Burkut is the oldest balneology health resort in the Ukrainian Carpathians.

The best times of Burkut resort were in 20 years of the nineteenth century. At that time, there were built 15 villas. The Austrian army destroyed the resort in 1848 during the suppression of revolutionary unrest. In 80s of the nineteenth century, resort’s revived, but its further development was interrupted by the First World War. It was planned to make a road from Hryniava to Kopilash, but these plans remained as projects. The main flow of tourists getting to Burkut was traditionally from Hrynyava pass through Vatonarka mountain pass and Lukavytsa.

Burkut village is located in Verhovyna area, in a picturesque place that was very attractive for Lesia Ukrainka (famous Ukrainian writer). At the entrance to the village there is a source of mineral water Burkut. Just above the source, there is a home of Chyvchyn Forestry on the wall of which – a plaque. Under the bas-relief, there is an inscription: “In the village Burkut in August 1901 lived outstanding Ukrainian writer Lesya Ukrainka”.

The village lies at the bottom of a deep valley at an altitude of 1012 m above sea level and surrounded by wooded hillsides. In the village, there are Burkut and Yavirnyk forestries. Unfortunately, the house where Lesia Ukrainka lived did not preserve. It was slightly higher Chyvchyn forestry.

Under the mountain there is a mineral spring, which Lesia Ukrainka drank healing water from. The mild climate, fresh mountain air, infused with needles, charming nature improved her health. Hence, she wrote to her father: “There are only trees and ferns around, birds sing, Cheremosh roars, and competing it a glandular stream that is called Burkut… If I will not improve health here, then I do not know what climate I need”.

Lesia Ukrainka continued to work there. It is in this part of the Carpathians cycles of poems “Minutes” and “Rhythm” were born.

Ivan Franko came here to Lesia Ukrainka. The journey has left its mark on his work, and the series “Burkutska stanzas” were created. From the center of the village, a country road winds up along with the mountain stream to meadow-polonyna Lukovec (1506 m). Because of it, the poet returned from Burkut to Vyzhnytsia. Her path led through the village Hryniava, Dovhopillya continue through Kuty.

Below the village river flows in a narrow valley. On the left bank, at the water there passes highway Verkhovyna – Burkut.

On the left tributary of the Black Cheremosh the river Shybene, in 7-8 km from its beal located picturesque reservoir there. Small blue lake is extremely beautiful: located in a narrow and deep valley surrounded by green forests. In the valley of this small river, there is a village Shybene. From the mouth of Shybene River begins the road that leads through the mountain Vesnarka leading to the top of the mountain Pip Ivan Chornohirsky passing by the lake Maricheika. This old road, on which all building materials for the construction of the Pip Ivan Observatory on top and then for its service were drove here. It is now in fairly good condition, only behind the forest area there are several landslides.

Below the mouth Shybene – threshold Berdy, it is a pretty difficult water hazards. Behind it – a large village Zelene that stretches along the Black Cheremosh.

Quite difficult threshold lies at the mouth of the left tributary of Dzembronya. Hence, the shortest road to Chornohora mountain range is through village Dzembronya. This trail is very picturesque, goes through alpine meadows of the valley, where you can enjoy magnificent mountain scenery of Ukrainian Carpathians.

Chyvchyny range Black Dil, which stretches from the mouth of Sarata to Perkalaba known by its vertical caves, the deepest of which is the mine with depth of more than 30 m.

Autumn is for a fisherman a special period for many reasons. First, exactly in autumn most fishes feed actively before bedding in hibernation. They go on the hook. The occasion for a rich catch is most realistic at the end of August and the beginning of September. Secondly, there is a chance in this period to test a new tackle, another bait or another method of fishing. The fish actively demonstrates what it likes and what not very much. Thirdly, a young fish grows until autumn extensively (and big fish grow even more), so that one catches generally respectable examples.

A small fish is to be returned.

The conditions of fishing are unchanged. In reservoirs of general usage, the applying of five hooks per person and a catch of 3 kilograms is allowed. A small fish is to be returned. You caught more than the allowed norm, also throw it back. A single larger fish, that weighs more than the norm, you can keep it. When a reservoir, a private lake or pool, requires payment, one fishes according to the written local terms. In the rule, one buys the right to possess the trophy, paying for every kilogram of the caught fish in addition to payment of the fishing rights on the reservoir.

Cordages

An ideal variant is a small, easy, compact equipment, that consists of a three-meter-long, two-handed spinning rod equipped by a fast-response spool. It can be used as a two-handed spinning on a spoon-bait or by throwing and spinning. One can try to throw the fly. Those who want to fish or salmon.

For a fisherman with experience we can recommend on highland rivers class 4 to 5,, spinning 1,9 to 2,4 meter long, casting 2-10 gr. Good have proved themselves the spoon-baits of the manufacturer Meppa number 00,0 to class 1 called Black Fury with yellow or red dots. On the Dnister river sheat-fish, pike and perch bite well dzig-heads with a twister, spinning 2,4 to 3 meter long, casting 20 to 30 gr. What is still needed? A bit of luck with all the tackle and a comfortable equipment.

For those that are interested in fishing in Carpathian rivers it is to take into account the nearness of the mountains and the unpredictability and changing of the weather. Autumn days are still warm; however, the nights can be frosty. During the day there can be a totally cloudless sky and within minutes clouds can appear on the skyline and it can shower with thunder. Therefore, a raincoat is necessary. In addition, an exchange of warm clothing is needed and shoes with thick soles. To walk on stony riverbanks is not to be compared with fishing on grass – half-shoes are inadequate in the mountains.

It is worthwhile to choose a light and comfortable rucksack, since the whole equipment has to be carried for a long time. Here is the main difference when fishing on Carpathian rivers. On rivers of the flatland, the fisherman sits for hours waiting for a catch. On highland streams, the fish has to be searched, constantly wandering along the reservoirs of water. At first there can be a few =empty= kilometres, but later in a hole or near a fallen tree, where fishes tend to concentrate, the fisherman is rewarded for everything. Neither scale nor tail!

When the fish bites

Fishing in the Carpathians has certain seasons. There are times that the fish is hungry and feeds actively – then it takes the hook. But then there are weeks or even months of almost absolute stillness, when the fish dozes at the bottom and does not react to any, even most delicious lures.

The first and shortest fishing season of the year is in the spring. It last from the end of February to 1st April. The sun shines warmer, the fish wakes up and begins to eat.

In all reservoirs of general use of the Carpathians, fishing is forbidden.

The second period, which runs from 1st April to 10th June, is the time of spawning. In all reservoirs of general use of the Carpathians, fishing is forbidden. However, the inspection authorities of the region of Ivano-Frankivsk as an experiment have allowed fishing almost on all sections of the Dnister river. There is only one precondition: the fisher can use only one rod with one hook.

The celebration of the Day of the Fisher in the Carpathians coincides with the opening of the third fishing season, which lasts to the beginning of the winter period. In this period, one fishes all types of fish. The most generous fishing is in August and September. Notably in autumn the royal or brook trout spawns in some sections of highland streams. The fishing of the trout is absolutely forbidden.

From the 1st December runs the winter period, during which fishes becomes less active and does not hunt. Fishing allowed on sections of rivers, where there are no winter holes. The times of ringing frosts when reservoirs freeze a few meters and the fish doze due to lack of oxygen, there is one fish that is spawning. It spawns namely in winter. It is the only example of the species of cod in the Carpathians. Its posterity will be the first in the spring that goes out into the rivers.

Fishing Reserves in the region of Ivano-Frankivsk

The general majority of the rivers in the Carpathians begin in the highlands. At a height of 1500 meters above sea level from a mountain source flows the Dnister, the largest river in the region of Ivano-Frankivsk. Almost all the tributaries of the Dnister are formed in the northern slopes of the Carpathian Mountains – the Nadvirnyanska and the Solotvynska Bystritsa, the Lukva, Syvka, Svicha, Sukil, Mizunka, Limnytsya and the Chechva.

The river Prut is the second largest water reserve in the region of Ivano-Frankivsk. Its largest sources are located at 1750 meters above sea level – the Black and White Cheremosh, Rybnytsya and Pistynka. The two Chermosh tributaries flow mainly through the Hutsul Carpathians. They are typical mountain rivers with a very steep inclination and a swift flow – more than one and a half meters per second. These rivers, that have rocky banks, a stony bottom and shallow cracks, are recognized as wildlife reserves of local value. Indeed here – on sections with a stormy flow – spawns the trout and swims a fish, that is regarded as a relict, the Danubian salmon.

The third largest river in the region is the Limnytsya. It flows from mount Bushtul, beginning at a height of 1150 meters. With a length of 122 kilometres is the largest Carpathian Tributary of the Dnister. This river is the home of many arts of valuable fish, among them the madder and the stream trout. The area near the Limnytsya is a recreational zone that almost never experienced anthropogenic influences. It is recognized as one of the cleanest rivers in Europe. On the territory of the districts of Rozhnyativ, Kalush and Halytch, where this river flows, a landscape wildlive preserve (River Limnytsya) was created.

The All-Ukrainian rules on fishing forbid fishing on Carpathian highland rivers – in so-called highland sections. In these sections live, spawn and grow rare fish, which are subject to protection by law, the royal trout, the Danubian salmon and the grayling. These fish can be found nowhere else in the Ukraine. One can very rarely see them in the middle section of the rivers, which are licensed for fishing. However, one should remember “Catch such beauties, let them free”.

In Carpathian rivers lives and spawns another fish that is entered in the Red Book – the sterlet. The fisher can photograph himself with the fish, having carefully taken it from the hook and later returning it to the water. On condition of such ways of fishing /which is practiced in all countries of Europe/, when the catch does not land in the pot for fish-soup, but is returned to the water, one could allow fishing even in the highlands.

In all rivers of the region, we meet known and relatively widespread types of fish – chub, pickerel, carp, tench, bream, sheat-fish, madder, perch, roach, loach, sander and wedge. Tourists, who intend to throw a line into the the local rivers, should take into accout that local fishers use different, regional names for the fish species., which are often based on behaviour and external appearance.

The Dnister is the richest river in the region for fishing. It flows more than 200 kilometers through the region. At the beginning, it has all qualities of a highland river, and then it spills out after the foot-hills and grows in width in the low-laying area. The Dnister is rich in fish both in the highland as also in the flat-land.

The Dnister is the richest river in the region for fishing.

Suitable for fishing are reservoirs, lakes and pools in the region of Ivano-Frankivsk. The reservoir on the river Chechva, a tributary of the Limnytsya is regarded as regime-reservoir, because it refers to an object of strategic meaning as a reservoir of clear, clean water. Fishing here is forbidden. However, the largest in the region reservoir, which is next to a power station in Burtshyn, allows fishing. It covers 1260 hectares. One can fish for a low price in a canal, where water exits from the reservoir. The water is permanently warm and there is no lack of fish. Abundant are carm, bream, sheat-fish, silver carp, Amazonian buffalo, apex, pike, perch and many other species.

In the region of Ivano-Frankivsk, there are more than 600 reservoirs of water, lakes and pools. Some of them belong to state companies and others to sportive organizations. Many state lakes are now in private ownership. They mostly have carp and other small fish. A daily payment up to 10 hryvnya one can catch well-fed carps, roaches and perches. A daily payment depends on the amount of fish in the reservoir and the conditions for the catch. In the highland natural lakes like Lake Nesamovyte and Lake Maricheyka there is no fishing. The conditions are too harsh for fish to survive.

The fishing Inspector in the Carpathians is not a negative authority

The state inspector of fishing is a friend, comrade and almost a brother. What is most important when fishing? It is satisfaction! From the adjusting of the tackle, from the expectation when one sits with a fishing-rod on the riverbank, from the smallest movement and ripple in the water, from the struggle with a clever fish, from the tasty smell of the fish-soup. Fishing is a state of the soul, say experienced fishers, as they recklessly show photos with so and such fishes, which they had the luck to catch.

Poaching is something different to violating fishing rules. Poachers use during fishing forbidden tackle and other gadgets –nets, screens, electric fishing-ros, explosive devices and chemical substances. As poachers are regarded tourists who catch rare fishes, that bare entered in the Red Book. For example the fishing of trout during spawning. This cannot be undertaken – so is destroyed the trout population in nature. If one wants unconditionally to taste such a fish, then you do not go to the riverbank, but to a restaurant. The managers of almost all Carpathian restaurants can serve trout on request – fried, stewed, prepared in a friteur or grilled. These trouts one does not catch in highland rivers, but especially in local fish farms – for the table.

Gathering raspberries in the Carpathians with a bear

Berries in the Carpathians contrary to mushrooms do not have to be searched, they are everywhere.

July showed itself surprisingly warm and the raspberry in the mountains ripened earlier. Our berry patch in Pasichna behind Nadvirna covered all the southern slopes of the mountain. As a rule we drove there a few times monthly – ripe raspberries bent down the branches to the earth. We set off a third time with rucksacks with daily food rations, buckets and a change of clothing in the case of rain (the weather in the Carpathians changes like a maiden). We were walking through the village and were asked by an older uncle, who was leading his cow to pasture in the fields. Are you going to the raspberries? Be careful, there is talk that a bear has been seen, he warned.

The weather in the Carpathians changes like a maiden.

We are city-inhabitants and reacted skeptically to his warnings. Most of us saw the animal in pictures in books or on television. The nearest we come to a bear is in a zoo. The attitude to bears is combined with a child’s love of plush toys and with stereotypes of young naturalists educated in the TV-program In the World of Animals. That bears are in fact sly and dangerous animals, though nobody. Even less believed us, that we could actually meet a bear.

A very real bear was feasting in the raspberry-cane

Arriving at the cherished place, we divided out and submerged in the thicket of the raspberry-cane. After a few hours of collecting the half-buckets with berries, I decided to rest. Nearby was a sympathetic trunk. I had barely sat on it, suddenly from somewhere very close; from somewhere behind my back I heard curious sounds. Someone was making his way through the raspberry-cane, breaking branches and champing loudly. I stood up to look and froze. Some five meters higher on the slope a very real bear was feasting in the raspberry-cane!

The animal stood erect on his back claws. With his front claws he shoveled raspberries together with leaves and twigs into his mouth, chewing loudly and growling slightly.  Suddenly he heaved up his head and saw me.  For a few seconds we looked at each other. I woke up from my shock and moved backwards. The beast opened his mouth and began to roar. In the next minute I was rushing down the slope and screaming at full voice.

Later the local forest ranger explained, as he gave us tea, that one must flee very quietly and that we were lucky. The bear was very young and was probably just as frightened like we were and he rashly left the raspberry-cane. If we would have had blundered upon an experienced pigeon-toed beast, we would have risked our life.  The forest ranger showed us fresh scratches on tree-trunks – four deep unequal lines on a height of one and a half meters. So the bear was marking his territory. We would have no other alternative than to abandon the raspberry-cane.

For who have the berries ripened?

Climbing to highest region, one can return from the early autumn through the summer to a late spring.

Wandering in the Carpathians – is a rare possibility to gain unique experience of co-existing with nature. The mountains teach us many eternal truths. You convince yourself that when you take, you have to give and share. The raspberry with bears and roes, the blackberry and whortleberry with wild boars and foxes, squirrels and weasels, wild strawberry – with badgers and mice, frogs and snails, reptiles and birds.

Berry patches are the biggest source of nutrition for various forest populations from early spring to late autumn. The exceptionality of the berry season in the Carpathians preconditions an astounding combination of time zones and the division of the periods of the year. Depending on the height, berries ripen either all at the same time or over two-three weeks or are prolonged over a few months. Climbing to highest region, one can return from the early autumn through the summer to a late spring. To picking whortleberries at the feet of a mountain, to finding cowberries and wild strawberries on mild southern slopes, and to come upon crocuses, that flower alongside the rests of winter snow reserves.

In flatland before the mountains the berry season begins at the end of June and in the highest regions berries ripen only at the end of August. First appears the wild strawberry, which grows on the edge of forests, in fir forests, on meadows and along highland roads. The second half of July is the period of raspberry and wild whortleberry.

The blackberry appears in the Carpathians at the beginning of July, but in the highlands the season of its massive ripening is August. In September, begin the cranberry. Here and there in the highland tundra, in the higher part of Chorna Hora and the Horhany, on moss-covered slopes of Blyznytsya, Ihrovets, Petros and Sheshul grows the cranberry. Berries in the Carpathians contrary to mushrooms do not have to be searched, they are everywhere. Just go into the mountains and they will present them.

Curiosities about Carpathian berries

The leaves of the wild strawberry contain 5-7 times more vitamin C than the fruit of the berries. Decoctions of the grass of wild strawberries are for treating cases of gastritis, inflammations of the bowels, liver-illnesses and internal hemorrhages.

Two glasses of a wild raspberry secure the daily requirement of calcium of a five-year old child.

Wild berries are rich on iron salts. In 100 gr. of wild strawberry or cowberry there is sufficient iron for the daily needs of a women that is breastfeeding a child. Raspberries and whortleberries contain more iron than lemons, oranges and grapes.

A wild raspberry differs from its plantation counterpart with an eminent quantity on phosphor. A blackberry is rich on magnium and copper, that are needed for hematogenesis.

The productivity of berries is 10 times higher in forest parcels where the falling of logs took place, than in an untouched forest.

Etnomedicine recommends, that raw, boiled or wetted berries of cowberry are applied in cases of gastritis with low acidity, rheumatism, higher blood pressure and illnesses of the liver.

Hutsul life has always been rough and hard, but surrounded by amazingly beautiful landscapes. Arts and crafts of Ukrainian Carpathians are closely connected with this difficult life style; it reflects this mountainous aesthetic and distinguishes with vivid originality. Among the variety of its aspects, pottery is considered the most laborious and capricious craft. And tile manufacture is a special kind of it.

The most complete collection of Hutsul tiles is assembled in Kolomyya Folk Museum of Hutsulshchyna and Pokuttia (20 Teatralna Street, Kolomyya) and is fitted into the rich Hutsul interior of the late XIX – early XX centuries. The interior is virtually ultimate in its completeness and perfection – with the stove made of tiles by Oleksa Bakhmatyuk (1829-1882), the most distinguished ceramist of Hutsul region, also known under the name Bakhminskyi.

Kosiv stove and Hutsul tiles. How it is made

An order of the laid tiles has a clearly stated rhythm accented with the original crown from the frontons and the corner adornment above the chimney. The painted tiles were obligatorily laid from the top to the bottom according to the importance of the themes. The first row from the top is, of course, the most important. It was considered a talisman; it was turned to with different requests. On both sides there were tiles with the religious themes, the themes of social or national importance, for example, featuring the bells, the Austrian double-headed eagle. The images of everyday scenes – a farmer with cradles, hunters which went hunting- were laid on the right and on the left… And here, by the way, you have an example of Hutsul humor – a hunter carries another on a wheelbarrow, while the one being carried shoots a bird.

The painted tiles were obligatorily laid from the top to the bottom according to the importance of the themes.

In the second row of the stove there were tiles with the images of the things, which gave the opportunity to live in difficult mountainous conditions. It always was a lamb, which gave clothes, warmth and food. Musicians were often impictured on the stove tiles; they plaid the violin, silica and rarely – trembita. Hutsuls would not be Hutsuls, if ornamenting tiles would not mention the consequences of a visit to taverna – a husband came home, and a wife waited with a hatchet in hand, showing who was a head…

Oleksa Bakhmatyuk – a son of a potter – adopted elements of craft from his father, with whom he lived in Old Kosiv, and studied painting by the young but already famous Petro Baraniuk. He did not only set out the themes existing before, enriching them with interesting details, but also performed many new things, creating in such a manner an amazing tale about the life in the mountains. His Hutsul with a pipe in his mouth carries a pig on a wheelbarrow; his hunter shoots a bird which dabs a roof of a two-storey manor house. His master (because of boots) or Hutsul (because of the mustache) plows with two horses, and large sunflowers bloom over their heads. Bakhmatyuk’s two soldiers point guns at each other and between them there is a house with their shoulders high.

Emperor Franz Joseph, having seen the samples of Kosiv stove in Kolomyya Industrial Exhibition in 1880, ordered a painted stove, which was soon made and sent to Vienna

Oleksa Bakhmatyuk’s works were exhibited, attracted constant interest and admiration. The researcher David Hoberman describes in his book “Hutsulshchyna – a land of art” a case where Emperor Franz Joseph, having seen the samples of Bakhmatyuk’s tiles in Kolomyya Industrial Exhibition in 1880, ordered a painted stove, which was soon made and sent to Vienna. At the same exhibition Oleksa received a gold award.

His talent was original and unique which is said about as follows – a gift from God. You will never more find such lively vision and filling of the world, such vital dynamics and will for life, such grotesque and irony, such broad flight of imagination and fantasy, multiplied by the incredible variety of themes and designs.

Kosiv ceramic school

Famous Kosiv stove

Oleksa Bakhmatiuk’s art had a great influence on the artists of the next generation. The most famous of them are Mykhailo and Yosyp Baraniuks. Together with Bakhmatyuk they represent Kosiv ceramic school. And in the village Pistyn near Kosiv, a school was founded, which is associated with the dynasty of three generations of Zintiuks, and especially with the oldest of them – Dmytro. His works are characterized by contrasts, oppositions and hiperbolicity of forms; strength and constructability of compositions are felt in them. Dmytro Zintiuk used a particular kind of floral motifs – branches in the form of huge ears, large leaves, and flowers in the form of rings. Kosiv and Pistyn designated the main features of Hutsul ceramics. Although their masters used the known technique – engraving succeeded by glazing – each of them had his secrets, his technology of burning, not to mention the idiom, which was presented in the nuances of colors and shades, variety of geometric and plant motifs, originality of composition and regularity of lines and shapes.

Because the masters worked apart, employing mainly family members, the works of the potters were mostly anonymous

But because the masters worked apart, employing mainly family members, the works of the potters were mostly anonymous, except Oleksa Bakhmatiuk, Petro Koshak and some others who signed their work. Art critics still argue about the belonging of certain works to a particular master…

Kolomyya ceramic school

Our story would be incomplete without reference of Kolomyya ceramics, which has its own express identity. The oldest tiles survived in great numbers are certainly from Kolomyya. Firstly, there were deposits of the best clay exactly in this region. Secondly, the city was opened for travels and travelers, and had its original cultural environment.

Kolomyya school has its own style of painting, another technique (so-called “fliandrovka”), and technology. There is a family of Kakhnikevych – the father Mykhailo Fedorovych was a great technologist. He poured just out his pottery from the bag on the ground; they fell, jingled and did not break.

In general, in the late nineteenth century more than 100 potters worked in Hutsul region. They supplied their products not only in all mountain villages, but also in Galicia and Bukovyna, many works got into the neighboring countries – Romania and Poland. But over time, the individual tile pottery declined, giving place to industrial workshops.Nowadays, we can forget about revival of this kind of folk art. Although in Kolomyya and outside there are families of great masters dealing with ceramics, they make stoves to order, which are copies of the famous works or original author’s works. In Kolomyia region, graduates of Kosiv College of Applied and Decorative Arts named V.Kasiian opened a small factory for manufacture of fireplaces and stoves. But, of course, this is not about previous extent and it is difficult to find customers. That is they make only decorative souvenir things, which look very nice even just immured in a wall.

Do Hutsul tiles have a future?

There are many people who like folk art, but those who have its models in their houses are very few. Currently, these decorative tiles are bought only by polish tourists, for whom this art is familiar. Taken as a whole, foreign visitors take souvenir dolls, as it turns out, they heard about them many times, and about tiles – didn’t.

Authentic tiles come up not very often

A collector from Kolomyya Ivan Vyshyvaniuk agrees with the idea that we promote our heritage in the world insufficiently. He has engaged in collecting for six years and is confident that Hutsul tiles would be exhibited at the most prestigious world auctions. If somebody knows about Kosiv ceramics, about Kolomyia – nobody.

According to him, authentic tiles come up not vary often, but he managed to gather a collection of purely Kolomyya ceramics. Also, Mr. Ivan showed us his two most recent acquisitions and dispelled sadness that in Hutsul region there was no authentic tiled stove of local artists left. He says he knows at least five houses with the stoves. But it is difficult to say how long they will survive there.

One hundred years ago the forests of Hutsulshchyna were full of wild animals and attracted titled hunters from different parts of Europe. The graphs, lords and princes of the known European dynasties hunted here. Having made three expeditions to Africa and two to India the Prince John of Lichtenstein said: “I make more of the wonderful deer rutting season in the Carpathians than the tiger hunting in India”. The closest Hitler’s associate Hermann Goering, later “Nazi number two”, and also a Governor of Galicia District, a group leader of SS Otto Wächter hunted in Hutsulshchyna.

Hutsuls helped the Archduke Otton to hunt the deer, 1905

In Yaremche vicinity of Stanislaviv province hotels and resorts just not incidentally had the title word “deer” – “Under a deer”, “Under a golden deer”. A deer is depicted on the seal of the Climate Commission of the resort Yaremche. A sculpture of a deer rose above on a high rock over the Prut River in Yaremche. The festive blouses of Hutsul women were decorated by the embroidered figures of a deer. Men decorated their hats with the metal image of a deer and their wide belts with a deer profile stamped on leather.

Hutsuls believed that a deer bore out the sun on its antlers from the other world, and portrayed it on the Easter eggs. The wide-brimmed antlers adorned almost every Hutsul house. A noble deer was a symbol of hunting wealth of the Carpathians. Aristocrats from all over Europe came here for hunting.

In the late 19th – early 20th centuries the forest tracts in neighborhood of Yaremche in Nadvirna district were famous with their protected forests and rich hunting territories. The guests of the forestry or the owners of hunting forests took deer, bears, wild boars, wood grouses.

One of the Galician newspapers already in 1899 mentioned that Hutsul forests of Nadvirna region gave to the state 700 000 crowns net profit yearly. At the same time they were hunting places of the higher state nobility. The Prince of Lichtenstein, the Archduke Otton, the Count Silva Taurozza in particular hunted here. The last killed fourteen deer during the week, and the Archduke Otton – three bears.

Typically, the deer hunting season started in autumn in the second half of September, at the height of rutting season. It is the period of deer coupling that lasts almost a month. A deer bellows in this time in order to frighten the rival. To attract the deer to the hunting territories they are given salt in the special salt boxes since the spring, and in winter hay is leaved in feeders. On the winter glades dewberry, osier, juniper, sycamore, ash, mountain ash are planted, which are good forage for the deep in the cold season.

The hunting forests were devastated by many reasons and especially because of poachers. During the Austro-Hungarian period strong measures were used against them. May 16, 1902 the newspaper “Dilo” noted in its current news that in Yaremche some poachers engaged in stealing beasts in the state forests were arrested. A livestock of forest predators namely lynxes and wolves fallen upon the fawns was regulated (partly culled).

The newspaper “Stanislaviv Courier” on September 26, 1900 reported that in Hutsulshchyna a hunting season began, and in the forests of Mykulychyn the Count Ernest Jonas shot an eighteen-years-old deer. The trophies like these had to be photographed. And we see on one of the pictures the villagers of Mykulychyn who have helped to hunt the giant deer for the notable guest.

1905 “Stanislaviv Courier” wrote that the Count Pototski and the Prince of Lichtenstein hunted in the mountains of Nadvirna during two weeks. The Archduke of the imperial family Otton with his retinue joined them on the last day of September. The nobility mainly hunted wild boars. By the way, it is told that the name of the town “Vorokhta” in Sanskrit means “the place where boars inhabit”.

John III, the Prince of Lichtenstein since 1894 received the right for hunting and fishing in the Eastern Beskyd. At his cost a wonderful wooden church in Hutsul style was built in Polianytsia Popovychivska near Tatariv. April 26, 1901 one of the Galician newspapers reported that in the village Polianytsia Popovychivska an estate of Hutsul Ivan Hul was set for an auction. It was purchased by the Prince of Lichtenstein at 60 000 crowns. The Prince owned the forests in Dora, Mykulychyn, Polianytsia, Tatariv and Vorokhta.

The Prince’s of Lichtenstein palace looked like a Swiss chalet and was located at a distance of four kilometers from the center of Tatariv. There was a rich collection of hunting trophies in the palace. The deer antlers and roe horns, luxurious skins of lynxes, wolves, bears, and stuffed birds could be seen here. The guests were amazed of the deer antlers, which the English Lord won in 1904 while hunting on the mountainside of Kostrytsia. They weighed 14 kilograms and had a length of 105 centimeters.

In the forests of the Prince of Lichtenstein the guests-hunters killed 12-20 large deer during the autumn season. They took the deer antlers, gave usually the deer skins to the Prince and meat to the local people. Having made three expeditions to Africa and two to India the Prince John of Lichtenstein said: “I make more of the wonderful deer rutting season in the Carpathians than the tiger hunting in India.”

In October 1908 “Stanislaviv Courier” reported that during the week the Viennese aristocracy including the Princess and the Princes of Lichtenstein hunted in the forests near the village of Tatariv.

On April 22-23, 1912 the Archduke Carl Franz Joseph of Habsburg hunted for the wood grouses in Mykulychyn. The grouse mating ritual in the Carpathians is a fascinating sight. The birds give specific sounds which change into “grinding” and end with a specific kind of sound “stopper” that is associated with opening the bottle. If a wood grouse hen appears, the grouses with magnificent plumage, fanned rudders start a mating dance. At this time the birds do not react on the hunter’s approach.

In the interwar period the professor of the Lviv Polytechnic, later in 1927 – 1930 – the Polish Prime Minister Kazimierz Bartley (1882 – 1941) had his villa with spired roof in Kamianka near Dora village. He went hunting, but … without a gun. He went only to admire the grouse mating ritual in spring and the deer rutting season in autumn.

In early 20th century 33 hunting societies acted in Stanislaviv province, one of them – in Yaremche – “Mountain Hunter Society”. The society included, as a rule, foresters, doctors, businessmen, government officials, border guards. The emblem of the society member has a head of a deer depicted on the background of spruce branches and the inscription “Mountain Hunter Society in Yaremche”.

In Mykulychyn two hunting forests were rented in the interwar period and the tenants kept at their own cost the rangers – M. Myroniak and J. Vartsabiuk. The Polish-owners came in Mykulychyn whith their numerous guests only for the deer and wild boar hunting.

“You do not catch the beast, until you learn its life habits”- stated an authoritative Hutsul-hunter. Wasil Prodaniuk, a resident of Vorokhta, was a great expert on animal behavior and, of course, a brilliant hunter (pictured with lynx shot by him, 60s). Since 1922 he worked in hunting farm “Ardzheluzha” of the Count Lambut who rented about five thousand hectares of the forests near Vorokhta namely the forest tracts Labieska, Kukul, Kostrycha and Ozirnyj. Here the titled hunters hunted deer, wild boars, wolves, foxes, lynxes, bears, and chamois.
The son of the famous hunter Mykhailo Prodaniuk said that Herman Goering came for hunting in Vorokhta; then, in 1918, he was a German pilot, a lieutenant that was affirmed by photography. Later, during the occupation, this photo saved the hunter’s family from death. Herman had already been the second after Hitler leader of the Third Reich, a President of the Reichstag and a Reichsmarschal. When the soviet power came Vasyl’s wife, worrying for the life of her family, burned it.

In the interwar period the Count Grabowski had his villa in Vorokhta; he was a ruthless hunter who owned the large areas of the nearby forest. 1925 he shot and killed a local young man, Yurij Pityliak, having unjustly accused him in poaching. A writer Stephan Pushyk described this accident in his book “A feather of a golden bird”: “The family of Grabowski came to Vorokhta from the Kiev region. They have escaped from the revolution as the beast runs away into the dark jungle from hunting bullets. The Government of Pilsudski took compassion on the lords and sent them to the Carpathians. The Captain Grabowski took over the forests and meadows that stretched on the mountains Magura, Rebrovach, Kycher, Foresku…. His house grew near the church. His sniper rifle, which shot still to the Red Army, now was of use for hunting in the rich Carpathian forests. The Captain Grabowski had the habit to inspect their forests early in the morning. Not once he saw a deer, roe, fox or even a bear. He noticed Yura Petyliak on the Magura-glade … His rifle was verified. He knew that Yura Petyliak would not recover his feet. The youth died on the Magura in summer 1925. The Count fled from Vorokhta to Lviv, because Hutsuls made ambushes for him. Death for death, blood for blood, tooth for tooth that is a law of Mountains”.

But the Count escaped, bribed a court and witnesses. Grabowski’s family vault in Vorokhta was razed to the ground in Soviet times, and his son, Leszek Grabowski, was arrested as an agent of foreign intelligence. He died 11/07/1941 during the investigation, his burial place is unknown.

A district governor of Galicia, a prominent figure in the Nazi Party, SS group leader Otto Gustav Wächter selected the hunting forests of Vorokhta during the time of occupation. He ordered to remake the interior of the Teacher House, which belonged to the Society of mutual help of the Ukrainian teachers, into the hunting house. At that time, in 1942, the local school was situated here.

According to local residents, the school was removed to a large house near the railway station, and in reparation of the Teacher House were invested 250,000 zlotys.

A former director of Vorokhta School Stephan Salyk mentioned being in exile that the masters-carvers from Richka and Zhabie were involved for reconstruction. Once, when this work was coming to the end, the school watchman, who looked after the house, invited S. Salyk to see the “classes”. “… I did not want to believe my eyes. What I saw then was like something in a fairy tale … The bedrooms were spacious, and their walls, ceiling gleamed with incrustations. The former dining room transformed into the hunter’s room was hung with the deer’s antlers. The walls were hung with skins of bears, wild boars and lynxes. The governor’s bedroom was upstairs. The beds and all the furniture namely the night tables, lamp risers, candlesticks, chairs, walls were encrusted and shone like inlaid with brilliants. The beds were covered by wool blankets and the floor by carpets”. Of course, by the difficult situation at the front the hunter’s house was not used, and at the end of the war the house burned.

A cull of the deer did not stop in Soviet times. The numerous licenses issued under the protection of the Ministry of Forestry, by the Directorate of Hunting Farm and sealed of the Vorokhta forest combine bear witness thereof. For example, a deer shooting license №000158, issued on November 10, 1977.

Now the above-mentioned former hunting territories belong to the Carpathian National Nature Park, where a significant environmental work is addressed, in particular, for the preservation and enhancement of the Carpathian deer. Hunting for deer population is strictly prohibited and punished by law.

About Mykulychyn village

Mykulychyn is a specific Hutsul village in the Nadvirna region which, in addition to the magic Carpathian nature, a long time ago was famous for locals’ hospitality, a lot of boarding houses of high quality, mild temperate climate with healthy air, good connections between the cities of Galicia, Bukovina and Transcarpathia, availability of telegraph and telephone connection that contributed, particularly in the summer months, the mass arrival of so-called summer residents from all-around, even from abroad. The point is about the time when the Western Ukraine was a part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and then a part of Poland. And with the establishment of the Soviet regime in 1939 Mykulychyn lost its tourist and recreational and, of course, cultural and political value.

In the 19th century Sophron Vytvytsky (1819-1879), a Ukrainian writer, playwright, ethnographer, a pastor in Zhabie(Verkhovyna district) repeatedly visited Mykulychyn. He studied history, geography and ethnography of Hutsulshchyna. The result of his research was the specific “Hutsul encyclopedia” – a work “About Hutsuls” which was published in 1863. Here the author mentions about Mykulychyn: “As regards towns, only Mykulychyn is a purely Hutsul village, and, for example, in Pistyn or Nadvirna the question about Boikos or Hutsuls is usual answered-” we are not Boikos, but we belong to Hutsul“.

An adornment of Mykulychyn is an architectural monument – the Church of the Holy Trinity (1868) and the bell tower, which was built much earlier. The painting of the iconostasis was performed by an outstanding Ukrainian painter, poet and playwright Kornylo Ustyianovych (1839-1903). To the point, one of the apostles is portrayed by the author in his likeness as a memory of himself.

Ménie Muriel Dowie in the Carpathians

1889 a young writer from the United Kingdom, Scottish by birth, Ménie Muriel Dowie (1867-1945) visited Hutsulshchyna. She was captivated by mountain views, wooden buildings, folk art and Hutsul clothing. In 1891 M.Daui published in London a book “A Girl in the Carpathians“, in which she described her impressions of this trip. Interestingly, that Muriel Dowie considered the Hutsul clothes of Mykulychyn village the most beautiful that she had ever seen. In particular, she liked a women “keptar” (a short sleeveless fur coat) and decorated sandals which girls worn.

Hotels in Mykulychyn

When in 1894 the construction of a railway branch Stanislav -Voronienka was completed Mykulychyn began to develop intensively as a low mountain climatic resort. Anna Bauer was one of the first owners of the boarding house for tourists. As the “Newspaper of Kolomyia” reported on November 1, 1899 in Mykulychyn “the own villas were built by the families of Krasnytsky and Mizevych from Kolomyia, Baker, Briukhalsky, Sukhopilsky from Lviv and Tsensky from the town Vikna”. The same newspaper on November 8, 1899 informed: “The famous Polish traveler Tadeusz Starevski visited Mykulychyn. He stayed at a hotel of Shtenverh, where he met an artist Severyn Obst. The artist painted in the village brown-eyed Hutsul women, wells between the fires and waterfalls”.

1901 the first Ukrainian hotel was opened in Mykulychyn.

The Lviv Company “The people’s inn” rented from a pastor Tadei Halaichuk a villa near the railway station. Mykola Zaiachkivsky was a director of the inn. The villa had two floors, a large hall and eight rooms. The Lviv newspaper “Dilo” on August 20, 1901 reported that “The People’s inn” in village Mykulychyn would take tourists for a rest in the last arrival from 25th August to 20th September.

Famous people visiting Mykulychyn

There is a picturesque waterfall Kaplyvets in two and a half kilometers before the village Mykulychyn, left from the main road. It is known that in the summer of 1908 a prominent Ukrainian writer, essayist, scientific, social and political activist Ivan Franko (1856-1916) visited these places. In the fund of Franko (Kyiv) folklore materials are saved (bywords, folk songs etc.), which were recorded by his son Andriy in Mykulychyn and other Hutsul villages.

There is information about staying in Mykulychyn Julian Kobyliansky, the father of the famous Ukrainian writer Olga Kobylianska (1863-1942). Perhaps Olga Kobylyanska also visited Mykuluchyn, because a cousin of the writer Evdokia Boian had been living there since she married a sawmill master D.Boian from Mykulychyn. The heirs of the family Mssrs. Kyseliuks living in the village Tsaryna keep several letters of Julian Kobyliansky and a letter of O.Kobylianska dated June 20, 1912.

In the late 19^th – early 20^th centuries Tadeusz Obminski (1874- 1932), a prominent architect and lecturer of Lviv Polytechnic visited Mykulychyn. In 1916-1917 he was appointed a rector of this university. In the fund collection of the Museum of Folk Architecture and Culture a two-volume album of Obminski’s pictures and drawings is remained which illustrates the author’s deep admiration of national wooden architecture of Galicia and his thorough research. The architect T. Obminski developed a number of projects such as the hotel “National” in Lviv, the Lviv Polytechnic library, the church in Yaremche (after the war in the 50s of last century the church was taken down and since the 80s the part of the church fell under the newly built shopping center “Yaremche”, the bigger part was rebuilt into a branch of the Saving Bank), the villas in Hutsul style, the public buildings.

The future heir apparent of the Austro-Hungarian Empire Charles Franz Joseph of Habsburg which soon became the Emperor Charles (1916-1918) and his wife the Princess Zita of Bourbon-Parma visited Mykulychyn in 1912. The Austrian Archduke came to Mykulychyn at the invitation of the famous Prince of Lichtenstein, who was the owner of the Carpathian forests in this region, and here in Mykulychyn in April of 1912 the grouse hunting was arranged for the guests of the imperial court.

In early June of that year Charles Joseph Franz was back in Mykulychyn, where he had the opportunity to see the herds of deer in the forests. The photo has been remained which immortalizes the Austrian Archduke surrounded by Hutsuls with the beautiful Carpathian deer.

In the magazines of Galicia it was told about the resident of Mykulychyn who saw for the first time in his life the car in which the Archduke Charles traveled. It was in Yaremcha near the grand stone railway viaduct over the Prut River (the bridge was built in 1894 and completely destroyed by the Germans in July of 1944 during the retreat under the blows of the Soviet Army).

The Nazi in Mykulychyn

Watching the villager the future Emperor of the Austro-Hungarian Empire (by the way, he had not any armed guards) proposed the interesting Hutsul to take a drive through Yaremche, then he drove the happy man in Mykulychyn.
The occupying German authorities subordinated the forests of Mykulychyn as the forests of all Galicia to “the General Directorate of forests” located in Lviv. The old residents of Mykulychyn remember the forester Polotniuk as a wise and benevolent Ukrainian who had helped people as he had could. Of course, the Germans kept constantly in sight all the Ukrainian intelligentsia, which was well-disposed to its people and saw in Germans the common occupiers-enemies. The Nazis understood this and waited for the right moment to isolate and destroy the intelligentsia. Such a fate overtook Yevgen Polotniuk. In October 1943 he was taken from his house by Gestapo, and like hundreds other patriots-Galicians imprisoned in jail in Stanialaviv.

The tragic end came on November 28, 1943, when Yevgen Polotnyuk and the other nine Galicians were selected by Gestapo from among the prisoners in jail as hostages and shot publicly not far from the railway station in Vorokhta. The names of Galicians – the Ukraine sons are: Yevgen Polotniuk, Stepan Buchko, Panteleimon Haida, Stepan Demianchuk, Volodymyr Kitsa, Mykola Kostyk, Ivan Levytsky, Yurij Luchko, Vasyl Nalyvaiko and Ivan Nimchuk from the village Yamna.

The region of Verkhovyna is the central area of Hutsulshchyna that is part of the highlands of the Ukrainian Carpathians. It has a rich cultural and historical tradition, which was maintained due to they love and respect of the Hutsuls to their and due to the natural isolation of this with difficulty accessible, distant highland.

To the region of Verkhovyna belong the village Verkhovyna and 42 highland populated areas, which are subordinated to 1 village council and 21 other village authorities.

In every populated community, there are valuable monuments of history, culture and nature. All the highland villages have their natural specialties, that differ from the other villages of Hutsulshchyna. The region of Verkhovyna has preserved in greater degree its own traditional forms of highland agriculture, traditions and customs of the Hutsuls, which go far back to lordly times of Ukraine.

In order to learn in detail these largest mountain villages and the eminent natural places, it is necessary to make a few journeys on village roads that follow rocky-slopes along the rivers Black Cheremosh, White Cheremosh, Iltsi and Probiyna. We invite you to a culture-finding tour of the regional roads and paths of Verkhovyna to dwell in its highland villages, in which – despite very harsh living and working conditions and the complicated historical challenges – a rich cultural and historical traditions of the Carpathians generally and the region of Verkhovyna especially have been preserved.

Map. Villages of Verkhovyna region

Biloberezka

This village lies in the lower part of route of the river Cheremosh and it is one of the largest villages of the region. The natural and climatic conditions are the best in this area. Here lives the regionally well-known family of I.Mynaylyuk (Shkapa), whose both sons, Petro and Semen, are talented violinists that have composed many Hutsul melodies.
In Biloberezka was born V.Kobrynsky, the founder of the Museum of Hutsulshchyna and Pokuttya in Kolomyya. Here live also the 90-year-old blind storyteller P.Shlymkevych (Khudymy), who carries the local banner for Hutsul folklore and furthermore the poet O.Knyzky.

Krasnoyillya

This is the most self-sufficient village of Hutsulshchyna. H.Khotkevych opened here in 1910 a Hutsul theater, where the performances were in the Hutsul dialect. It appeared in many cities of Ukraine, Russia and Poland. L.Kurbas and O.Remez cooperated with the theater. In Krasnoyillya there is a Museum of H.Khotkevych and also a museum of Hutsul Theater under the direction of V.Sinitovych. Based on the teaching staff of local villageschool one founded an amateur theater society of H.Khotkevych. Under the direction of M.Didushko, their society had performances in Kiev, Kharkov, Lviv and it took part in theater festivals in Poland.

Perekhresne

One of the highest mountainous villages in Ukraine, it lies on an intersection  of two mountain ranges that are more than 1000 meters above sea level. The village opens beautiful panoramas on the Chorna Hora range and the Carpathians in Pokuttya-Bukovina. In difference to most villages of Verkhovyna this village is not surrounded by forests, but by meadows and pasture-land (polonyna). It is however the only region in the region which has no permanent roadway connection. Native of Perekresne is  the in Hutsulia and Ukraine known master of national crcraftsmanship in Kosiv he opened a family museum  of art.

Zamahora

The village is famous among the Hutsuls for its music ensembles and local musicians, who are invited to play at Hutsul weddings and to appear at all Hutsul festivals of music. Music activities here are an old tradition , passed on through generations from father to son. In the village live such talented musicians like threcymbals-player I.Sorychand the violinists  V.Ilyuk and I.Martytschuk.  Most of the villagers occupy themselves with traditional methods of highland agriculture, craftmanships and occupations.

Holovy

It is a typical Hutsul village, only that here the people s culture and customs, which are typical for a highland community, are better preserved than elsewhere. In 1920 it was, led by the local villager Dmytro Karabchuk, a centre of of the Hutsul uprising against the colonial Polish regime. The first teacher in the school in Holovy was L.Harmatyi. Before he teached in Kryvorivnya, where I.Franko read to him his writings. In the school of Holovy teached the talanted writer M.Lomatsky, who immigrated later to Germany where he wrote a number of documentary-artistic books on Hutsulshchyna.
A native of Holovy is the writer P.Shekeryk (Donykiv),a famous scholar on Hutsulshchyna. Hecollectd folkloristic-etnographical material for I.Franko,V.Hnatyuk and M. Kotsyubynsky. 1935-1939 he organized the publishing of the annual “Hutsylsky kalendar” and published his articlesin varous publications in Lviv. In Hutsul dialect he wrote an autobiographical book “Did Ivanchik”, which has 500 pages and is prepared for publication in the journal “Hutsulia”.

Stebni

This small highland village has a central part along both sides of the river White Chermosh and a larger population  on the outskirts which are on higher land. Most of the population is occupied with highland activities.Here one has preserved many traditional customs and rituals of the area. Recently the villages began the building of a modern wooden church. In Stebni lived the generally known musician H.Belmeha (Rubaniv), who played Hutsul melodies on the Hutsul floyara instrument. The local regard him as equal to the violinists Havytsya, Mohur and Shkapa.

Dovhopole

It is one of the oldest villages of Hutsulia (Hutsulshchyna) and it lies in the middle of route of the White Cheremosh. In the village was one of the oldest churches of the region, next to which the artist I.Trush painted a portrait of I.Franko.  A known priest and community activist I.Popel served in the church and he in 1029 took part in the Hutsul uprising. In his house were I.Franko, Lesya Ukrainka, V.Hnatyuk and O.Makovyy were visitors. On material that he collected in this village I.Franko wrote a story “The Hutsul King”. In the 80-es of the 20th cent. the atheists destroyed the old church, what is a great lossfor the spiritual-cultural life of the land. Now a new church stands in her place.

Yablunytsa

This village lies on the right bank of the White Cheremosh river. On the left bank lies a village with the same name that belongs to the district Putyl in the region of Chernivtsi. Similar identically named villages along the Cheremosh river appeared historically as new borders along the river were determined two foreign states that controlled the territories of this land – Poland and Romania. The village has a museum of Hutsulian folklore and a amateur video-and cinema studio was opened by the talented villager Ivan Dronyak. Up to the 50-es of the 20th cent. functioned a hidro-power station on the White Cheremosh river –  from it remain only ruins.

Hrunyava

This old Hutsul village is surrounded by high mountains with fir forests. From Hrynyava comes the name of the nearby picturesque Carpathian mountains range between the White Cheremosh and the Black Cheremosh – Hrynyavsky mountain range. The village has preserved a traditional highland character, the basis of which is forestry, development of herds of cattle and the collecting of berries and mushrooms.The difficult natural-climatic conditions in the Carpathian Mountains have influenced the conserving traditional examples of local wood architecture in the village. This applies to the houses, buildings  for handwork as for all types of highland agricultural activities.

Probiyna

The village lies in the highland of the Hrynyava mountains.  The river Probyina flows through the village and it continues to flow through narrow openings among rocks to reach the White Cheremosh. The picturesque mountain view is completes with sporadic wooden houses built in Hutsul style. The village lies 55 kilometers from the regional centre and the narrow highland road is washed away by flood water. The villagers in this area live in difficult highland conditions of the Carpathians.

Holoshyno

It is the farthest village from Verkhovyna. The roadway marks 57 kilometers. It is one of the border villages to Romania. Most villagers are occupied in the forestries, care for the cattle or collect berries and mushrooms.Well preserved are old customs and traditions of the region. The isolation in a mountainous region influences daily living conditions. Round the village old fir forests, where rare wild animals roam.

Krasnyk

In the village of Krasnyk flows the river Black Cheremosh through a natural rocky opening between the two mountain ranges called Krynta and Kostrycha This was once a very dangerous narrow spot for Carpathian workers that floated down logs on rafts. To-day one organizes competitions with kayaks and catamarans. In Krasnyk lived the family of V.Manchuk, whose son Alexander Manchuk was murdered in 1941 by the NKVD in the prison of Zhabye (Verkhovyna). O.Manchuk was a talented Hutsul poet that authored the collection “Zhabyesky novels”, which was published 2000 by “Hutsulia” (USA).

Bystrets

The highland  river Bystrets flows through the village that obtained its name from this river with clear mountain water. Near the ravine Kedrovaty lies a natural swamp with ceder trees. On the territory of Bystrets lies the highland meadow called Hadzhina, where large herds of cattle and flocks of sheep pasture. Here one has preserved the ancient life and agriculture on a highland plateau. In Bystrets was the villa of the Polish writer S.Vinzenz, the author of an epic tetralogy about Hutsulia called “On the highland meadow”.

Dzembronya

This village, the most highest in Ukraine, lies under the steep slopes of the Chornohora range. In Dzhembronya begins the shortest path onto the mountain Pip Ivan with the ruins of a two-storeyed brick building and a tower as an astronomical observatory at the top. Hutsuls regard Chorna Hora as their sacred mountain. Here in ancient times there was a pagan temple. As echo of these a ancient people’s tradition of mass gatherings on the Chorna Hora on the night on the eve of Ivan Kupala. In the thick forests around Dzhembronya once lived bisons, which gave the village its name. On the outskirts of Dzhembronja, in Stepanska, from where a picturesque panorama of the Chorna Hora mountain range is demonstrated, lived every summer the known Ukrainian graphist Yakutovych, who participated in the production of the film “Shadows of forgotten Ancestors”.

Zelene

The village of Zelene covers the largest territory in the region of Verkhovyna. This village marks the border (40 kilometers long) between Ukraine and Romania. In the village of

Shybene

that belongs to the village council of Zelene, there is a military border unit. From here commences a roadway to Romania that goes along the slopes of Rusky Doland the mountain Roha. The villages stretches itself 60 kilometers along the river Black Cheremosh. The village lies near the third largest mountain range, of the Ukrainian Carpathians namely Chorna Hora (Pip Ivan). To Pip Ivan was erected a highland road from the neighboring village of Shybene through the highlands of Vesnarka near the glacial lake Maricheyka.

During the twenties of the 19th cent. the villagers from the neighborhood transported on Hutsul horses along this road building materials and took part in the erection  of the two-storeyed stone building and round tower with the astronomical observatory on the Chorna Hora mountain. This village was one of the centres of the uprising of the Hutsuls in 1920. Here was born  the Ukrainian composer and violinist V. Hrymalyuk (Mohur). In 1971 be became Laureate of the International Music Congress in Moscow. Here he performed his own composition “Morning in the highlands” in the Concert hall of P.Chaykovsky. The musical ensemble of Hrymalyuk participated on the film “Shadows of forgotten Ancestors”. In Zelene lives the talented embroiderer Vasilina Yanushevska.

Burkut

This village is famous for its mineral water spring, which is similar to “Yesentukha” (or Georgian “Burzhomi”). It is called “Burkut”, which means sour and this gave the local population its name. In summer 1901 in Burkut dwelled Lesya Ukrainka more than 40 days. She was treated with “Burkut” Here she wrote a serarate cycle of poems. Twice came I.Franko to Burkut to visit Lesya Ukrainka and he prepared her a fish dish of trouts that he personally caught.

Kryvopole

It lies alongside the slopes of the mountain chain Kostrycha where you find a beautiful view of the Chorna Hora range. The roadway from Verkhovyna to Vorokhta leads through a narrow rocky opening in the swamp of Kryva and through the highland pass of Kryvopillya. Here opens up a view on Verkhovyna. In Kryvopole lives the eminent master of hutsulian woodcarving R.Borteychuk. From Kryvopole comes the scriptwriter V.Portyak.

Bukovets

This village is one of the highest in Ukraine. It lies on a plateau between the mountains Pysany Kamin and Ihrets. The area is also called “village on seven winds”. Through it over a pass leads a roadway from Verkhovyna to Kosiv. From Bukovets begins the highland road  onto the mountain Pysany Kamin (Painted stone). At the top of the mountain lies a giant rock with mysterious sacrificial springs and many carved inscriptions and signs. Most probably in far prechristian times Paiented Stone was a paran shrine.

In Bukovets lives the talented folklore musician M.Tafyichuk who not only makes Hutsul trembitas and flutes, but also created an ensemble of family members that plays authentic melodies on ancient musical instruments.

Verkhni Yaseniv

This village is one of the largest in Hutsulia and it has many distanced outskirts.. Here lived the known local philosopher Foka Shumyeyiv, a rich highland craftsman. About him wrote the Polish writer Vinzenz in his tetralogy “On the highland meadow”. In Upper Yaseniv lives a talented craftsman for the Hutsulian drimba and a folks doctor M. Netchay. He formed an ensemble of drimba-players and performed on many stages of the Ukrainian capital and in other cities. In Upper Yaseniv the is an annual Feast day.

Usteriky

It lies in the Pokuttya-Bukovina part of the Ukrainian Carpathians, where  the Black and White Cheremosh rivers flow together. Through the village goes the roadway to Chernivtsi, Kuty and to the Romanian border and the the streams that are the source of the White Cheremosh. In the village there is an underground stone room, in which were kept in chains captive members of Oleksa Dovbush. From here they were transferred in prisons in Kuty and Kolomyya. About their unsurrendable spirit wrote I.Franko, H.Chotkevych and M.Lomatsky.

Khorotsevo

It is the smallest village in the region of Verkhovyna and it lies in the lower part of the route of the Cheremosh river. In the village of Barvinka, which belongs to the the village council of Khorotsevo, a metallic bridge is erected over the Chermosh river. This bridge connects the region of Verkhovyna with the region of Chernivtsi.

Kryvorivnya

The village of Kryvorivnya has a rich historical-cultural heritage. Here there  are: the Kryvorivnyan secondary-school I-III in the name of M.Hrushevsky, the House of the People, the Literarary-memorial Museum of Ivan Franko, the Museum with the estate of Mychaylo Hrushevsky and the Museum – Haus of the Citizen – the last two are subordinated to the Regional Museum of Art in Ivano-Frankivsk.  A real decoration of the village is the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (built in 1719)  and the Bell-Tower, which have the status of monuments of the national history and culture of Ukraine. Apart from these educational and historical-cultural buildings, the village has a long list of valuable objects of architecture and nature, that should obtain the memorial status as local, general or all-Ukrainian monuments of history, culture or nature. To the valuable objects of the village belong at least two dozen architectural buildings, historical places and natural wonders, which are organically connected with the village s past. Let us display a short list of the basic eminent places in Kryvorivnya:

•  a building purchased by priests of the Burachynsky-Volyansky dynasty, where more than once dwelled Yakiv Holovatsky, Lesya Ukrainka and many other known Ukrainian representatives of science, literature
  and art;
• a memorial sign on they spot where in 1745 the quartered body of Oleksa Dovbush was displayed, a memorial chapel and graves in the village cemetery;
• a chapel along the main street which was erected with the abolishmant of forced-labour in 1848 in Galicia, furthermore modern chapels of the Holy Mary in the centre of the village and to St.Seraphim of Sarov in the outskirt Berezovo.

In 2006 Ukraine will celebrate the 150th anniversary of the eminent Ukrainian poet and writer I.Franko and the 140th anniversary of the Ukrainian scholar and statesman M. Hrushevsky, whose life and creativity is connected with historic past of village of Kryvorivnya. In this connection the section of “Hutsulia” NDIU proposes that Kryvorivnya should be honored the status “Historic village of Ukraine”. Indeed the laws of Ukraine provide no paragraph about “Historic villages of Ukraine”. But a pertinent status can be initiated by the Ministry of Ukraine for Culture and Art”. Such a proposal aims to give an example of practical conservation of historic-cultural and natural monuments of a village and demonstrate a good example for imitation by many other distinguished villages in Ukraine.

Iltsi

The village of Iltsi lies on the crossroad of two road-routes to Trancarpathia and Romania. Here until 1939 there was the largest ethnographic and cultural museum of Hutsulia in the Ukrainian Carpathians A two-stored brick building was dismantled and a unique museum collection of exponents was transported to a museum of similar name in Ivano-Frankivsk. In the village, there is one of the oldest churches in the region of Verkhovyna – the church of the Holy Trinity, which was painted by a known Ukrainian artist Y. Pstrak. Here served as a priest S.Vytyvtsky who occupied himself with the study of Hutsuls. In 1863 he published his etnographical monograph “A historical review of Hutsuls”.
In Iltsi was born I. Kyrylyuk (Havyts), a talanted violinist and a national composer. With his Hutsul ensemble he performed in Vienna. Another person who was born in Iltsi was Y. Hulyuk, author of book of documentary essays “Zhabye”: It was published in 2004 in the publishing house “Hutsulia”  60 years after the manuscript was written.

Summary

The region of Verkhovyna is interesting due to its central geographical position among the Hutsuls. It has preserved as such the material and spiritual cultural heritage at best. Three regions mark the Hutsul character and identity: the district of Verkhovyna in the region of Ivano-Frankivsk, the district of Putyl in the region of Chernivtsi and the district of Rakhiv in the region of Transcarpathia.
They have generally a similar etnocultural and historical heritage, although each district has its own local variations. Such an irreplaceable unity of the Hutsuls and their variability can display the unity of Ukraine, inasmuch as each region has its particular identity, but uniquely a general unity.

Italian rail constructors in the Carpathians

From the middle of the XIX century, an intensive industrialization of Austria-Hungary was launched and a need arose to exploit the rich forest resources in the Carpathian Mountains that at that time belonged to the empire. In order to gain access to these riches empress Maria-Theresa ordered the construction of a railway. Only good specialists could achieve this task in a mountainous region. Such were hired in the mountainous regions of Northern Italy. These had recommended themselves during the construction of rail-tracks, bridges, tunnels, fortified walls and other buildings in the Alps.

Only good specialists could achieve this task in a mountainous region. Such were hired in the mountainous regions of Northern Italy.

There are few written sources about the construction of a transcarpathian railway in the Hutsul region, but if one adds narrations and memoirs of local witnesses and the descendants of the Italians, then they together allow a more or less full picture of this historic development. In 1870, the parliament in Vienna discussed the imperial wish to construct a rail-track Sighet-Maramaros-Trebushany-Bily Potik-Yasinya and connect it with the rail-track Voronenka-Nadvirna-Stanislav, which was then under construction.

Stone quarry in Dilok

Rail-track Stanislav-Voronenka

During the on the spot planning of the rail-track Stanislav-Voronenka Austrian engineers came upon huge resources of good quality construction materials – first of all the sand resources in Yamna. At that time on the basis of calculations of the Society of Austrian Engineers in Vienna stone bridges in the valley of the river Prut appeared to be cheaper than the originally planned metallic bridges. In consequence, stone quarries in this region went into exploitation and soon the stone was transported as far as to Vienna and Kraków. The stone quarry “Gorgany” in ownership of Jan Koler in 1907 managed to exploit 2.867 cubic meters. Not much smaller was the exploitation of the stone quarry in Dilok /Mykulychyn/, which was owned by the company “Engineers Krausch&Co”.

The construction of the rail-track Stanislav-Voronenka commenced in 1893. At the beginning of this year, three construction companies became active in the district of Delyatyn. One of these under the leadership of Epstein and Vlyav began work on the section Nadvirna-Delyatyn, another under the ownership of Wreiter, Czimberski, Koller and Kuchek became responsible for the section Delyatyn to Mykulychyn and the company of Zimberski – for the section Mykulychyn to Voronenka.

Construction of the bridge-viaduct in Yaremche, 1894

Construction of the tunnel in Vorenenka (Carpathians)

The construction undertook hundreds of specialists from Northern Italy and many villagers from the region. Only for the construction of the tunnel in Vorenenka were employed more than 150 people. Hords of Mazurians came to Transcarpathia, but they arrived too late and found no employment with a good salary, that is why they turned to criminal activities.

The huge amount of work and density of a few thousand workers in the valley of the river Prut forced the construction companies to erect barracks as living quarters and to construct warehouses, shops and catering facilities. In such a way previously small and quiet villages like Mykulychyn, Tatariv and Vorokhta lost their rural character and became urban towns. To service the villagers and the incoming workers a Post-office was opened in June 1893 in Dora and Tatariv. A year later, a telegraph service also opened in Tatariv.

Construction of the bridge in Yamna, 1891

The Austrian-Hungarian authorities employed the local population of Hutsuls. Basically they were engaged for unqualified manual jobs like delivering stones, mounds and sleepers for the rail-track. Generally, it was heavy manual work.

The roads were also adopted to the new situation stretches were evened, bridges and tunnels were built. Mostly Italians were employed to erect new buildings and local labour was engaged for manual jobs. The Austrian-Hungarian authorities employed the local population of Hutsuls. Basically they were engaged for unqualified manual jobs like delivering stones, mounds and sleepers for the rail-track. Generally, it was heavy manual work.

Carpathian railway bridges

In the valley of the river Prut, nine large stone bridges were erected. In Delyatyn a bridge over the rivers Lyubizhnya and Peremyska, in Dora – over the river Kamyanka and in Yaremche, Yamna, Tatariv, Vorokhta and Voronenka over the river Prut. The arch of the bridge in Tatariv is 22 meter wide and has a height of 5,8 meters. The two main arches of the bridge in Vorokhta are 49 and 34,6 meters wide respectively at a height of 10 and 17,3 meters. The largest of the bridges is the viaduct in Yaremche. It is 190 meters long; its largest arch is 65 meters wide with a height of 23 meters. Somewhat smaller was the bridge in Yamna – 122 meters long with an arch 48 meters wide. Both bridges were constructed under direction of V.Breiter from Lviv.

Most of these bridges were destroyed during World War I and rebuilt in 1920 onwards. The first larger bridge, namely over the river Lyubizhnya in Delyatyn, was erected 1892-1894 in cambered stone. It consisted of 5 arches, each 15 meters wide and of an arch 22 meters wide. The bridge was 275 meters long with a height of 32 meters. It was blown up in 1917, in consequence of the dynamiting the two central vaults were destroyed, and three other vaults were intensively damaged.

Construction of the tunnel on the rail-track. Carpathians, 1896

Tunnels of the Carpathian railway

Finally as to tunnels, the rail-track has three tunnels: in Yamna , Mykulychyn and Voronenka. The tunnel in Voronenka is 1221 long. The tunnels were constructed by Italian prisoners-of-war and hired workers during 1896-1899. The tunnels were digged through clay, what was easier than when a tunnel has to be drilled through stone. The tunnel walls are erected partly in steel tubes and partly in concrete. Stone was transported from a nearby quarry by train on a narrow rail-track from mountain Klyvka. For this purpose, a provisional depot was erected near the tunnel entrance. After the erection of the tunnel the depot and the narrow rail-track was dismantled. In 1961 the tunnel was re-constructed, because the new locomotives were too large and could not enter the tunnel. Its height before the reconstruction was 5,4 meters, now it is 6,2 meters. Until World War II, the length of the tunnel was originally 1303 meters. When retreating from Ukraine the Germans destroyed the entrances to the tunnel. They wanted to destroy the tunnel completely and for this reason drove for rail platforms with dynamite into the tunnel, but the explosives failed to ignite.

The biggest delay caused an outbreak of cholera, which Italian workers brought to Galicia from Hungary at the end of July 1893.

Oral recollections have survived about the construction of this longest Carpathian tunnel under the mountain pass called Zymir-Voronenka. In order to speed up the drilling of the tunnel the Italians who were responsible for the drilling contract decided to commence drilling on both sides of the tunnel simultaneously and meet in the middle. The Italian engineer, who projected the drilling, calculated the date and the spot where the two drilling groups would meet. When this did not happen, the Italian engineer whose name is not recorded, shot himself from shame. The meeting happened on the following day. The engineer had calculated almost everything correctly, even the spot where the two drilling brigades would meet. He had however not considered that the tunnel has to be drilled unevenly according the geological structure of the mountain.

Construction of bridge in Delyatyn, 1893

Construction of the bridge in Delyatyn

The construction of the bridge in Delyatyn succeeded according to plan. However, there were a few setbacks. First, the office of the construction company of Epstein was destroyed by fire on 22 April 1893. This company suffered also repeated thefts of dynamite from offices in Delyatyn and Dora and in 1893 and in the same year after three days of continuous raining the river Prut overflowed and carried away almost all minor bridges and provisional roads to the rail-track and last not least heaps of construction materials. This meant unforeseen financial losses and delays. The biggest delay caused an outbreak of cholera, which Italian workers brought to Galicia from Hungary at the end of July 1893. When the cholera reached a peak in September of that year and when after at least 100 local inhabitants died from this disease, almost all foreign workers fled in panic from the region of the Prut valley without waiting for their salary.

Construction of the bridge in Vorokhta, 1890

The outbreak of cholera in the district of Vorokhta led to a full interruption of construction work in the summer months and only with the winter, when the cholera died out, work was resumed on the rail-track. Until the summer of 1894 the rail-track was completed and railway stations in Nadvirna, Loyeva, Delyatyn, Dora, Yaremche , Mykulychyn, Tatariv, Vorokhta and Voronenka were completely constructed. On the 7th January 1894, the drilling of the tunnel in Voronenka was accomplished and slightly later, the stone working in the tunnel was completed. On the 10th May 1894, the monumental bridge over the river Prut in Yaremche was finished and all additional buildings on the whole length of the rail-track as also subsidiary rail-tracks were ready. A trial run of the train was planned for the 21st October 1894.

The first train crosses new bridge in Yasinya, 1894

Early rail track of the Carpathian towns

As we have described, the rail-track was constructed under extremely difficult conditions. The construction work, which was simultaneously undertaken on the whole length of the track, was in fact hard manual work without modern technical equipment. A difficult mountainous terrain with many rocky sections and the fast flowing highland river Prut and its many tributaries complicated the construction. On the other hand, in an actual retrospective the stability of the fortified walls along the rivers and the viaducts are very impressive. Erected manually from stone blocks without the application of cement mixtures the constructions have almost 150 years sustained more than one flooding by rapid highland waters. The seasonal workers that were organized for the work between spring and autumn came and went. Very few of them remained the whole year to guard the buildings and working instruments.

Railway station in Voronenka, 1894

The opening of the rail-track Stanislav-Voronenka took place actually on the 19th November 1894. It was attend by Baron Wittek, the president of the Austrian-Hungarian state railways Bilinski, General Krak and other official dignitaries. The trained stopped in Nadvirna, Delyatyn, then alongside the monumental bridge in Yaremche and finally in Voronenka. In Yaremche, local representatives received Bilinski with traditional bread and salt. Bilinski held a short speech in the Ukrainian language.

From 19th November 1894, onwards the railway connection Stanislav-Voronenka is operated a passenger service on a daily basis.

From 19th November 1894, onwards the railway connection Stanislav-Voronenka is operated a passenger service on a daily basis. The train from Stanislav to Mykulychyn with an unchangeable timetable departs from Stanislav at 09.47 and 19.15 and arrives in Mykulychyn at 12.52 and 22.35 respectively. The retour from Mykulychyn leaves at 14.42 and 04.23 and arrives in Stanislav at 17.41 and 7.32 respectively.

Additionally on Sundays, the train at Mykulychyn continues to Voronenka. The timetable: departure in Mykylychyn at 23.14 and departure from Voronenka at 06.50. The travelling time on the whole length from Stanislav to Voronenka was 3 hours and 46 minutes and the retour took 3 hours and 14 minutes.

Train station in Voronenka

To work well, you need to have a good rest. This is our philosophy.

Corporate tour to the Carpathians is one of the best options for outdoor activities, which is great for team building. We are happy to help you with corporate holidays in the Carpathians and Corporate events in the Carpathians.

Since 2010, we arrange private tours for foreign tourists in the Ukrainian Carpathians. Years of experience have given us an understanding of what our guests want. Therefore, we are trying to adapt the local reality, so that our clients feel comfortable here as at home.

We are able to listen and ready to offer exactly what interests you.

What can you do in the Carpathians:

• see the real life of real people in true colors: meet a real Hutsul family, have a traditional Hutsul lunch or dinner in a private house, private concert of Hutsul folk band
• explore the culture through visiting the local craftsmen in their houses-museums, master classes
• see the nature in a right way. Not from the window of your tourist bus, but taking a big military truck and going high where the real mountains are
• unique horse riding trips with staying per night with shepherds
• hunting, fishing etc

Our potential clients: embassies, missions of foreign organizations, foreign companies, groups of friends / colleagues etc. We are not afraid of challenges and ready to consider the most unusual cases and provide quality services.

Our advantages:

• confidentiality
• experience in organizing various tours: from 1 to 22 days, cultural, adventure, trekking, horseback riding, family, romantic, culinary, alcohol, just doing nothing and others which cannot be classified
• flexibility. We do not know many things, but we know where to look for them
• Full cycle of services: transport, accommodation, meals, excursions, activities, entertainment
• English-speaking guide who is always there

Give us a scope and we’ll deliver

We invite people from foreign countries to come to the Ukrainian Carpathian Mountains for photography tour.

You get a wonderful nature. Landscape photography could work. In addition, the small Carpathian villages are very picturesque. And people here, especially elder, are nice for photographers because of landscape of their face (wrinkles and beautiful eyes).

Not much people travel to Ukraine. We offer private tours to Carpathians (2-3 days) and take care about logistics and translations. In this tour we offer something that good photographers want – a real life, not fata morgana: small villages, landscape, people. A real life in Ukraine. What you see is what you get.

Because of geography, you get wonderful light in morning and evening as well. You don’t have to rush yourself in different poses, because you can always find line work – what actually a human eye does – it searches for recognizable lines/patterns.

You can come back to nature. You have mountains, trees, villages, fences what people have in countryside. Haystacks, constructions which they put grass on.

The best time to come to Carpathians for photography should be autumn. It’s a little bit melancholic – the best combination for Eastern Europe.

We offer logistics and translations. We’ll bring you to beautiful Carpathian places and people.

Green Ukraine invites hunters from all over the world to hunt birds in Ukraine. We fully organize hunting for birds in Ukraine.

Location: Ivano-Frankivsk region

What birds can you hunt: goose, duck, pheasant, partridge, woodcock, pigeon, quail and sandpiper

When is the hunting season:

License: every hunter must purchase a license to shoot birds. The license fee is 120 EUR. The license is valid during the hunting tour: from 1 to 10 days.

Riffles: our guests can hunt for their own weapons (if they have the necessary permissions). We also provide weapons (EUR 50 per day). Hunters should have weapons permission.

Cost of birds: for each shot bird, the hunter pays extra (from 25 to 50 EUR).

Average hunting days: Saturday and Sunday (during the light day). Extra days for hunting: Wednesday and Thursday. For certain types of birds you can hunt on all days of the week.

Crew: we accompaign our hunters with game warden with a dog. In addition, you’re constantly accompanied by English speaking guide/interpreter. Our guide takes care about your accommodation, meals, transport and the whole trip. The work of the crew is paid additionally.

What is an usual hunting day looks like: in the morning our guide pics you up from the hotel in Ivano-Frankivsk and you drive to the hunting location. There we meet a game warden with a dog and riffles. After instructions you can start the bird hunting.  You can hunt for a single type of bird all day (for example, on a duck). Or you can change the location and hunt for several types of birds (ducks, pheasants, partridges, etc.) for one day. Lunch is outside (at the place of hunting or in the restaurant). We are ready to take into account all your wishes regarding nutrition. After a day of hunting we return to the hotel to rest.

Others: we provide all the necessary things/equipment for hunting birds: special dogs, stuffed/fake ducks, whistles, camouflage, boats etc.

Accommodation: we offer you to stay in one of the nice hotels of Ivano-Frankivsk. To hunt birds during a day time. In the evening, you can relax and go to the sauna, massage, etc.

Other activities: it’s possible to customize your tour. We are flexible. In addition to birds hunting, you can hunt other animals (deer or boar), ride horses, do fishing, explore the local cuisine, culture and nature… Let us know about your wishes and we will make an offer.

How to get to Ivano-Frankivsk: by airplane (two daily flights from Kyiv), plus flights from Alicante and Valencia; by train (there’s a lot of options). We also organize a comfortable transfer from all corners of Ukraine and Europe.

Dear friend! We know that you’re tired because of all that. We’ll help you to escape to a great place in the Carpathian mountains of Ukraine where there’s no cellular and Internet reception. You’ll have time to think, recover and relax. Nobody will bother you.

We will bring you to a place of rest and leave you alone, providing everything you need. You will be warm and cozy, the best food, drinks and … anything else you wish. And the most important – peace and quiet.

Duration is determined by the Guest. We will do our best to preserve your privacy.

Forget about stress. Around you will be Carpathian forest, stream and river. No people. Noise – only from wind, trees or water. You will sleep like in childhood.

The place (you will only know the exact location after you have booked a tour) is far away from tourist tracks and the closest village is in a few miles. From electrical devices you will have a kettle and a light bulb.

The untouched nature is around you. This is exactly what you need to recover and continue a productive life.

This antistress tour in the Carpathians is available during the whole year. We’ll do our best to arrange it in a short notice.

Price: from 2500 EUR

Any tourist will be impressed by the trip to the Ukrainian Carpathians.

For most tourists, summer is associated with the sea and the beach. However, a great alternative to this is the mountains. The Carpathians may be associated with skiing and hot mulled wine for most, but we recommend you to visit this region of Ukraine in the summer. Here are five reasons to come to the Carpathians in the summer.

Cheap prices

Summer in the Carpathians is considered the dead season (not everywhere). Because of this, some hotels significantly lower the prices for both accommodation and food. For a few hundred hryvnias guests will be offered excellent conditions at the hotel, which in the winter will cost several times more expensive. The cost of renting a house differs in the popularity of the resort and the proximity of the sights. The same applies to food.

The food in the Carpathians is always delicious. Here people try to restore the old recipes and surprise them with tourists. Lunch at a restaurant, for example, in the area of Yaremche or Bukovel will cost from 300 UAH per person. Supermarket prices depend, like housing, on the popularity of the resort and the competition on the market.

Breathe in the fresh air and enjoy nature

Fresh air in the Carpathians in the summer is a panacea for the inhabitants of industrial cities. At first it is unusual to breathe and smell gasoline, but then you get used to it. Unique air in the mountains is, according to many, in the Tatariv area.

And what about the rich Carpathian nature? Here you can go astray, listing the varieties of Christmas trees and pines. If you take the lift, for example, at Bukovel, then take a walk along the mountain trails. You will come to beautiful flowering lawns. Somewhere far away you will hear the sounds of bells that the local cows or sheep walk with.

Rivers will also delight with their stormy streams, rocky shores and fish. Trout fishing is popular in the Carpathians. If you have the courage to swim in the river, remember this coolness for life.

And don’t forget about silence. The summer in the Carpathians is very quiet (how about Antistress tour in the Carpathians?).

Picking wild berries and mushrooms

Harvesting of berries and mushrooms in the Carpathians begins in June. Strawberries ripen in June, after which raspberries and alpine strawberries are poured. If it is rainy in summer, there are many mushrooms in the Carpathian forests. The most valuable are white. In the summer along the road you can see people selling berries and mushrooms.

Trips by bicycle

Some may think that there is nothing to do in the Carpathians in the summer. But it is not. The doors of all museums, paths to waterfalls and mountains are open for travelers.

In the summer, you will see many cyclists traveling the mountains in search of unique places. They put tents near roads and cook delicious meals on fire. The Carpathian cycling trips are really great. When traveling, be sure to bring your camera, because in the mountains, it seems you can photograph everything: peasants’ lives, green mountains, mountain rivers, flower meadows and villages from a height.

If you don’t have a bike of your own, don’t worry – here you can easily find a place to rent. Prices are different and depend, among other things, on the technical condition and capabilities of the two-wheeler.

Hiking

Do not want to ride a bicycle, go on foot. Walking through the Carpathians will give the best experience. Choose your itinerary, think about the time, bring your backpack with you, and boldly go for adventures. Also, do not forget how to properly assemble a backpack. Ten kilometers between the mountains for many seem several kilometers through the fresh air. Many tourists climb to Goverla mountain.

Now you are motivated to come to Carpathians in the summer.

“Don’t know where to find – look at the land near the forest, boshes or small young trees”.

Viktor Antalovsky is from a family of mushroom pickers. But he doesn’t go to his native forests in Bobovyshche in Mukachevo Region. It takes a lot of time and you have to know the places. He practices trips to the remote villages instead.

– Two weeks ago they went to Rodnykova Huta in Svalyava region, and not for mushrooms – they took their mother-in-law to a doctor, – says Victor. – While she was waiting for the procedure, my wife and I decided to look in the undergrowth on the road. Once they went into the forest, found lots of boletus (brown cap boletus). They used sweaters and jackets to collect as many mushrooms as possible. The wife marinated at home 9 liters! The fact is that the locals do not consider boletus for good mushrooms that should be put in the basket. They only take whites (porcini) because they are bought by tourists and wholesalers who come to the village twice or thrice a week. Even Austrians with refrigerators are visited in Rodnykova Huta. They take out 800 kg per day!

If you want to go into the hinterland and pick mushrooms, take a course in the villages that are called “the end of geography”. Go there after warm rains. Be sure to ask the local where to go for mushrooms. The approximate direction will always be shown. My advice to beginner mushroom hunters: in an unfamiliar place, look into the undergrowth (poplar or birch) and young oaks. You won’t come back without mushrooms. There is one sign: Note that where the cloud rises above the forest – 70% that there will be mushrooms.

«You can earn a minimum of 15 thousand per season»

Vasil lives in Solochyn in Svalyava region. In their village, he says, only the lazy doesn’t earns on mushrooms. Despite his daily work, the man walks into the woods almost every day and benefits greatly. Just like him, almost all peasants do and earn good income.
– There’s a sanatorium and hotels in our village, so there are many tourists. This is a pledge of constant sales. Newcomers are happy to buy mushrooms. I bring mushrooms to hotels and my colleagues go with mushrooms to rooms, offering their goods. This summer is very mushroomy, so mushrooms are cheap. When the summer is dry and there’s no mushrooms in forest, so the prices go up significantly.
As a rule, summer mushrooms are cheap. In the fall, when mushrooms are clean (the summer ones are eaten by snails and worms), they are also more expensive. Therefore, many produce now: dry and marinated to sell more expensive in the winter.

In our village, people know mushroom places where you can pick up two or even three baskets. They need to go 5-6 km, but it’s worth it.
A good mushroom picker can earn several thousand euros a season without much effort. My friends, who set up a permanent sale of mushrooms to restaurants (local and even in Kyiv), have left the main job. Their profits in such a business are measured in the tens of thousands.

«I do not take truffles because my wife does not cook it»

People say about Petro: if there’s only one mushroom in the forest, he’ll find it. He can feel it. Petro goes to the forest every day, he knows special places, where you can find more than 100 porcinis. When he returns home it’s already dark.

There are about ten good mushroom pickers in the village, including Petro. Each has his own place. Most of the times, there grow porcini. But in some areas you can find special trophies like korolytsi (Amanita caesarea), kvochky (Grifola frondosa) of even truffles.

– At home on Christmas Eve, we cook a special sace from Amanita caesarea. It is delicious and so yellow, if someone had sprayed the dye. The Royal Mushroom, or Caesar’s Amanita, grows only on red clay soils. But these mushrooms can be harvested only at certain times – for two months, in July – August. When amanitas begin to appear, Caesar’s Amanitas disappear.

I also know two places in our forest where truffles grow. They are sought after by pigs. However, there is another landmark: Specific yellow flies are swarming above the ground where truffles grow in the ground. But I did not take that mushroom: we do not cook it at home, our restaurants will not pay a thousand dollars for. So I left it for the flies. Then I returned to look. They ate a mushroom, only the wall remained, like a liter cylindrical jar. In the neighboring forest several times I also saw several such places with a pillar of yellow flies.

Please check out our Mushroom tour in the Carpathians

During your vacation in Yaremche, you should also visit the neighboring areas, which have their own flavor and tourist attractions. For example, it may be interesting to visit Rakhiv, the Transcarpathian town, which is also one of the centers of what is commonly called Hutsulschyna (Hutsul land). By the way, Rakhiv is the place where the center of Europe is located. And the surrounding scenery is worth the 80 km drive that separates the two Hutsul capitals (Yaremche and Rakhiv).

Rakhiv is located in the eastern part of the Transcarpathian region, near the Romanian border. Like all Transcarpathian towns, Rakhiv has a rather turbulent history. The name of the city came from the word “count”. This version is the most popular among scientists. But who and what counted we don’t know. It may have been the merchants from Transylvania who listed the profits here. And maybe the Tatars here counted prisoners captured during the raids. And yet, Oleksa Dovbush’s opryshki worked quite successfully here. In any case, here is a city that has become one of the economic centers of eastern Transcarpathia. Hungarians once settled here, and today there are many of them in Rakhiv (11% among the total population of the city). So the Hungarians call the city in their way – Rahó.

It should be noted that Rakhiv is a city, with the highest elevation in Ukraine within one city. The lowest street of Rakhiv is at an altitude of 400 meters at sea level. While the highest – at an altitude of 1200 meters above sea level. Thus, the elevation difference within Rakhiv is 800 meters.  In general, Rakhiv gives the impression of a very picturesque green town where no one hurries anywhere. Moreover, from almost any street, there are views of the surrounding mountains. And this is not surprising. After all, the city lies in the cross between the picturesque Carpathian ridges.

Today Rakhiv is known for its ethno festivals, which are visited by more and more tourists every year. By the way, Rakhiv is one of the main centers of the Hutsul region. That is why the Hutsul monument is erected here.

The most popular is the Brynza Festival – the famous Carpathian cheese. The locals actually pronounce this word a little differently, a little softer – “brindzia”. How many are actually varieties of brynza is not known. Perhaps as many as its manufacturers. At the Brynza Festival, which takes place every year in Rakhiv, there are many options for this dish.

Usually, the Festival takes place in early September. The performance called the Hutsul Brynza Festival begins with the kindling of polonynska vatra – special fire. After that, several days are held for various activities related to the Hutsul traditions. In particular, trembita players competitions are always of great interest. You will not see this often.

It is worth noting that Rakhiv is also known for being the center of Europe. In fact, there are quite a number of such centers in Europe. It all depends on what Europe is to be considered. And do we need to consider the remote islands, in this calculation. At present, at least 6 settlements, from Poland, Belarus, Lithuania, Slovakia, etc., claim the title of Geographical Center of Europe. However, the Transcarpathian center is considered to be one of the most correct ones. It is located near Rakhiv, in the village of Dilove. It is here that tourists are brought here so that they can be photographed near a sign built at the time of the Austrian grandmother, as they say in Western Ukraine. Although, right here in Dilove, at those days there was a grandmother Hungary.

The sign has the inscription in Latin:

“Locus Perennis Delicentissime cum libella librationes quae est in Austria et Hungaria confectacum mensura gradum meridionalum et paralleloumierum Europeum. MD CCC LXXXVII”

Which means:

“It is a permanent, accurate, eternal place, designated by a special tool manufactured in Austria and Hungary in the European System of Latitude and Longitude in 1887.”

It is worth noting that the exact geographical coordinates of this place is 47 ° 57 ′ north latitude and 24 ° 11 ′ east longitude. But, as you can see from the inscription of a hundred years ago, at that time no one called this place the center of Europe. It was not until 1977, in Soviet times, that the stele was installed next to the Austro-Hungarian sign, and this statement appeared.

Returning to Rakhiv, it makes sense to visit the Museum of Ecology of the Ukrainian Carpathian Mountains. It is here that you can see the current model of the mountain stream and understand how the mountain rivers are arranged. In addition, there are several dioramas and panoramas that illustrate the life of the Hutsuls of Rakhiv region too distant past.

Therefore, visiting Rakhiv can be a great opportunity to see another side of the picturesque Hutsul region.

It is difficult to find another such horse in the world that would withstand what a good Hutsul horse can withstand. It mostly eats hay and oats are very rarely. In summer it spends day and night in the meadows, although the nights are cold and sometimes even frosty. It rarely sleeps in the stable. There is no horse of another breed that could work like a Hutsul horse in such extreme conditions. Very hardworking, faithful and needs little. Therefore, it is very interesting where the Hutsul horse comes from, which, thanks to its ancestors, became what it is today.

When the Polish government saw that the Hutsul horse breed was disappearing after the war, it took care of their rescue, sparing no money or effort. Thus Hutsul horses were not only saved from extinction, but also bred. Mykhaylo Gollender, a great connoisseur of Hutsul horses, made great efforts to do so. Since 1925, there have been annual horse shows in Zhabye (Verkhovyna), Ustyriky and Kosiv. The government gave generous rewards for the best feeding of horses. Dozens of horses were purchased for the army, where they were bred. Even people from other countries came to the Carpathians to buy mares for breeding: from Hungary, Luxembourg, the Czech Republic…

Hutsuls treat horses well, respect them, and caress them. But some owners do not wait for the horse to grow up and gain strength. They harness a poor foal and as a consequence have a weak horse instead of a healthy one.

This can happen to a large and adult horse, when the horse is working hard and the owner does not give him a break. Such a horse will not be suitable for work; it will be bought only because of the skin.

The most terrible disease for Hutsul horses is pneumonia. This disease is caused by the fact that the horse is poorly fed, he is allowed to eat moldy hay. The disease can be cured by giving the horse a good pasture or keeping it in a stable and feeding it well. It should be well considered not to allow the horse to eat flattened hay anymore. It is very important that a good blacksmith forges a horse.

Horseback tour in the Carpathians

You can not only see but also ride a Hutsul horse. We offer a two-day horse riding tour in the Ukrainian Carpathians. You will find beautiful nature, spending time with shepherds on a traditional dairy farm high in the mountains, simple open people, delicious homemade food and good mood. This adventure is available from May to September.

From immemorial times there are people in the Carpathians, who possess supernatural powers. They “read” the stars, commands thunder and storms, “tie” and “solve” rain, conjured snakes. They can predict the future and the past, heal seriously ill people. It is enough for them to stick a knife into a tree and the milk flows from it. And one of their main attributes – is an iron ax bartka. Once a year they go into an unknown cave and without seeing the sun there spend twelve days and twelve nights in a pose of embryo to cleanse and reborn as they wish to be…

Origin of the name molfar

They are called variously: diviners, sorcerers, wizards or molfars. The word “molfar” caught most among hutsuls – residents of Southeast of the Ukrainian Carpathians, it got covered in legends and became associated with the Carpathian sorcerers. For the first time in Ukraine they started talking about molfars after the story of Mykhaylo Kotsyubinskiy “Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors” in 1911, later – in half a century, after the eponymous film adaptation of this work by the Georgian director Sergei Parajanov.

Here is how molfar himself, witch doctor, the late born in the village of Verkhny Yaseniv Mykhaylo Nechay told about hutsul soothsayers: “… The main power of molfar in his words and singing. Molfar is able to do both good and evil. Each molfar has his unique characteristic, the style of work. Some are born with magical knowledge, meaning they are molfars by heritage, which are passed from generation to generation of the same family. Others learn. Some master in black magic, others – in white … it’s minus and plus like a plug, here plus and minus are a black and light forces and there is a struggle between them. This is the beginning of life, and its continuetion. Molfar has to be a deeply spiritual person, so he turns to God and the host of heaven for help. If molfar does unjustly and defy the laws of nature, he may be deprived of magical obilities … I want to find a student, but haven’t met such a person yet. He must love people, nature, but not money. Where can anyone find such a fool, because today even children like money. Frankly, I already know the date of my death. I know why I will die, but I hope that by that time the man whose destiny is to become a molfar will appear. Without him it is the end for our tradition.”

The life of Carpathian molphars

Carpathian magicians settled mostly on the outskirts of villages in the mountains, where they were not known and or seen. People had to overcome considerable distances to access the hermit. Daredevils overcame turbulent flows of Tisza, Prut and Cheremosh, passed overhead dilapidated masonry, roamed the woods, soared deserted rocky paths, and only then at the top, covered with mountain fog, the traveler could see grazhda of molfar … Everyone who has been on such a journey was already worthy to be listened by respectable old man and get a decent tip.
Usually molfars are describe as bizarre and ruthless creatures, but they are not. As enlightened and tempered people, they were able to be faithful friends and sincere advisers, although they did not allow hurting themselves either.

How does molfar look like

molfar carpathiansNot all molfars were rickety old men, they were portrayed differently: loud, mustached, bearded, heavy eyes, thick black hair, the wise men. Sometimes it was impossible to know was that a man, or elder, or just guy that decided to be a molfar. Because of it a lot of people consider them in common with the old Slavic Magic.

A black cat is complementing the image of molfar. Those black cats are always present at magical rites and mysteries from ancient times. Thus, in the XIV century Christian Inquisition burned at the stake not only women witches, but also black cats as their accomplice. Molfar Nechay usually comes out to his guests with a black cat Mlyntsur, and this is not surprising because a black cat feels an aura of a person and catches her/his thoughts, he can specify the affected area, and also protects his owner from all possible illnesses and problems, withdrawn home from lightning. A cat for molfar is the kind of an amulet, “guard” of parallel worlds, it is in harmonizes space in which his charmer lives and works. God forbid to hit or mock a cat – for it there is an inevitable punishment and retribution. If the dog can forgive owner some ugliness, the cat will not do this ever, and will use all his magical powers against the defendant.

Types of molphars

By type of energy molphars can be classified into “sun” and “moon”, and by the kinds of activities into:

1) SOOTHSAYERS or SORCERERS- those who guesses the past and predict the future;

2) HRADIVNYKYS or CLOUDERS – those who divert hail and storm;

3) MEDICASTERS or PRYMIVNYKYS – those who treat illness with herbs, cure diseases with words;

Because of the unusual abilities and not a big amount of them molphars were feared and yet appreciated in the countryside, they were regarded as mediators between two worlds – a clear and otherworldly, they had spiritual responsibility for the village and its inhabitants. In critical situations, molfar was the one people were looking for refuge, they are often compared with the Gods.

Interesting information about hradivnyks gives in Volodymyr Shukhevych his monograph “Hutsulschyna”: “Hradivnyk is a man who knows how to prevent hail. He strikes (eats once a day) at St. Dinner in the evening he takes a broom and poker, and with all this bypasses his house three times with saying: “I pray thee cloud, through cloud, come to me, drink, walk, rejoice, roar, beat, I ask you”. After it enters the house, gathered dinner he puts in hiding somewhere, it should be there to Easter, after hiding, he starts to eat dinner and for the whole time of dinner, he doesn’t talk to anyone. Before Holy Easter he buys in 9 shops 1kr of incense, brings it home puts it to the gathered things he has hidden. After he hids that again until the cloud leaves”.

Post of Boikivshchynain “Prypividkas” by Ivan Franko is associated with hradivnyks or clouders: “By name Hmarnyk is being called the man who should be able to drive away or bring up storms and clouds.” Some sources indicate that hmarnyks are “born and learned”: “Those are born hmarnyks who know it from the beginning. As ghoul instinctually go to milk. ”

As for healers, as noted Ukrainian linguist Bronislaw Kobylyansky said: “… witch makes wounded with herbs and potions.” Among them there were also those who could rule beasts: “There are some healers that can convert beast to whatever he wants. They have some orders to do that. They can be as servant of Hutsul man, totty healers, there are story tellers with them” (A.Onyschuk, 1909). The word “witch” is known in many Slavic languages and in most cases interpreted as “people’s doctor” who uses his own non-medical treatments: herbal fumigation, whispering and so on. Some enthusiasts note the word “witch” (“znakhar”) has Aryan root “hara”, which stands for one of the seven energy centers-chakras (the “chara” – a viable energy) of the human, each of which is a source of information about the body.

The meaning of a word molfar

The etymology of the word “molfar” – is complex and requires careful study. The word is not sustainable in its use, the word changes, can migrate and interpreted by different people and can consist of different fragments resembling puzzle that linguists should be able to properly collect and decipher. In this case, there is no general the etymology of the name “molfar” still, so we can try to give our answer.

If you split the word “molfar” into syllables, we get:

– Root [MOL ‘] – fromword rumor, pray, speak

– [AR] – in Sanskrit means sun-light. For example, “arias” – white, sunny, golden; “AR-PATA” – sun-like country. Interestingly, [AR] can move in [YAR] – both values are identical solar value Yarylo-Sun.

– [F] – in my view, an extra letter, which was added over time as a result of numerous re-phrasing.

In conclusion, what do we have? The original word [Molar] or [molyar] – the one who prays, speaks to the sun, or in other words Rahman. There is a lot known about Rahmans in Hutsulschyna. Fourth Wednesday after Easter hutsuls celebrate Mid-Pentecost (Rahman’s Easter). In the Carpathian dialects name “Rahman” is used with the meaning “perfect being, good spirits, intermediaries between heaven and earth.”

For the first time, the question of the origin of the word “molfar” was raised by Ukrainian linguist Bronislaw Kobylyansky, he offered this explanation: “Old russian root formation MЪL (m’lva, m’lvyty) + suffix –ar’ = molvar, the one that conjures with word, incantation.” Subsequently, the researcher expressed different assumptions seeing “plausible relationship with Italian (Latin-Romance) MALFARE -“to do evil; crime, offense”, which can be explained by conscious efforts of the church and its collaborators to change everything sacred and clandestine to manner of evil, harm. Nearest examples: “Hutsul” – bandit, “opryshok” – racketeer, killer, etc.

As you can see, molfarstvo – the extraordinary responsibility, first of all, before oneself, the posterity, their people. Without sorcerers – the world will be meaningless, lose value. Finally, Molfars – are our authenticity, that’s what makes us unique and distinctive nations in the world. Unfortunately, molfarstvo is declining. No people to protect Carpathians. Last known worldwide molfar was Michael Nechay, he died July 15, 2011 at his home by hand schizophrenic murderer. An increasing number of those seeking income, rather than calling. Jurisdiction turns into a simulation. Let’s hope that people will be more spiritual, not quacks because molfar is a deeply religious man who makes the world to understand one truth: “Sanctify native gods and ancestors, live in harmony with nature and oneself, commit honestly, if you seek Higher Education – Know thyself … “.

Hiking in the mountains is very different from the usual walk. Here you need to be ready for everything: rain, sun and force majeure. But in order to anticipate everything at once, beginners sometimes bring too much stuff. And an excessively heavy backpack will definitely not make your vacation in the Carpathians more enjoyable. So what should you take for a hike in the Carpathians?

1. Tent

You cannot do a long hike without an overnight stay. Experienced tourists are not advised to take the old tarpaulin or single-layer tents that are offered in supermarkets. Wind and rain are not uncommon in the Carpathians, and the tent is obliged to withstand these cataclysms. It is better to buy a tent with metal arches.

2. Backpack

The optimal volume of the backpack is 80 liters for men and 60 for women. Naturally, it should be comfortable, have wide straps, ideally – an orthopedic back and rubber bottom. It is desirable to have a waterproof case for your backpack.

3. Sleeping bag

For summer vacation in the Carpathians you need a sleeping bag with a comfort temperature of about 0 degrees Celsius. The nights in the mountains, even at this time of year are quite cold, and it is better to keep warm. It is also desirable to have an airtight cover for the sleeping bag.

4. Sleeping pad

This is, again, a matter of weather. After heavy rain, sitting on bare ground or cold stones is a bad idea. Such a halt will end at best with a cold, and at worst with more serious consequences.

5. Trekking Poles

Цей пункт можна назвати і необов’язковим, але бажаним, особливо для новачків. Трекінгові палиці схожі на лижні, в горах вони допомагають зняти частину навантаження з ніг. Тому людям, що страждають на хвороби суглобів, відправлятися в гори без цих палиць не можна.

6. Raincoat

Of course, no one takes umbrellas on a hike. But you have to hide from the rain. The choice of raincoats is now quite large: from the simplest plastic raincoats and ending with a raincoat-poncho. There are other options for protection from the rain, such as clothing made of a special membrane fabric, but they are quite expensive.

7. Boots

During the hike, the ground under your feet will change into dense thickets, rocks and swamps. Therefore, the requirements for shoes are extremely high. Lightweight trekking boots are considered the best option for hiking. As a last resort, sneakers with thick soles are also suitable. Take slippers or sandals to move around the camp.

8. Clothes

The ideal wardrobe for a hike includes: light sports pants, shorts, 2-3 T-shirts, change of underwear, sleepwear, warm jacket, gloves, windbreaker, hat for protection from the sun and socks. As for the latter, it is better to have the usual changeable socks for every day and woolen for sleep. Now waterproof membrane socks are especially popular. They will keep your feet dry even in the most extreme conditions.

9. Utensils set

You will need the most basic things: a bowl, a mug, a fork, a spoon and a knife. Utensils should be light and roomy. Options made of materials such as glass or ceramics are not suitable. A plastic water bottle should always be with you.

10. Personal care

Do not bring a large tube of toothpaste or large soap. You can get it in a mini-format, especially for hiking. So you will save 1 place in the backpack, and significantly reduce its weight. Do not forget toilet paper and wet wipes, you will definitely need them.

11. First aid kit

You can buy a ready-made first aid kit or make your own. What to put inside? Make sure to take a bandage, cotton wool, adhesive tape, hydrogen peroxide, antiseptics, antipyretics, painkillers, cold medicines, heart drops, activated carbon. If you need specific medications for health reasons, don’t forget to take them.

12. Mosquito repellents and sunscreen

These things do not belong to the must-have list. Some do without them. But if you have some space left in your backpack, we still advise you to grab a mosquito repellent. Most likely, after a few days of hiking, less prudent comrades will modestly ask you for it.

13. Mobile phone, passport, money

We can’t do without these things on the trip, so we included them in our list. It is recommended to store valuables in a waterproof case.

Hiking in the Carpathians

If you need a guide for hiking trips in the Carpathians, you can count on us. We offer options: for single travelers, couples, families, one day, multi-days, staying in tents, staying with shepherds etc. We are flexible.

This tour is for you if you have  only one day in the Carpathians  and want to have  maximum cool activities  in a short time.

We can start from Ivano-Frankivsk, Bukovel or Lviv. If you are in Kiev we will help you with logistics (offer transportation options: airplane, train or car). So all you have to do is to dedicate one day to get maximum fun in the Carpathian Mountains in Ukraine.

One day tour. Program

Rafting.

We offer rafting in Dzembronya village. The best rafting camp in the Carpathians. Everything is very well organized. You will have wetsuits, neoprene socks and special shoes, helmet, life jacket. Our experienced guides will explain how does it work so even if you are beginner, there’s no problem.

Duration: 2 hours

Horse riding.

We ride horses in Verkhovyna – so called Hutsul capital (Hutsuls are indigenous inhabitants of Carpathians). The horses we use are very calm and our experienced horseman are always close. It is safe and fun.

Duration: 2 hours

ATV

We offer Bombardier quads to explore the beauty of Ukrainian Carpathians. Pictures route to explore the surroundings of Verkhovyna and see how the local people live.

Duration: 1 hour

Paragliding

After Verkhovyna we’ll drive about one hour to a small town Kuty. Our instructor will be waiting for us and ready to get you into the sky. 10 min flight with stunning panorama of the Carpathians

Duration: 10 min

Testimonial

Price

One guest – 450 USD

Two guests – 670 USD

Three guests – 890 USD

Four people – 1110 USD

Five people – 1330 USD

Six people – 1550 USD

Seven people – 1770 USD

For bigger group please make a request and we’ll organize everything.

Included: all the listed activities, transportation, services of private guide/interpreter.

How to book this tour

Contact us right now to book this tour WhatsApp +380637707874, Viber or email us at greenukraine2010@gmail.com

We are super flexible and ready to work out a customized tour – something that fits YOUR needs.

Daily minivan or sedan with driver in Lviv and Bukovel

This summer we’ll help you to discover Western Ukraine – Lviv and Carpathian Mountains.

High standards you’re used to. Simple to book.

We offer daily minivan or sedan with driver in Lviv, Bukovel and Ivano-Frankivsk.

You will visit places of nature: rivers, lakes, waterfalls and forests. It’s a great way to see the surroundings! The tour duration is 8 hours, starts at 10 am from your hotel in Lviv or Bukovel. Always private. It contains only beautiful places of nature, botanic gardens, shopping malls and city itself.

In addition, we offer transfers from Lviv airport or train station, car including driver from Ivano-Frankivsk to Bukovel. Transfers to Kiev or Odessa should not be a problem.

Pricing

Cars available: Mercedes Vito, Audi A6, Mercedes E-Class, Mercedes C-Class, Skoda Superb

Payment by credit card is available (secure online payment).

Book now

To book our services please fill out the form bellow or contact us directly by number +380637707874