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

Yaremche. The Probiy Waterfall and Other Hutsul Wonders

Yaremche – a climatic and ski resort in Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast and a centre of green tourism – enchants visitors with its landscapes and its natural and man-made landmarks. 

Yaremche, Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast

Mykolaiv on the Dnister: Landmarks in and Around Town

To find landmarks at every step, inquisitive tourists with a passion for little-known routes, having had their fill of strolls around noisy Lviv, move on to the quiet and sparsely populated Mykolaiv, located 30 kilometres south of the regional centre. In ancient and medieval times the lands of today's Mykolaiv area were conquered, annexed, destroyed and revived again, and to strengthen the borders both defenders and conquerors built fortified zones with fortifications to protect the crossing over the Dnister.

Mykolaiv, Lviv Oblast. A view of the town from the artillery positions

Shchyrets. Fortified Churches, a Museum and More

Lovers of independent travel choose unconventional routes, not overloading themselves with information and leaving room for their own preferences. This style of travel always includes a process of searching and discovery. The little town of Shchyrets in Lviv Oblast is an excellent choice for a one-day trip full of exploration and finds.

Shchyrets, Lviv Oblast. Zolota Hora. The Church of the Nativity of the Most Holy Mother of God. 16th century

Lviv. Pohulianka — a Special Place for a Stroll

Pohulianka Nature Reserve Park is located in the south-eastern part of Lviv, in the area of the same name, where townspeople have loved to stroll since the mid-19th century.

 

Lviv. Pohulianka Nature Reserve Park

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

Mykulychyn. Everything Here Is Hutsul and Distinctive

Thanks to domestic tourism, Ukrainians are increasingly learning about their homeland, their roots, national culture, and traditions. Mykulychyn is a place with many kinds of tourism: health, gastronomic, intellectual, and spiritual. A trip to the largest village in Ukraine allows you not only to commune with natural beauty but also to get acquainted with the Hutsul cultural and historical heritage.

 

Mykulychyn. Ivano-Frankivsk region

Tatariv. A Carpathian Resort and Health Retreat

Tatariv is a well-known Hutsul village in the Nadvirna district of Ivano-Frankivsk region. The village stretches out in branch-hamlets and homestead-kolybas with breweries and cafes along the Prut River from Mykulychyn to Yablunytsia and Vorokhta. Back at the end of the 19th century, the area was known as a low-mountain balneological climatic resort and was listed in European travel guides. In modern Ukraine, the natural landscapes of Tatariv are known to experienced travellers and novice tourists, lovers of cycling and hiking trips, mushroom pickers and gatherers of forest berries. Even some of the powerful have chosen the valleys and slopes of Tatariv's hills for their residences and dachas.

 

Rudnyky. The Vanished Monastery and Village Landmarks

From monastic prayers of old

The spiritual bell tower tolls.

For the living generations –

Our chapel of remembrance.

According to legend, in the Middle Ages monasteries were built near sites of pre-Christian culture, and also where a holy image had appeared. Many cloisters were spiritual centres and places of pilgrimage for centuries, yet have not survived to our day. Relics gathered over the ages vanished; the houses of prayer did not outlive reforms and troubled times, and were burnt and destroyed. These holy places lie far from tourist routes, surrounded by silence and filled with spiritual power. One of the vanished monasteries had existed since time immemorial in the village of Rudnyky, and now a memorial chapel has been erected on the holy site.

 

Rudnyky, Lviv region. The chapel of Sts Peter and Paul on the site of the vanished monastery

Wherever You're Headed, I'm Off to Semenivka!

A stroll through Semenivka in the Lviv region, known for its architectural monuments, is guaranteed to enrich your knowledge of little-known landmarks. Semenivka lies 20 kilometres south of the regional centre and has its own railway halt, and the Lviv-Mukacheve suburban train, the hugely popular "mukachivka", whisks you to the start of the walking route in half an hour. The settlement arose at the end of the 14th century, and its first written mention dates from the mid-15th century. In 2018 the villagers celebrated the 300th anniversary of the church of St Michael, an architectural monument of national significance, and they continue to preserve its rare 18th-century murals.

 

Semenivka, Lviv region. The church of St Michael. 1718

Nadvirna. A Meeting with a Precarpathian Town

Nadvirna is called the gates of the Carpathians. And how, indeed, could one drive past these very gates on the way to the mountain peaks and waterfalls? Nadvirna lies in the south of the Ivano-Frankivsk region, 35 kilometres from the regional centre. This Precarpathian town was a popular resort at the beginning of the 20th century, and even now an inquisitive traveller, on a 2-3-hour walk, will find plenty of curiosities that set apart one of the youngest district centres of Western Ukraine.

 

Nadvirna, Ivano-Frankivsk region

The Dobropillia Area. From Sviatohorivka to Dobropillia

The history of our people and our state has been denied and silenced since time immemorial, and to this day the enemy destroys our cultural heritage. Even the smallest village, the humblest of houses, has its own master and its own story, one that bears witness to the past and to memory, to the dignity and the morality of a person. We do not always treat our history with awe and respect; through rebuildings and innovations we destroy our moral bearings and our national traditions, and from generation to generation we pass on a deformed and distorted understanding and perception of our roots. 

Through the example of the villages of the Dobropillia area, let us look at how the historical and cultural monuments are being preserved, and at what the community has managed to keep alongside powerful agricultural and industrial enterprises.

 

The village of Dobropillia. Donetsk region

Rakhiv. A Staging Point for Tourists. To Go or Not?

Rakhiv is the highest-lying town in Ukraine and a town situated near one of the geographic centres of Europe. Lovers of mountain ascents come here to conquer the Ukrainian two-thousanders and the other summits of the mighty Carpathians. What can one see in Rakhiv, making an intermediate stop in the course of transit tourism?

 

Rakhiv, Transcarpathian region

Yasinia. The Strukivska Church, a UNESCO Heritage Site

The Church of the Ascension of the Lord in Yasinia is one of the eight wooden churches in Ukraine featured on the UNESCO World Heritage lists, and one of two in the Zakarpattia region.

Yasinia, Zakarpattia region. The Strukivska Church

Barvinkove. A weekend trip, or the secret landmarks

For a hike along unknown tourist trails, a single day off or a few hours is enough. In small towns and villages there are hidden, unusual finds that can stir up all sorts of emotions - from delight to regret. Unpopular places are always close at hand; it is worth looking at a map and plotting a route. Barvinkove - a small town in the south of Kharkiv region - will mark the 370th anniversary of its founding in 2023. A town with a rich history and a Ukrainian name deserves tourist recognition. The tour begins at the railway station, opened in 1869 on the initiative of the novelist H. P. Danylevsky, a native of the Barvinkove area.

 

Barvinkove, Kharkiv region. The railway station

Avdiivka. The Terminal Station and Trackside Settlement

The freight-and-passenger railway station of Avdiivka is located in the town of the same name in the Donetsk region and belongs to the Krasnyi Lyman division of the Donetsk Railway.

 

Avdiivka railway station. Donetsk region.

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 Ivanivka Village Council: Ivanivka, Vesele, Prohres

There are quite a few villages in Ukraine named in honour of the bearers of one of the most widespread names. Thanks to the enterprising and hard-working pioneers with the name Ivan, settlements and farmsteads named in memory of their founders appeared on the uninhabited lands in all the regions of our state. The village of Ivanivka in the Pokrovsk district of the Donetsk region is the centre of a village council to which small settlements are subordinated: Vesele, Vovche, Yevhenivka, Lysyche, Lozuvatske, Novotoretske, Prohres, Svyrydonivka, and Serhiivka.

Ivanivka and the Ivanivka village council. Pokrovsk district, Donetsk region.

Slovianka. Villages of the Dnipropetrovsk Region

Slovianka is one of the oldest villages in the Dnipropetrovsk region. It received its name in 1777, when, on the instruction of the governor of the Azov province, the settlement of the fertile lands on the bank of the Byk river began. Slovianka lies 125 kilometres from the regional centre. Before the Mezhova district was abolished, 14 km of asphalt road separated the village from the district centre. After the amalgamation of the communities, the residents of the Mezhova area have to cover more than 100 kilometres in 2 hours to reach the district centre of Synelnykove. There is no bus service between the settlements.

Slovianka, Dnipropetrovsk region

Drohobych. Churches Worth Visiting

Getting acquainted with the history and notable sights of Drohobych, the administrative and cultural centre of Lviv region, tourists will find it interesting to look over the sacred architecture, the ancient churches and the new churches of various denominations.

 

Drohobych, Lviv region. The Monastery of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul