Rakhiv

Rakhiv (Рахів) is a town in Western Ukraine. It's the highest located town in Ukraine (430 m above sea level).

Understand

It is one of Hutsul culture capitals.

  • Tourist Information Center, Street Myr 42. (updated Oct 2018)

Get in

By bus

There are no direct marshrutkas between Lviv and Rakhiv, but you have to interchange in Ivano-Frankivsk.

From Romania you can get there via Sighetu Marmaţiei/Solotvino border crossing and then by bus.

Also, there is a daily direct bus from/to Prague for about 1,500 грн.

By train

Rakhiv is one of the last train stations on the 601L line from Lviv to Solotvino. Though, the train arrives at around 23:00 and heads back to Lviv at around 01:00.

Get around

There are regular bus connections (every 1-2 h) from 06:45 to 18:00 between Rakhiv and Luhi (Луги), one starting point for the hike to Hoverla. Check out the exact times at the bus station, so you do not miss the last bus on the way back, otherwise you have to walk for 4 h or hitchhike.

See

Rakhiv is one of the places that consider themselves located in the geographical centre of Europe. See the monument erected by Austro-Hungarian geographers in 1887, located in Dilove village (12 km from Rakhiv).

Do
  • Hiking – Some of the highest mountains in Ukraine are located nearby: Hoverla, Brebeneskul, Pip Ivan.
  • To reach Hoverla, you best catch an early morning bus to Luhi (Луги). You can hike out somewhere else towards the main highway and head back to Rakhiv with another bus. Or you hike back to Luhi and take the same bus out. Otherwise, you can also stay overnight in the national park, there are many huts and shelters that are good if you have a warm sleeping bag. Checkout OpenStreetMap to find the huts - there is even a proper shelter to stay overnight near the summit of Hoverla.
  • Pop Ivan summit (2,022 m) features ruins of a Polish observatory called White Elephant.
  • Hutsul brynzia Festival. September. (updated Oct 2018)

Buy

Eat

Drink

Sleep

Go next
  • Chernivtsi – If you want to remain in Ukraine and came from Lviv originally, you can head further to Chernivtsi, which has two slow bus connections (5 hr) per day from Rakhiv.
  • Romania is only a stone's throw away, and Rakhiv is optimal if you planning to head further into this direction.


gollark: That sounds intensely annoying.
gollark: Not all traditions repeat like that. I think some end up fading based on longer-term cultural trends or technological stuff.
gollark: It's an evolutionary system. Randomness happens.
gollark: As such, it is in fact *your* king which is in the "check mate" state.
gollark: There.
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