In the Carpathian mountains of Transcarpathia, in western Ukraine, the forests around Synevyr include some of the last remaining primeval beech forests in Europe, part of the transnational World Heritage Site of the Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe. Strymba is one of the protected forest areas, in the hills near the village of Kolochava, where beech trees grow old and die without human interference, creating a rich habitat for fungi, insects, birds and animals.
Lake Synevyr, the largest mountain lake in the Ukrainian Carpathians, sits at nearly a thousand metres in a forested valley, its dark waters fed by streams. Legend says it was formed by the tears of a noble girl, Syn, grieving for her lover Vyr, a shepherd killed by her father's men. The Synevyr National Park also has a brown bear rehabilitation centre, where bears rescued from captivity live in large enclosures.
Kolochava, a long village in the valley of the Teresva tributaries, has several open air museums showing the history of the region under different rulers: Austro-Hungarian, Czechoslovak, Hungarian, Soviet and Ukrainian. The region's people include Ukrainians, Rusyns and Hungarians, and the villages have wooden churches and traditional houses.
The roads here are narrow, winding and often rough, with potholes and gravel, climbing over passes and through valleys. The scenery is wonderful, with mountains, forests and rivers.
Transcarpathia has long been a place where borders moved over people rather than people over borders. An old local joke tells of a man born in Austria-Hungary, schooled in Czechoslovakia, married in Hungary, retired in the Soviet Union and buried in Ukraine, all without leaving his village. Kolochava's museums play on exactly that story, and the region's food, from Hungarian style stews to Rusyn dumplings and smoked sheep cheese, reflects it too. However, Ukraine is at war, and most governments advise against all travel to the country, though Transcarpathia has been less directly affected than the east. Martial law, curfews and restrictions apply, and travel insurance is generally invalid. Mizhhirya, twenty two kilometres away, is the nearest town with fuel and shops, but supplies can be disrupted. Check the current situation very carefully before considering any trip.