The Carpathians - Ukraine - page 247

The slightly disorganised bus station lies at the northern end of town. There are sched-
uled services to/from Ivano-Frankivsk (17uah, 1¼ hours, 14 daily) and Kolomyya
(16uah, 70 minutes, 10 daily). Yaremche also lies on most routes in and out of Rakhiv
(27uah, two hours, hourly), and there's a single daily run to Kyiv (230uah, 15 hours).
Nearby marshrutka destinations include Bukovel and Vorokhta.
All trains between Kolomyya and Rakhiv, Lviv and Rakhiv and Ivano-Frankivsk and
Rakhiv (all one each way daily) stop at Yaremche.
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Bukovel
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Hard-core regional skiers were sceptical when this ritzy resort opened in 2003-04 and
immediately began attracting oligarchs from Kyiv and other 'new Ukrainian' guests.
However, as the country's first fully planned ski area, Bukovel ( www.bukovel.com ) soon
won some doubters over with its sensible network of lifts and trails, printed trail maps,
orderly queues, snow-making machines and 'night-time' slopes. However, environmental
concerns have been raised in recent years mainly concerning the use of snow cannons,
which are depleting the area's water table.
Here are the numbers: the resort has over 50km of runs ranging from 900m to 1370m
in altitude, including 16 lifts, making it one of Eastern Europe's largest ski resorts.
However, plans to bid for the 2018 Winter Olympics were scrapped in 2008 when the
Ukrainian National Olympic Committee admitted the region lacked the required infra-
structure to host such a major event.
As Bukovel is the most expensive ski resort in the country, the major gripe here among
Ukrainians (and some foreigners) is the cost of ski passes, but at 336uah on weekdays
(slightly more on weekends), they're still cheaper than in most major Western European
resorts.
Bukovel is best reached from Yaremche and Kolomyya.
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Vorokhta
A typical Carpathian sprawl along the Prut River, the village nearest to Mt Hoverla is
quite difficult to get a handle on. Apart from the town's very own Avanhard ski resort
( www.avangard.kurorts.com ) , the pristine natural surroundings provide the main attraction