Bored, dull, empty, cold, and wet? No, you’re just not dressed for the weather! So say the Hutsuls – the inhabitants of the Carpathian region, who live in harmony with nature and love it for its soft transparent air, beautiful mountain landscapes, powerful waterfalls. Come to rest in Vorokhta, and you will feel it yourself!
Heart of the Carpathians – Vorokhta
The Carpathians, first of all, we associate with skiing and are especially popular with tourists in the winter season. In summer, you can come here for fishing, climb mountains with tents, light a fire (or, as the true Hutsuls say, “fire the fire”), drown in the aromas of grassy meadows and just take a break from the bustle of the city with all your heart.
We visited the very heart of the Carpathians – Vorokhta, a small village near the Yaremche, Ivano-Frankivsk region. And even when the snow melted, we fell in love with this place for a quiet peaceful atmosphere, the noise of virgin forests, and the rumble of crystal-clear waterfalls. A special beauty at the end of winter is created by icy waterfalls, firmly attached to the rocky mountains. The feeling of mysticism is created by mountain peaks covered with mist.
What to see, where to go
In Vorokhta, you can stay at any of the hotels, many of them have been built from the station to the foot of the mountains. For example, the tourist complex “Vorohta” ( http://www.vorohta.com.ua/summer/vorohta/ ). For moderate money here you will be provided with the widest range of services – transfer, meals, skis and ski equipment, excursions to choose from, walks in the forest, and evening entertainment on the territory are included in the price of the tour.
The territory of the hotel complex “Vorohta” is part of the Carpathian National Natural Park. Near the hotel, there is a mountain spring with the purest healing water.
In Vorokhta, you can go to the mountains with a guide, join excursions to local attractions, take a group instructor who will teach you how to ski or snowboard, organize a horseback or bicycle ride around the surroundings. It is never boring here in any weather, while entertainment will cost you not much at all! For example, you can have fun going down the hill on snow tubing for only 10 hryvnias, going up and down the cable car will cost you 20 hryvnias. And you can travel outside the village, for example, to large ski slopes in Bukovel, the journey takes 40 minutes. Gambling skiers do just that, and they get good savings on accommodation. Excursions in Yaremche, Rakhiv, Ivano-Frankivsk will be interesting.
In spring, summer, and autumn, Vorokhta is buried in the greenery of meadows and dense forests. Its healing air, filled with the aroma of resin, gives energy and well-being to all tourism lovers who come here. Raise one of the peaks and you will see the village in all its glory! From the top of Magura, for example, the village is visible, at a glance! The same Prut flows along the Vorokhta – the main river of the Carpathians, which is fed by groundwater, melting snow, and rain.
For tourists who are not familiar with Vorokhta, friendly residents tell legends about the soldier of the Cisar army Vorokhta, who wandered around the world for a long time and finally settled on the banks of the Prut River in an almost uninhabited place. Over time, he began to manage, and people turn to him for advice, saying: “I’m going to Vorokhta.” According to another, more truthful version, salt was mined in one of the regions of Ukraine, the Hutsul region. To cook it at the Pan’s saltworks, firewood was needed. Every peasant who lived in the Carpathians had to hand over a heap – a norm of firewood. It is believed that heaps brought firewood from the area where Vorokhta is now located. Now the settlement among the mountains has grown to a village with a population of four thousand inhabitants, only a small part of their work in Poland or Italy, then return,
Read more: Top 7 photo facts why you should go on vacation to the Carpathians
Austro-Hungarian and Polish heritage of the region
Like all the Carpathians, Vorokhta keeps its historical heritage from the Austro-Hungarians and Poles. Until now, in the speech of the Goryans – the ethnic population of the Carpathians, one hears a dialect and specific words that are not always clear in meaning, say, to a Ukrainian from Poltava or Kyiv. Curious tourists are shown the famous bridge – a large stone arched railway bridge-viaduct of Austrian times, connecting the two banks of the Prut River. The bridge with a length of more than 100 meters is the hallmark of Vorokhta. The Austrians built it at the end of the 19th century during the construction of the railway Stanislav (Ivano-Frankivsk) – Yaremcha – Vorokhta – Rakhiv. By the way, the bridge viaduct is still used for its intended purpose.
Many buildings have survived from the time when the Carpathian region at different times was under the rule of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, then ancient Poland (the Commonwealth). The architecture of the buildings gives the impression that you are not in Ukraine, but somewhere abroad. Vorokhta also has the oldest wooden and stone Catholic churches that open their doors to parishioners on major holidays.
Once again about the mountains and … molfars
Having walked enough in the vicinity of the village, it still pulls into the mountains. And so you want to conquer at least one of the beautiful peaks of the Carpathians. Stony, overgrown with juniper, or snowy – they call it any time of the year. By the way, the mountains in the Carpathians are high! One of them – Brebeneskul reaches a height of as much as 2038 m. It is not much inferior to the highest peak in Ukraine – Hoverla (2061 m). This mountain, round in shape, probably got its name from the Hutsul dialect “bretskul” – “swollen”, “convex”. Among other peaks of the Carpathians are Pip Ivan Marmarosky (2028 m), Petrus (2020 m), Gutin Tomnatik (2016 m), Rebra (2001 m).
Once again about the mountains and … molfars
Having walked enough in the vicinity of the village, it still pulls into the mountains. And so you want to conquer at least one of the beautiful peaks of the Carpathians. Stony, overgrown with juniper or snowy – they call it any time of the year. By the way, the mountains in the Carpathians are high! One of them – Brebeneskul reaches a height of as much as 2038 m. It is not much inferior to the highest peak in Ukraine – Hoverla (2061 m). This mountain, round in shape, probably got its name from the Hutsul dialect “bretskul” – “swollen”, “convex”. Among other peaks of the Carpathians are Pip Ivan Marmarosky (2028 m), Petrus (2020 m), Gutin Tomnatik (2016 m), Rebra (2001 m).
As a relaxation in Vorokhta, many owners can order a wood-fired bathhouse or a hot tub – a large deep cast-iron basin on burning logs, which can accommodate up to 8 people at a time. Sprigs of fragrant juniper trees are thrown into it and heated to the highest possible temperature. After a relaxing vat, you can easily jump into the hole! And after you cool off a bit, ask the Hutsuls about the molars. Old sorcerers can predict your fate and prepare a healing potion. Only the real ones live high in the mountains and do not spread their abilities among the masses.
Well, in the evening, go to the festivities with local flavor! The Vorokhta hotel complex organizes real wedding festivities for tourists – with towels, cows, horses, and live music. Among the vacationers, a young couple is chosen, witnesses and relatives are selected. All vacationers are attracted to folk rituals and dances.
You can absorb the Carpathian flavor with your eyes, but it is best to taste it by trying the local cuisine in any restaurant. We liked the restaurant “Old Vorokhta” in the center of the village. But in each establishment, they cook delicious bograch, mushroom soup, banish with cracklings and cheese, potato pancakes in Carpathian style, and many other dishes. And also a warming grog based on Carpathian balsam… It is simply impossible to list everything. Come, they are waiting for you!
