Image by Taras Lesiv / Getty Images

The Carpathians

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 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.

Explore The Carpathians

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Top attractions

These are our favorite local haunts, touristy spots, and hidden gems throughout The Carpathians.

  • Notable Building

    Chernivtsi University

    University buildings are often called 'dreaming spires', but Chernivtsi's is more like an acid trip. This fantastic, Unesco-listed red-brick ensemble,…

  • Castle

    Palanok Castle

    Built atop a 68m-tall volcano, Mukacheve's highlight is this dramatic castle that pops up from the surrounding plain west of town, like something in a…

  • Castle

    Uzhhorod Castle

    On the hill overlooking the town stands the 15th-century castle with massive walls and beefy bastions built to withstand Turkish assaults. The main palace…

  • Museum

    Museum of Hutsul Folk Art

    This well-curated exhibition of Hutsul artefacts is probably the best of its kind in Ukraine. Decorated stove tiles and other ceramics, musical…

  • Museum

    Pysanky Museum

    Kolomyya's most eye-catching attraction is a monster concrete Easter egg, which sits rather self-consciously on the town's main square. Inside in an…

  • Cathedral

    Cathedral of the Holy Resurrection

    The city's punctiliously renovated Greek Catholic cathedral is a fine example of baroque symmetry crafted in the mid-18th century. Huge bronzes of St…

  • Church

    Former Armenian Church

    A few steps off pl Rynok stands this eye-pleasingly symmetrical baroque church built by the Armenian community in 1762. Beyond the golden doors the…

  • Museum

    Oleska Dovbush Museum

    Few would brave the potholes to the sprawling Carpathian village of Kosmach, 35km to the southwest of Kolomyya, were it not for the privately run Oleksa…

  • Castle

    Khotyn Fortress

    Ask any Ukrainian which is the country's finest castle and many will say Khotyn Fortress. Eastern European filmmakers love to use this massive fort…

  • Street

    Vul Kobylyanskoyi

    When you’ve had enough of Chernivtsi’s barmy traffic, head for the tranquillity of vul Kobylyanskoyi, a pedestrianised street running between vuls Holovna…

  • National Park

    Carpathian National Nature Park

    This is Ukraine's largest national park and the heart of the Carpathians. Only about a quarter of the area is completely protected, but that hasn't…

  • Area

    Cheshsky Kvartal

    A short walk west of the immediate city centre, hemmed by the Uzh River on its southern flank, lies the Czech Quarter, an unexpected neighbourhood of…

  • Museum

    Museum of Hutsul Folk Art and Life

    For those not seeking craft bargains, the main reason to vist Kosiv is to visit the Museum of Hutsul Folk Art and Life. It's worth visiting for a wide…

  • Notable Building

    Ratusha

    In addition to housing the tourist office and the museum, Frankivsk's art-deco town hall, the only one built in this style in the country, is an…

  • Museum

    Museum of Mountain Ecology

    This old-school museum stands on the hill behind the Carpathian Biosphere Reserve headquarters building. The exhibition is surprisingly informative, rich…

  • Nature Reserve

    Carpathian Biosphere Reserve

    Declared a Unesco Biosphere Reserve in 1992, this protected area is made up of six separate locations, four of which can be found around Rakhiv. Some 90%…

  • Museum

    Folk Architecture & Life Museum

    Next door to Uzhhorod Castle, this is one of the tidiest open-air museums in the country, albeit small. Highlights include several Hutsul cottages with…

  • Square

    Ploshcha Kyryla ta Mefodiya

    Mukacheve's attractive main square, more a wide boulevard than a classic piazza, extends southeast from the town hall. At its northern end stands a…

  • Park

    Taras Shevchenko Park

    Around 1.6km south of the Rynok, the city's main stretch of green is a great place to shake out the picnic blanket, hire a rowboat on the lake or chill…

  • Notable Building

    Philharmonia

    Built in 1911, it's pretty obvious at first glance that this beautiful concert venue began life as a synagogue. Its intricately carved terracota facade…