Hoverla

Hoverla is the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear the word «Carpathians». It is the most popular tourist site, being visited by thousands of tourists every year. A desire to climb the highest peak of Ukraine inspires people to go through several kilometers of thick forest, bushes, and alpine meadows. Everyone who reaches the peak is awarded with a fantastic prize – the best viewpoint in Ukraine. Hoverla is situated in the highest mountain range of Ukraine called the Chornohora. Its altitude is 2061 m a.s.l.. There are 5 peaks above 2000 m: Pip Ivan, Brebeneskul, Hytyn Tomnatyk, Rebra, and Petros. The territory of the Carpathian National Nature Park includes all these mountains except for Petros.

There are some versions of the Hoverla’s name origin. In Romanian «howirla» means «inaccessible rise»; in Hungarian «hóvár» is «a snowy summit». The mountain’s top is really challenging for climbers and snow melts in the middle of summer. A number of monuments are located on the very peak. A few meters to the top of Hoverla you can see a three-meter high obelisk, which symbolized the highest point of Polish and Czechoslovakian border which ran along the mountain range from 1920 to 1938. Small border columns also remind of an old border. The memorial sign, installed on July 18, 2008, with embedded capsules containing soil from all regions of Ukraine, symbolizes the unity of our country.

The river Prut is the main waterway of the Carpathian National Nature Park. It starts a few hundred meters away from the top of Hoverla. However, Hoverla is not only a popular tourist site, but also a habitat for plenty of rare plant species. This museum of nature serves as a symbol of a place we have to preserve for future generations.