Vorokhta. The 'Karetnyi' Narrow-Gauge Bridge and Viaducts

The Carpathian Mountains, emerald primeval forests and mountain villages conceal many exceptional curiosities and unexpected gifts. At the starting point of the route up to Chornohora from Vorokhta via Zavoiela, where the mountain stream Nyzhnii Bakhonchyk merges with the unruly Prut, a narrow-gauge bridge from 1895 has survived.

 

Vorokhta. The «Karetnyi» Bridge. 1895.

Yasinia. Don't Just Pass Through

People come to the Zakarpattia village of Yasinia to enjoy the emerald beauty of the Carpathian expanse and to climb the peaks of the Chornohora range. Since 1894, trains have been arriving at Yasinia station carrying those eager to feel the mountains and see this enchanting land from the height of the mountain summits. Before World War II, Czechs and Germans came here to hunt and to visit. European journalists prepared reports about the authenticity of this multinational settlement, while foreign artists discovered little-known picturesque landscapes.

 

The village of Yasinia, Zakarpattia Oblast

The Malevskyi Complex. Picturesque and Little-Known

Despite all its achievements, humankind is inextricably linked to nature, which has given the people of Earth water, air, light, and warmth. People make everything they need for life from natural materials and forget to value and protect these priceless gifts. Nature offers visual aids for understanding the material world and inspires admiration for the astonishing beauty of the surrounding environment. One of the geological clues to the planetary order can be considered the rocky Malevskyi Complex, located in the south-eastern part of the sub-Carpathian village of Deliatyn.

 

Deliatyn, Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast. The Malevskyi Complex

Vorokhta. The Leader Among Carpathian Health Resorts

Anyone who has been to Vorokhta has been rewarded with the beauty of the Ukrainian Carpathians, walked the mountain trails, and taken many memorable photos against the backdrop of natural and architectural landmarks. Wonderful scenery and climatic conditions fostered the birth of tourism in the Carpathian region in the 19th century, and today Vorokhta feels no lessening of attention from travellers. In 2024 the village was included in The Best Tourism Villages list of the world's 55 best villages.

  

Vorokhta, Ivano-Frankivsk region

The Lazeshchyna River. A Hutsul Mountain Stream

Ukraine has about 30,000 mountain rivers, and we admire the overwhelming majority of these watercourses in the Carpathians. The Lazeshchyna is a typical small mountain river with a stony bed and a swift current; it is 21 km long and flows within the Rakhiv district in Transcarpathia.

The Lazeshchyna River. Transcarpathia

Dmytrivka. The Museum of the Village's History

When you feel like looking at something never seen or heard of, the trumpet calls you out for a walk, a hike, a trip, an outing. Sometimes reality surpasses expectations, and sometimes it is the other way round. But on a journey you always learn much that is new and unexpected, you meet good people, gain priceless experience, and broaden your horizons. In September 2021, the village of Dmytrivka in the Mykolaivka amalgamated territorial community of the Dnipropetrovsk region celebrated the 245th anniversary of the first written mention of the village, together with its patronal feast.

 

Dmytrivka. Dnipropetrovsk region. Church of the Nativity of the Most Holy Mother of God

The Samara River. Who Is Harming a Tributary of the Dnipro?

The Samara River, one of the largest tributaries of the mighty Dnipro, begins near the village of Mariivka in the Kramatorsk district of the Donetsk region. It covers a distance of 311 kilometres across three regions. From the Donetsk Ridge, this water artery of eastern Ukraine heads north-west to the Blyzniuky district of the Kharkiv region. Then it runs south-west and flows through the Dnipropetrovsk region, forming in its winding bed a multitude of lakes and oxbows.

 

The Samara River near the village of Dmytrivka, Dnipropetrovsk region

The Carpathian Tram. The Best Attraction of Prykarpattia

In Ukraine several narrow-gauge railways have survived — the Borzhava one in Zakarpattia, one in Antonivka in the Rivne region, one in Holovanivsk in the Kirovohrad region, and one in the settlement of Vyhoda in the Ivano-Frankivsk region.

Vyhoda, Dolyna district, Ivano-Frankivsk region. A tour along the narrow-gauge railway by Carpathian tram

Smila. The Shevchenko Station. A Railway Link

The Taras Shevchenko Station is one of the oldest railway junctions connecting the south, east and west of Ukraine with Kyiv. This hub harbour for trains is located in the town of Smila in Cherkasy region and belongs to the Odesa Railway.

Smila. The T. Shevchenko railway station. The North Station

Bila Tserkva. The 'Oleksandriia' Arboretum

The "Oleksandriia" Arboretum is a paradisiacal corner of nature, created by the elements — water, earth and air — and polished by the imagination and the hands of architects, gardeners and sculptors. Perhaps it is not the most hyped or first-rate of the monuments of landscape-garden art, but it is no less stunning, and in age, area and number of plants it is a record-holder in Ukraine.

Bila Tserkva. The "Oleksandriia" Arboretum

Myrhorod. A Glorious Town, a Wonderful Resort

Myrhorod — a resort in the Poltava region with a welcoming and kindly name — has been hospitably greeting holidaymakers for more than a hundred years now. The well-known lines of the Ukrainian poet Pavlo Tychyna, "Myrhorod is not the same now, the Khorol river is not the same", can be linked to the positive changes in the amenities of this health resort.

Myrhorod, Poltava region. The embankment of the Khorol river

Uzhhorod. Mysterious, welcoming, romantic, wonderful

Uzhhorod — a popular tourist centre of all Ukraine. What do they not call this enchanting city! Tourists hurry to see the capital of Zakarpattia in spring, when the city is wrapped in a pink veil of blooming sakuras and magnolias. Uzhhorod draws you to itself like a magnet at any time of year, and each time it evokes delight and astonishment. It seems you already know all the landmarks, but suddenly you see them from a new, inimitable angle — for example, after the rain.

Uzhhorod. Theatre Square after the rain

Novomoskovsk. The fortress-city of the Samara region

Novomoskovsk — a district centre and railway junction of the Dnipropetrovsk region. The most famous landmark of this industrial city is a masterpiece of 18th-century wooden architecture, the Holy Trinity Cathedral, which survived the years of hardship and persecution. Looking at photographs of the sacred structure of unearthly beauty, I very much wanted to see the shrine, which is counted among the hundred best wooden buildings in the whole world. But the city has many other iconic places and beautiful buildings, for the viewing of which I had only two hours.

Novomoskovsk. Dnipropetrovsk region. The Holy Trinity Cathedral

The Pina — the blue artery of Pinsk

The Pina ... A small river of Belarus, one of the little blue arteries of which the mighty Dnipro is composed.

The Pina. Pinsk. Brest region. Belarus

Halych. A Modern Ancient Princely Town

Halych is one of the oldest cities in Ukraine and in Eastern Europe, its history reckoned from the year 898. In the 12th century the Galician-Volhynian princes chose Halych as their capital and turned it into a mighty political and spiritual centre. Let us see how modern-day ancient Halych is laid out and what landmarks make this district centre of the Ivano-Frankivsk region so rich.

Halych. Ivano-Frankivsk region. Nativity Square

Kostiantynivka. The architectural symbols of a weary city

There are cities that grow weary of people and their activity. The era of development ends, and a stage of decay sets in — of enterprises, roads, buildings, historical and cultural treasures. In Kostiantynivka, in the Donetsk region, the depressed state of its industrial and social-amenity facilities was evident long before 2014.

Kostiantynivka. Oleksa Tykhy St. The city council

Golubyne. A sketch by the roadside

The village of Golubyne, in the Svaliava district of the Zakarpattia region, stretches along the Perechyn — Svaliava road. Driving along the main street, Vesela, you can see from the signs that the house numbers reach 500 — something you do not often come across in the countryside. I had only half an hour, and I got off the bus to take a walk and see what this village was like, known since the 15th century and whose name is connected with the symbol of peace — the dove.

Sumy — a Tourist City?

For me, the city of Sumy long seemed a terra incognita.

Here It Is, Mykolaiv. Without Sweeteners or Adornments

I will say straight away that I liked Mykolaiv, but I will not sing its praises; I will describe my walk through the city on a sunny March day without embellishment.

The City Council

To Odesa With Love

Odesa. Marine Terminal