The wooden church of Nyzhniy Verbizh stands in the foothills of the Carpathians, in the Pokuttya region of western Ukraine, close to the Prut river and the old town of Kolomyia. It is one of the Wooden Tserkvas of the Carpathian Region listed by UNESCO in 2013, a group of sixteen churches in Ukraine and Poland that show how the Orthodox and Greek Catholic communities of the mountains developed a tradition of building in timber that mixed Byzantine plans with local carpentry. Like others in the group, this one has a cross-shaped plan with tiered roofs and a small tower, and is raised from squared logs with shingles on the roofs, in a form that dates from the early 1800s.
Inside, a wooden iconostasis, painted with saints and gilded flowers, divides the sanctuary from the nave, and the walls are often decorated with folk-style paintings. The surrounding villages belong to the Hutsuls and Pokuttya Ukrainians, mountain people with strong traditions of woodcarving, embroidery, painted Easter eggs and music. Kolomyia, a few kilometres away, has a museum of pysanky, the decorated eggs, housed in a building shaped like a giant egg, which is a surprising and charming landmark.
Riding here has an old-world charm. The roads follow river valleys and cross low ridges, with orchards and cornfields and the dark line of the Carpathians on the horizon. Surfaces vary a lot, with fine sections and others broken by frost and heavy lorries, and you need to watch for potholes, horse carts and unmarked junctions. Spring is wet and green, summer is warm, and the colours of autumn on the beech forests of the mountains are spectacular. Winter is cold and snowy.
I should add that travel in Ukraine depends entirely on the security situation, which has been very unstable, and anyone considering a trip needs to follow current official advice rather than any guidebook. This text is about the place, not a recommendation to go.
In normal times, fuel is no problem in Kolomyia, a town of about sixty thousand, and the main road across the region has stations. Village shops sell bread, cheese and sweet pastries, and a bowl of borscht or a plate of banosh, a creamy cornmeal dish with cheese and bacon, is the thing to look for in a mountain cafe. The church is still used for worship, so cover your shoulders and speak softly.