Boundless expanses and, wherever you look — mountain peaks going into the sky. A picturesque river valley, ancient forests beckoning and mesmerizing. Unique culture and ancestral heritage carried through the centuries. All this is Putila — an amazing village, hidden from random prying eyes in the Bukovina Carpathians on the very border with Romania. A real paradise for fans of green tourism, seeking to relax in the bosom of nature.
For all those who are fascinated by the beauty of pristine nature and inspired by mountain scenery, there is no better place for a vacation. Putila village, lost in the south-west of Chernovickaja region is a place where every person in search of unity with nature will feel that he has achieved the desired. Here it is simply impossible not to be penetrated by all this surrounding beauty.
The ancient history of Putila is one of the advantages of this wonderful place. According to legend, the founders of the settlement in the highest mountainous part of the Carpathians were peasants who fled to the mountains in search of freedom from the arbitrary rule of landlords. Its first mention is found in the documents of 1501, which recorded its transfer by the Polish king’s decision, together with other settlements, to the feudal lord I. Teutulu for making peace between Moldova and Poland.
From time immemorial the mountaineers of the Carpathians have been engaged in animal husbandry, agriculture, various crafts and handicrafts. A special place in the life of the Hutsuls in Putil has always been and is today given to folk art, which is expressed both in crafts and music — locals have been embroidering, weaving carpets, blankets, pysanky, playing trembits, whistles, violins, dulcimers, floyars. The desire to show love to the surrounding world in Putil Hutsuls is expressed in song and dance — if you visit one of the local festivals you can plunge into this amazing atmosphere, forget about all the problems that will seem insignificant compared to the beauty of our world, its greatness, the riches that it bestows on the simplest people. The special attitude to the customs and traditions cherished by the mountaineers in Putil is also expressed in the fact that many schools now have ethnography and folk life museums.
After getting acquainted with the history and customs of local residents you can move on to the architectural beauties — in almost every village of Putila you can find old Hutsul churches: in the village itself it is the church of St. Nicholas built in 1886, and in the neighboring villages there are treasures of cult architecture built in the XVII-XIX centuries. After exploring the man-made beauties, you should appreciate the rich natural heritage of the region.
Around Putila there are mountain peaks and ancient forests on all sides. The local mountains (Yarovitsa, Zhupany, Chorny Dil, etc.) are the highest points of the Bukovyna Carpathians, led by Mount Pop-Ivan with a height of 1582 meters. On their slopes in beech, fir and spruce forests, where there are real «old-timers» 300-400 years old and up to 50 meters high, a truly fairy-tale world lurks. If there are forest elves, fairies and other legendary creatures, they certainly live here — in dense forests of virgin purity and pristine beauty. As for the more «ordinary» forest dwellers, here you can see wild boar, roe deer, Carpathian deer, badger, fox and other animals, including rare and Red Book animals.
The natural sights of Putila are especially famous. Among them are stone cascades, which are a monumental and very impressive sight, found here and there in the forest and river valley, the largest of them reaches a height of 30 meters — it is skala Kamennaya Bogachka. Walking through the forest, you can come across other wonders — numerous deep forest caves, in which according to the legend Oleksy Dovbush himself hid, waterfalls with crystal clear water, there is even a mountain lake! One of the most famous sights of Putila is this very lake — Lake Bukovinskoe-oko, the water mirror of which extends for a whole hectare.
Discover one of the most wonderful places of Ukraine — Putila village, touch this amazing beauty, feel the fantastic atmosphere and be charged with the peaceful energy of this marvelous region.