Autumn in the Carpathians is a special holiday of the soul, when you are captivated by hot colors and a variety of colors. This is a wonderful time when you can inhale the smell of dry herbs and fallen leaves on your chest. To understand what autumn is like in the mountains, you need to experience and feel a number of emotions, passing them through yourself. See colors and their shades with your own eyes, personally hear elusive sounds. Feel the touch of the environment in which time seems to have stopped on your own skin…
Here are our students, led by teachers II Bulakh and OV Szymanska felt all the fantastic and unforgettable feelings from traveling in the autumn Carpathians.
We followed the tourist routes of the cave "Mlynky". This is one of the most interesting speleological tourist sites in Ukraine. For millions of years, nature has created these passages underground, which have a total study length of more than 40 km. In the light of headlights, the cave walls sparkle with shimmering small crystals and enchant with a variety of stone silhouettes and shapes. The expedition is led by professional guides, who led a group through the labyrinths of the cave on the most interesting route 2 km long.
Rafting in the Dniester canyon did not leave any of the participants indifferent. It has a total length of almost 250 kilometers and is the longest not only in Ukraine but also in Europe and is recognized as one of the 7 natural wonders of Ukraine. The canyon of the Dniester River is also called a natural encyclopedia, because the "walls" of the canyon formed over millions of years are a wonderful illustration of the formation of the upper layers of the earth, and flora and fauna enchant with their inviolability and countless flora and fauna. All this, combined with a splash of water under the oars, helps to relax body and soul.
Then we climbed to the observation deck from which the panoramas of the city of Zalishchyky opened. This is one of the business cards of Ukraine and the most popular illustration of the Dniester River canyon, which surrounds Zalishchyky in almost the entire diameter. The spirit is simply captivating!
The forests and meadows of the Ukrainian mountains become even more impressive in autumn, especially when it is possible to see this beauty from above. The grandeur of the autumn Carpathians from a bird's eye view is truly fascinating. This is the only time of the year when each tree acquires a special shade, and the atmosphere in the meadows becomes especially calm. We also contemplated this beauty while driving on a special vehicle along the Svydovets ridge. Alpine lakes sparkle in the rays of the gentle sun and attract visitors with their purity and coolness. Students also climbed the highest peak of the Svydovets ridge – Mount Blyznytsia in 1883, which offers magnificent views of Hoverla, Petros, Hamster and other peaks.
Dzhurynsky waterfall – the highest waterfall on the territory of plain Ukraine – fascinates with its murmur. It is considered one of the most picturesque and interesting places in Ternopil region. Getting to the hydrological monument of nature is not easy, but it does not stop those who want to get a sea of positive emotions. Dzhurynsky waterfall has another name – Chervonogorodsky. Jurin is the name of the local river, a tributary of the Dniester. But the ancient city of Chervonohrad is no longer on any map of the world, only the ruins, which we also climbed.
We visited the only museum in Ukraine and in the world "Pysanka" in Kolomyia. The uniqueness of the museum is that its architectural structure is made in the form of a giant Easter egg 14 meters high and 10 meters in diameter. The premises of the Pysanka Museum are made of amazing colored glass. Impressive richness of beautiful ornaments, which decorated the upper part of the building. It combines the wonderful world of beauty and mysterious symbols of Easter eggs.
Our group also attended a master class on making Carpathian cheeses at the Khata-Staya Museum. Staya is an artisanal Hutsul cheese factory with a cauldron over an open hearth. It is in such huts-stables that shepherds in the meadows cook Polonyn cheeses all summer – budz, wurdu and brynza. We saw this process with our own eyes and joined the work with our own hands. At the end of the tour they tasted their own cheese. It was delicious!
The Carpathians are picturesque at any time and the autumn Carpathians are simply mesmerizing! Autumn is the most mysterious time that awakens mixed feelings in people, encourages them to take unexpected actions, makes them think about many things… And autumn is those touching days that the World holds, never repeating twice in a row. At such moments, a new space is reopened for a person, full of impressions and amazing hopes.
Our journey has come to an end, but life continues and there are so many unexplored places in Ukraine! Everyone returned home with a lot of impressions and unforgettable emotions!
