Nyzhniy Verbizh-Tserkva of the Nativity of and Chornohora
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
294 km
Riding-time estimate
7 h 31
Journey
Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
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Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
294 km from Kolomyia to Kolomyia, about 7 h 31 of riding. On the way it passes Gorgany, Yasynia-Tserkva of Our Lord’s Ascension, Svydovets and Chornohora. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 1,150 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Nyzhniy Verbizh-Tserkva of the Nativity of
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.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Nyzhniy Verbizh-Tserkva of the Nativity of is where the day begins. Next is Gorgany.
2. Gorgany
The Gorgany are the wildest part of the Ukrainian Carpathians, a range of sandstone peaks rising above dense forests in the Ivano-Frankivsk region. What makes them unusual are the gorgany themselves, the fields of loose stone blocks that cover the upper slopes and summits, formed by frost shattering the rock. Walking across them is slow and tiring, and the forests below, of spruce, beech and Swiss stone pine, are among the most pristine in Ukraine, with brown bears, wolves, lynx and red deer. The Gorgany nature reserve protects a part of this landscape.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Gorgany comes up 36 km in. Next is Yasynia-Tserkva of Our Lord’s Ascension.
3. Yasynia-Tserkva of Our Lord’s Ascension
High in the Ukrainian Carpathians, in the valley of the Black Tisa, the village of Yasinia stretches along the river beneath steep spruce-clad slopes. On a rise near its centre stands a small wooden church, the Church of the Ascension, sometimes called the Strukivska church, built in the early nineteenth century by Hutsul craftsmen without nails. Its stepped roofs, covered in wooden shingles, and its small domes give it a cosy, fairytale shape, and it is part of the UNESCO listing of wooden tserkvas of the Carpathian region in Poland and Ukraine.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
At least 78 km in you reach Yasynia-Tserkva of Our Lord’s Ascension. Next is Svydovets.
4. Svydovets
The Svydovets is a long, high ridge in the Ukrainian Carpathians, rising above the upper Tisza valley near the town of Rakhiv in Zakarpattia. Its southern and northern slopes hold some of the wildest primeval beech forest left in Europe, protected as part of the Carpathian Biosphere Reserve and included in the UNESCO site of Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe. Above the trees lie broad alpine meadows, the polonyna, where Hutsul shepherds traditionally drove their flocks each summer, with glacial lakes tucked below the ridge.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Svydovets, about halfway. Next is Chornohora.
5. Chornohora
Chornohora, the Black Mountain, is the highest range of the Ukrainian Carpathians, a long ridge of rounded summits above the forests on the border between the Zakarpattia and Ivano-Frankivsk regions. Its highest peak, Hoverla, rises to 2,061 metres, the highest point in Ukraine, and on summer weekends it can be busy with hikers. Along the ridge to the southeast stands Pip Ivan, crowned by the ruins of an astronomical and meteorological observatory built by Poland in the 1930s, when this was the border with Czechoslovakia. Locals call it the White Elephant, and seeing it loom out of the mist is unforgettable.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 294 km.
Leg by leg
Nyzhniy Verbizh-Tserkva of the Nativity of to Gorgany
Nyzhniy Verbizh-Tserkva of the Nativity of → Gorgany is 71 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Gorgany to Yasynia-Tserkva of Our Lord’s Ascension
Gorgany → Yasynia-Tserkva of Our Lord’s Ascension is 33 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Yasynia-Tserkva of Our Lord’s Ascension to Svydovets
Yasynia-Tserkva of Our Lord’s Ascension → Svydovets is 18 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Svydovets to Chornohora
Svydovets → Chornohora is 22 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Chornohora to back through Svydovets
Chornohora → back through Svydovets is 22 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Svydovets to back through Yasynia-Tserkva of Our Lord’s Ascension
back through Svydovets → back through Yasynia-Tserkva of Our Lord’s Ascension is 18 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Yasynia-Tserkva of Our Lord’s Ascension to back through Gorgany
back through Yasynia-Tserkva of Our Lord’s Ascension → back through Gorgany is 33 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Gorgany to Nyzhniy Verbizh-Tserkva of the Nativity of
back through Gorgany → Nyzhniy Verbizh-Tserkva of the Nativity of is 71 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.