend.

Is there some more interesting legend about one of the conquest campaigns of the Macedonian. One evening the great commander set up camp in the middle of a field of closed crocuses. And in the morning, all the warriors woke up painted yellow (it’s hard to believe, we ourselves lay in such fields - and did not paint ourselves). Alexander thought that this was Persian witchcraft and decided to retreat. And later he realized the power of the flower (apparently with a narcotic twist) - and even began to force soldiers to eat food with saffron and take baths with the addition of a miraculous potion...

And on greek island Santorini even had such a place as Sanctuary of Crocuses. Flowers played a huge role in people's lives: from birth to death. The paintings found on Santorini were mainly devoted to the theme of picking crocuses: they were endowed with special holiness, they were seen as the embodiment of deities.

Crocus uses bright orange stigmas as a spice. Flower stigmas contain essential oil and coloring substances - crocaine, saffronin (well, not “crocaine”). Krokin, dissolving in water, gives it a yellow color, and saffron gives it a red color. Saffron, generally speaking, one of the most expensive spices in the world. And the strongest: just a couple of grams is enough to color the water bright orange.

When you watch the petals of crocuses open, a special feeling arises in your soul. But legends are wonderful, as is lying among a field of flowers. But it's time for us to get up and move on.

Slowly we climb the Sheshul hill. Clouds appear in the sky after lunch: large spring clouds. Today we want to climb Mount Petros, stopping at wonderful clearings along the way.

We walk through the forest: streams are babbling, snowfields are melting. There are entire fields of crocuses everywhere; the slopes are sometimes painted purple because of them. They have already risen much higher. From here you can see the meadows and Carpathian forests... So another dream came true - to see crocuses... Now I will dream about them for a long time.

The light, obscured by the running clouds, beautifully illuminates the old houses abandoned by the shepherds:

There are several groups of tourists on Petros. AND old dilapidated chapel. A ladder that’s great to sit on and watch the clouds float peacefully by:

And ahead is our goal, Hoverla (2061 m) - highest point Ukraine. It seems like it's just a stone's throw away:

Let's go down. We pass the picturesque bridge between Petros and the Montenegrin ridge. The entire road is flooded with water: a stream-river gurgles along it. There is still snow in the forest - trampled and compacted, you can’t fall into it. You enter the forest and there is a breeze of coolness and the smells of spruce branches and melted snow:

So through the snow we soon reached the eco-point “Peremychka”. This is the name of the collection point for “donations” in favor of Carpathian foresters. There is an old and new houses. The old one was already occupied, but no one except us had dared to go into the new one.

We woke up very early, we wanted to meet the first rays higher. Here is a remote place, almost useless for photographers. A little higher - and already beautiful view to the hills and mountains, to the treasured Marmaros ridge on the horizon.

To the highest point of Ukarina - Hoverla- climbed up very quickly. The mountain somehow didn’t impress me. It’s already getting very hot again, the sun is burning like a summer day before a thunderstorm. Clouds roll in, the air thickens, becoming unbearably stuffy. So, burning and complaining about the sun, we reached Lake Nesamovitoe.

They say that in the summer it is better to come to him after lunch, because an evil forester nicknamed “The Spanish Pilot” runs around here. And in May there are only crowds of tourists here. The place is quite dirty: you can feel that legions of tourists always stop here for the night. There are simply countless toads in the lake. They croak hysterically and jump in the snow, apparently also rejoicing in the sun and the surge of strength on the occasion of spring.

We pass Ribs Mountain and begin to look for a place to camp. (Clickable, 1400×651 px):

Crocuses also sense thunderstorms. Although the sun shines on the islands, they shrink and close:

It seems that the rain will soon come to us. On this occasion, we decided not to stay too long and go to peak Gutin Tomnatik, which we jokingly nicknamed Tomatic. There was nothing tasty on Tomatica, but there was a view of the Montenegrin ridge. (Clickable, 1400×687 px):

And the clouds gradually began to rise and disappear. You can see the lake below Brebeneskul, there are tourists standing there, quite a few groups. (Clickable, 1400×622 px):

The evening colors of the sunset picturesquely illuminate the leopard-print mountains in spring...

Tomatik actually turned out to be a heavenly place. (Clickable, 1400×758 px):

Meanwhile, the sun is setting towards the horizon. True, in a haze from the heat of the day. But still enchantingly beautiful. The Carpathian Mountains generally have a characteristic profile that cannot be confused with anything else. Soft lines of ridges, mists rising from the valleys. These mountains have their own music:

The next day. Heat and annoying sun overhead. The sun did not hide, even when it rained and thunder roared around. But it beautifully illuminated the withered spring grass. (Clickable, 1400×859 px):

We started walking towards Mount Pop-Ivan. On the mountain is destroyed observatory " White elephant» . This is a former Polish astronomical and meteorological observatory that only operated from 1938 to 1941. Bad weather suits this place very well. The clouds hang deep blue, sometimes the sky explodes with flashes of lightning:

In the morning I woke up before dawn and went to photograph the wonderful meadows of crocuses. By the way, they have already begun to fade. Some have completely withered, but those near the snowfields or higher up are still getting stronger.

Crocus glades are not so easy to photograph: the flowers are small and mix with the grass. So if you want to arrange a photo shoot for them, be prepared to climb on the ground for a long time! (Clickable, 1400×770 px):

Carpathian village of Kvasy. The sun rises higher and higher, fog, low clouds fly by. This is just some other world, unearthly. (Clickable, 1380×890 px):

We leave the village below and move up, along the difficult climb to Mount Bliznitsa. Snowy cornices and clouds hanging like lead:

Strong wind blows. It seems to stretch the sails of the snow cornices with sharp lines. Climbing on them is dangerous: every minute they will fall off:

We go down the sunlit road. We say goodbye to the mountain Carpathians.

What could it be better than the mountains? Any traveler - either a beginner or already experienced good experience- will say that there is almost nothing more impressive, more exciting and exciting. They find themselves in the mountains, here you can clearly see those who are ready to lend a helping hand, they come here to get distracted, take a break from the bustle of modern everyday life and feel the breath of nature. Hiking in the Carpathians, even if this is your first time setting foot on mountain path, will definitely become something unforgettable for you. The main thing is to choose the right route!

The best routes in the Carpathians

You should choose a direction and route in the Carpathians taking into account the season, your physical strength and, of course, taking into account the time frame into which you need to squeeze your trip. The statement that “hiking in the mountains is not for everyone, because it is too difficult” is a tired stereotype. Hikes in the Carpathians come in different levels of difficulty and duration, and your guide or you yourself can choose the option that best suits your wishes. It is not necessary to conquer 2,000-meter peaks the first time (although beginners can do this too); you can start with easy trekking with a slight difference in altitude. It is very important to register at the checkpoint immediately before the ascent and inform the day and approximate time of the group’s return. Remember: safety comes first.

We offer 12 best routes native Ukrainian Carpathians: here are Hoverla with Petros, and Marmaros, and the Eastern Beskids, and Svidovets, and picturesque Borzhava. Went!

Hoverla. Height 2061 m

TO highest peak Ukraine can be reached by several routes. However, the most popular are from the Kozmeschik and Zaroslyak tracts. The first one is a little more difficult, but, according to many travelers, more beautiful. The second is shorter and simpler.

Kozmeshchik

Route: Verkhneye Sinevidnoye village - Korchin village - Gurkalo waterfall - Dil mountain - Parashka mountain.

Mount Parashka. Photo source: stezhkamu.com.

How to get there: from Kyiv by trains No. 81, 13 Kyiv - Uzhgorod to Skole station, from Lviv by electric train to Verkhnee Sinevidnoe station or the city of Skole (from Skole - by bus or passing transport, distance - about 9 km), from Uzhgorod, Mukachevo - by electric train to the city of Skole.

Adviсe: You can stay in hotels in the city and in rural estates in the village. Be sure to include Gurkalo Waterfall in your itinerary. If you don’t have enough time or feel a lack of strength, don’t conquer the peak, limit yourself to just the waterfall.

Polonina Runa. Height 1482 m

Polonina Runa (Rovnaya) is the largest valley in the Carpathians, located within the boundaries of the Transcarpathian region. This is the western part of the Poloninsky ridge, between the upper reaches of the Lyutaya, Shipot and Turitsa rivers. Not too high, but very picturesque and seems to be shrouded in velvet. A trip to Polonina Runa will be an excellent addition to the recreation program for tourists who come to Transcarpathia: it is convenient to get here from Uzhgorod, Mukachevo, and other cities. It is also convenient to travel by train from Lviv. In addition, a road has been laid to one of the peaks of the Poloninsky ridge, quite suitable for cars. However, when planning such trips, it is worth taking into account the weather: if you get stuck, it will be difficult.

View from Mount Polonina Runa. Photo source: outdoorukraine.com.

Route: Lumshory village (Perechyn district, Transcarpathian region) - Komsomolskoye lake - Polonina Runa mountain.

How to get there: from Kyiv by train No. 99, 81, 13 Kyiv - Uzhgorod, from Lvov - by train No. 829 Lvov - Uzhgorod (or any that goes in the direction of Uzhgorod), from Uzhgorod by bus to the village of Lumshory (about 42 kilometers, 1 hour on the way).

Adviсe:- a real pearl of Transcarpathia. Try the local vats and truly relax. There are many options for hotels and rural estates in Lumshory. If you are on holiday in

Why do people go to the mountains? In the mountains, everyone finds their justification, some want to escape from their wife, some from the bustle of the city and people, and others, on the contrary, in search of loneliness and peace. At any time of the year, the mountains are beautiful and attractive, they are mysterious and photogenic.

What could be better than waking up early in the morning on the top of a mountain, and, jumping out of a warm sleeping bag, quickly walk to the very edge in order to have time to take a breath of the morning, invigorating air and photograph the sunrise. This is the “stupid” happiness of a photographer.
In fact, I'm in front of mountain landscapes, like a rabbit in front of a boa constrictor, I can express all my love and awe only through photographs. I would like to present to you a small selection of the summer Carpathians, which I have collected over the past couple of years.

My acquaintance with the Carpathians began in 2007, when I purchased my first SLR camera.

I noticed an interesting point - the most incredible landscapes and views open not from the highest point, but directly from the ridges and passes.

Some of the most difficult routes are found in the wild Gorgans.

Paved trails on the ridge.

The Central Gorgans are somewhat reminiscent of photographs of mountain deserts - huge stones, rocks, zherps, dust and the wind that blows in different directions. If you rise higher, you can see thermal contrasts and currents of hot air, and from the top you can see a huge valley of small mountains.

Carpathian black raven (kruk).

A little statistical information: The Carpathian mountain system begins near Bratislava and ends in southeastern Romania. Length Carpathian Mountains about 1500 km. The Carpathians are divided into three parts - Western, Eastern and Southern. The Western ones are located on the territory of Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Poland and partly Hungary, the Southern Carpathians are located on the territory of Romania, and the Eastern ones are located on the territory of Ukraine.

The Carpathians are deservedly considered the most environmentally friendly region in Ukraine. Crystal clear and transparent lakes, seething mountain rivers, waterfalls, smoky mountain peaks, clean and intoxicating fresh air, healing herbs and plants. In this corner of wild and untouched nature, unique ancient forests still grow.

In the background is the Marmarosh massif - the peaks of Petros and Pop Ivan.

Polonynas are dome-shaped treeless plateaus, smoothed by the advance of the glacier, which left longitudinal ribbed outcrops and small basins on their slopes.

Lake Brebeneskul.

Delicious lingonberry (non-GMO).

Blueberry, in our region there is even a festival dedicated to it and a monument erected.

Just some 300 million years ago, the waves of the Tethys Ocean splashed here.

Shipot Waterfall. Annual meeting place hippies (our local Woodstock ).

Pyramids on top, made by those who have reached the highest point.

Slow, grueling climb.

And this is a photo from my first trip to the mountains.

Schopenhauer said: “The most common type of pride is national pride. Every person living on the planet feels a sense of pride in their Motherland.” I would replace the word “Motherland” with “Carpathians”.

Gorgan stones, which are millions, millions of years old.

The Gorgan peaks are famous for their steep ascents and descents, slippery rocks and zherep.

Crystal clear Mountain Lake Synevir.

Due to the high humidity in the Carpathians, the peaks are often covered in fog and it seems as if you are walking above the clouds.

Paragliders have chosen the Carpathian peaks. Every year there is a competition here " Carpathian Cup » on paragliding.

Sunset over Bear Gorge.

Tourists on the Borzhavsky ridge.

Lake Brebeneskul is a lake of glacial origin, located at an altitude of 1801m above sea level (Chernogora ridge).

Exit to the Marmaroshsky ridge.

Part of the Borzhavsky ridge to the peak of Stoi.

Traverse trail.

The classic peak of the Gorgan ridge is stones and zherep (thorny bushes, mountain pine).

Pine cone. Widely used for the preparation of medicinal preparations.

Gorgansky ridge. The height of the local mountains ranges from 1400 meters to 1800 meters, the highest point of Gorgan is Mount Bolshaya Syvulya (1836 m).

Cobweb on flowers.

Early morning. View from Mount Ozernaya.

The highest point of the Ukrainian Carpathians is Mount Hoverla, 2061 meters above sea level.

View from Mount Velikiy Verkh (Borzhava Range).

View of Mount Stoy (Borzhavsky Range).

The Svidovets ridge is considered the heart of Europe.

Gorgan landscapes.

High in the mountains, a boy asks his Georgian grandfather:
- Grandfather, how old are you?
- A hundred pEsyat vosEm...
- Do you drink and smoke?!
- Of course!!! Otherwise, I’ll never die like that.

Every time I go through the entire route and leave the Carpathian mountains, I know that I will come back here again and again, including in my next lives. Friends, another photo report about the winter Carpathians awaits you.

Do you have a free weekend and are you planning to spend it in an ecologically clean region of Ukraine, in the Ukrainian Carpathians? Do you want to get acquainted with the traditions and way of life of the local people, breathe in the heady mountain air and just have a great rest? Are you planning to travel by car? Then this article is for you.

The Ukrainian Carpathians joyfully welcome their tourists at any time of the year. Arriving in the Carpathians, you will be enchanted by the beauty of the local landscapes, as if you were in a fairy tale - high mountains, fast mountain rivers, “smerek” forests and beautiful waterfalls. Once you get to this region, you will love it forever and will return here again and again.

So, you have arrived in the Carpathians. The best place to stay is in Yaremche, there is a large selection of accommodation at affordable prices, and in the evening there is somewhere to go for a walk, unlike the rest settlements. After all, Yaremche is a city, tourist centre Ivano-Frankivsk region. Having rented accommodation in Yaremche, have a good rest, three days of an intense excursion program await you!

Day 1. Route called " Golden ring Hutsul region" Yaremche - Kolomyia - Kosiv - Sheshory - Pistyn - Krivorivnya - Verkhovyna - Vorokhta.

This excursion route will introduce you to the life, traditions and rituals of such ethnographic groups as the “Hutsuls”, will give you the opportunity to appreciate all the beauty of the high mountain regions of the Carpathians and even plunge into childhood by visiting St. Nicholas.

First stop Kolomyia. An ancient small town in the Austro-Hungarian style, the first mention of it dates back to 1241. In Kolomyia there are two very interesting museum, which should be visited by every tourist who comes here. The Pysanka Museum is built in the shape of an egg and contains a collection of 10 thousand exhibits of painted Pysanka eggs from different parts of Ukraine.

“Museum of Folk Art of the Hutsul Region and Pokuttya” - it contains a collection of exhibits telling about the life of the inhabitants of the Carpathian region - household items, clothing, jewelry, weapons, the folk art of the inhabitants of the Hutsul Region is widely represented - weaving, forging, wood carving. Another place that you need to visit while in Kolomyia is the Impreza Tsukernya. It is located near the Pysanka Museum, on Teatralnaya Street, 40. You have definitely never seen such a quantity of baked goods, all kinds of cakes, strudels and pies. And it’s impossible to describe the taste of these sweets!

We stop at Sheshory. This is a picturesque village along the mountain river Pistynka, but this is not what Sheshory is famous for. The main attraction is the Silver Falls. Beautiful, cascading, in which you can swim (so don’t forget to take a swimsuit with you if you come here in the summer).

Further on our way there appears a small village called Pistyn. In the center of this village there is the real estate of St. Nicholas, the Ukrainian Father Frost, whom children love so much. A neat Carpathian house in which St. Nicholas’s office is located, his mail (all the letters received from the children are stored here), a bedroom, a museum room and much more interesting things. Various people guard the estate fairy-tale heroes, made from wood by folk craftsmen. Be sure to come visit Nikolaychik and you will have great fun! Even adults here rejoice like children and involuntarily begin to believe in miracles.

The next short stop is in Krivorivna. The Ivan Frank Memorial Museum is located here.

Verkhovyna is a beautiful mountain village in the Carpathians. The main attraction of Verkhovyna is the museum in memory of Roman Kumlyk. This museum was opened in 2000 in the Kumlykov family home. The owner of the house, Roman Kumlyk, had been collecting household items and ancient Hutsul clothing for more than thirty years, but his pride was his collection of musical instruments. He knew how to play all musical instruments. After his death, his work is continued by his daughter Natalya, who during the excursion talks about the life of the Hutsuls, about rituals, sings songs and plays various instruments. Be sure to visit!

And the very last stop is Vorokhta, it is considered the center of alpine skiing. There are four jumps with artificial turf on which you can train all year round. This is where teams are trained to alpine skiing, ski jumping and biotlon. Stop, take a couple of photos and relax - there are still 2 busy days ahead!

Day 2 Route: Guk waterfall – Bukovel

Not far from Yaremche, along the Rakhiv - Ivano-Frankivsk highway, between the villages of Mykulychyn and Tatariv there is a valley of the Zhenets River, there is one of the most tall waterfalls Carpathian – Zhenetsky Huk. The height of the water fall is 15 meters. It's very spectacular!

Next, move to the village of Palyanitsa, where ski resort Bukovel. There is something to do there at any time of the year. Take a chairlift to the top of Mount Bukovel, enjoy the panorama of the Carpathian Mountains, look into the "Kolyba", try local cuisine, take a walk around the resort. If you come here during the hot season, you can soak up the sun and swim in one of the Bukovel lakes.

Day 3 Route Yaremche – Manyava

On the last day of your stay in the Carpathians, I advise you to explore Yaremche. Take a walk through the souvenir market, buy souvenirs as a keepsake of this wonderful region. Take a photo near the Proboy waterfall. If you are full of strength to walk further, take a walk along the Dovbush trail, created in memory of the legendary rebel leader Oleks Dovbush.

We are moving to Manyava. There is one spiritual place that you can visit - Manyavsky Skete. It's ancient monastery, which is also called “Carpathian Athos”. On the territory of the monastery there is a complex of wooden and stone architectural structures. A path leads from the monastery to the mountain - this is the exit to the “Blessed Stone”, which is a place of prayer and it cleanses various negativity and defilement. A spring gushes out from under a stone; the water in this spring is considered sacred. Let's take a walk, gain strength and hit the road! Time to go home!

This is the route for a three-day trip to the Carpathians. We hope it will help you get acquainted with this beautiful region.

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