Hutsulshchyna: ridge (5 days) Ethnographic walking tour

Hutsulshchyna is one of the most interesting and impressive Carpathian lands. Being located in the depth of the highest mountainous territory of , this area has kept archaic features of life and culture of its inhabitants - hutsuls. The main evidences of this are preserving the peculiar kinds of wooden constructions especially churches, the unique hutsulian handicrafts – carving, metal forming, goods made of wool, traditional hutsulian music and dances – kolomyyky, and traditional clothing with embroidery. Our tour goes through the very heart of Hutsulshchyna – and Kosivshchyna, among the highest mountains of Ukraine, and provides mountaineering , the highest peak of the Carpathians, and Pip Ivan, a legendary mountain of Hutsulshchyna, National reserves and parks visiting, unique museum collections, interesting monuments of nature, history, architecture, ethnography. May – October The route is not technically complicated and does not demand any special training that is why we advise it to different categories of people: young and older people, families with children, personnel of firms and organizations etc.

Program Day 1

Meeting of the group in Ivano-Frankivsk. Journey to (visiting a pretty resort at the Carpathians with the beautiful waterfall „Probiy” and the hutsulian souvenir market). Visiting the Rocks of Oleksa Dovbush (huge rocks and stones reminding the mysterious creatures). Journey to (on the way – acquaintance with the temple and house-building architecture of Hutsulshchyna). Accommodation at a hotel. Dinner.

Day 2

Chornohora ridge (9 hours). Breakfast. Journey to the bottom of Hoverla. Trekking at Chornohora ridge: Hoverla mountain (2061m) – the highest peak of Ukraine, Turkul mountain, Nesamovyte mountainous lake, Pozhyzhevska polonyna (mountain meadow), “Zaroslyak” sport centre. In case of unpleasant weather conditions – only Hoverla mountaineering (5 hours) – the breathtaking views from the mountain of the highest ridges of the – Chornohora, Svydovets, . All the valleys can be perfectly seen out of here as well as the tiny toy-like houses of Ivano-Frankivsk and Transcarpathian regions. You will have an opportunity to see the traces of the Slovak-Polish border, which used to go through this territory in the early 19th century (the border pillars are preserved here). Journey to Verkhovyna. Dinner.

Day 3

Pysany Kamin rock (5-6 hours). Breakfast. Journey to Bukovets pass. Passing: Kopylash mountain – Pysany Kamin rock. On the way you will also see the typical hutsulian houses and farming constructions, covered with shingles. These places are also called Verkhovynian Carpathians. Visiting the place which has been attracting artists, poets and travelers since the ancient times (Ivan Franko, Lesya Ukrayinka, Mykhaylo Hrushevsky and many other famous people of Ukraine used to be here). Having a rest at the rock. Mountaineering to the village Verkhniy Yaseniv, famous for its folk masters and bokorashi (people who used to raft wood on the Cheremosh river). Excursion to a hutsulian house - grazhda (an archaic house construction of a defense type) and to the museum-homestead of Ivan Franko. Returning to Verkhovyna. Dinner.

Day 4

Chornohora ridge (10 hours). Breakfast. Check-out at the recreational center. Journey through the valley of the river Black Cheremosh. Mountaineering one of the highest mountains of Ukraine – Pip Ivan (2020 m). Survey of the ruins of a prewar astronomical observatory “White elephant”, marvelous landscapes of Romanian Carpathians and crystalline area of rocky “Marmaros Alps”. You will see evidences of the military operations in the mountains during the First World War (accumulation of rusted barbed wire, shells from ammunition) at some places. In May – June the slopes of the mountains of this region are flowering with the plants registered in the Red Book of Ukraine (East Carpathian rhododendron, saffron etc). It is interesting to observe sheep pasturing in the uninhabited areas on the slopes of Chornohora. Passing: Vukhaty Kamin and Smotrych mountains. Returning to Verkhovyna. Dinner.

Day 5

Breakfast. Journey to Kolomyya: National Museum of Hutsulshchyna and Pokuttya Folk Art (one of the best exhibitions of its kind in Ukraine), the eye-catching “Pysanka” Museum, show-casing the colourful, hand- printed Easter eggs (Ukrainian tradition), the Old city. Journey to Ivano-Frankivsk. End of the program.

*Organizers are entitled to the right to change programs according to the weather changes. Tourists should have: tracking boots, clothes protecting from the rain, little rucksack (20-30l); participants are to be physically ready for the trip and follow instructions of the team leader (instructor).

www.terraincognita.info [email protected] Kyiv, Mala Zhytomyrska Str, 16/3, of.4 Tel. +380443616801, fax +380672313200, mob. +380982259997