Why this ride
From Zhovkva it runs 231 km to Zhovkva; allow about 4 h 52 of riding. It goes by way of Vysokyi Zamok and Pidzamche, Roztochya, Potelych-Tserkva of the of the Hol and back through Roztochya.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Zhovkva-Tserkva of the Holy Trinity and Potelych-Tserkva of the Descent of the Hol
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 231 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 4 h 52
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Zhovkva-Tserkva of the Holy Trinity
Zhovkva was designed as an ideal Renaissance town. In the late sixteenth century, Stanisław Żółkiewski, a Polish nobleman and military commander, founded it north of Lviv with a castle, a market square, churches and fortifications laid out according to the principles of the time. Later, the town was a favourite residence of King Jan III Sobieski, who defeated the Ottomans at Vienna in 1683. The Tserkva of the Holy Trinity, a wooden church built in 1720, stands on the edge of the town, and it is part of the UNESCO-listed Wooden Tserkvas of the Carpathian Region in Poland and Ukraine, inscribed in 2013.
Read the complete Zhovkva-Tserkva of the Holy Trinity write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Zhovkva-Tserkva of the Holy Trinity is where the day begins. Next is Vysokyi Zamok and Pidzamche.
2. Vysokyi Zamok and Pidzamche
Above Lviv's old town rises a wooded hill that locals simply call the High Castle, Vysokyi Zamok, and below it, tucked against its slopes, lies Pidzamche, whose name means under the castle. For a rider used to the cobbled squares at the centre, this is the quiet back door of the city: older, scruffier and more honest. The castle itself is long gone, a victim of the sieges and demolitions of earlier centuries, and what remains are earthworks and a few fragments of wall. What you climb for is the view. From the top, some four hundred metres above sea level, the red roofs and church spires of Lviv spread out in a patchwork, and on a clear evening the light turns the whole city gold.
Read the complete Vysokyi Zamok and Pidzamche write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Vysokyi Zamok and Pidzamche comes up about 29 km into the recorded legs. Next is Roztochya.
3. Roztochya
Roztochia is a low, wooded ridge that runs like a spine from southeastern Poland down to the outskirts of Lviv, and on its Ukrainian end, between Ivano-Frankove and Novoyavorivsk, lies the Roztochia nature reserve. Its old beech woods were added in 2017 to the UNESCO listing of Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe, a chain of forests that tells the story of how beech recolonised the continent after the Ice Age. The ridge is also a watershed: rain that falls on one side ends up in the Baltic by way of the Vistula, and on the other in the Black Sea by way of the Dniester. Standing on a hilltop and knowing that is oddly satisfying.
Read the complete Roztochya write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 64 km into the recorded legs you reach Roztochya. Next is Potelych-Tserkva of the Descent of the Hol.
4. Potelych-Tserkva of the Descent of the Hol
In the village of Potelych, in western Ukraine near the Polish border, a wooden church has stood since the early sixteenth century. The Church of the Descent of the Holy Spirit is one of the oldest wooden churches in Ukraine, built of logs with a tall roof covered in shingles, and its interior holds wall paintings and an iconostasis from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. It is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Wooden Tserkvas of the Carpathian Region in Poland and Ukraine, inscribed in 2013.
Read the complete Potelych-Tserkva of the Descent of the Hol write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Potelych-Tserkva of the Descent of the Hol, about halfway. Next is back through Roztochya.
5. back through Roztochya
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Roztochya write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Roztochya sits at 150 km, about halfway. Next is back through Vysokyi Zamok and Pidzamche.
6. back through Vysokyi Zamok and Pidzamche
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Vysokyi Zamok and Pidzamche write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Vysokyi Zamok and Pidzamche comes up about 202 km into the recorded legs. Next is Zhovkva-Tserkva of the Holy Trinity.
7. Zhovkva-Tserkva of the Holy Trinity
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Zhovkva-Tserkva of the Holy Trinity write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Zhovkva-Tserkva of the Holy Trinity closes the day.
Leg by leg
Zhovkva-Tserkva of the Holy Trinity to Vysokyi Zamok and Pidzamche
Zhovkva-Tserkva of the Holy Trinity → Vysokyi Zamok and Pidzamche is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Vysokyi Zamok and Pidzamche to Roztochya
Vysokyi Zamok and Pidzamche → Roztochya is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Roztochya to Potelych-Tserkva of the Descent of the Hol
Roztochya → Potelych-Tserkva of the Descent of the Hol is 49 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Potelych-Tserkva of the Descent of the Hol to back through Roztochya
Potelych-Tserkva of the Descent of the Hol → back through Roztochya is 53 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Roztochya to back through Vysokyi Zamok and Pidzamche
back through Roztochya → back through Vysokyi Zamok and Pidzamche is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Vysokyi Zamok and Pidzamche to Zhovkva-Tserkva of the Holy Trinity
back through Vysokyi Zamok and Pidzamche → Zhovkva-Tserkva of the Holy Trinity is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.