Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The Carpathians
POP 3.5 MILLION
Why Go?
Clipping the country's southwest corner, the Carpathian arc has endowed Ukraine with a
crinkled region of forested hills and fast-flowing rivers that feel a continent away from the
flatness of the steppe. This is the land of the Hutsuls, whose colourful folk culture is laced
through thin villages stretching languidly along wide valley floors. It's also rural Ukraine
at its best, where tiered wooden churches dot hillsides, horse-drawn carts clip-clop along
potholed roads,
babushkas
shoo geese, and
marshrutka
(fixed-route minibus) passengers
cross themselves as they whizz past roadside chapels.
The 'Hutsulshchyna' may be Ukraine's epicentre of rural folk culture, but this is also a
leading holiday spot. The local peaks have been a long-term hit with Ukrainian hikers and
skiers; the Carpathian National Nature Park, the country's biggest, lies in this region; and
within the park's boundaries rises Mt Hoverla - Ukraine's highest peak at 2061m. It's also
home to Bukovel, Ukraine's glitziest ski resort.
When to Go
