Of many natural parks and reserves of Ukraine National Park «Hutsulschyna» occupies a special place. Its territory is the heart of the Hutsul land. Here are the most important riches of Hutsulschyna — ancient architecture, virgin nature of incredible beauty and its indigenous people — Carpathian mountaineers, who for centuries carefully preserve their ancient customs and traditions.
The Hutsulschyna National Park is located within the boundaries of Kosovsky district of Ivano-Frankivsk region, its borders stretch 29 km from northwest to southeast and 20 km from northeast to southwest, and its area is 32.2 thousand hectares. All these are lands of great historical and cultural value, with inspiringly beautiful nature and the most diverse recreational resources.
NPP «Hutsulschyna» was established in 2002 by the Decree of the President of Ukraine to preserve the richest flora and fauna, as well as the unique ethno-cultural environment formed here, which have great health-improving, historical, cognitive, scientific and aesthetic value.
Scattered in the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains authentic villages with colorful houses and famous for their amazing beauty Hutsul temples, ancient fairy-tale forests, rivers and waterfalls beckon all those who spend their holiday in Kosovo, a visit to the park is an immersion into a fantastic world of natural beauty and unique Hutsul land.
The forests are one of the main riches of the park. It is probably impossible to see so many species of trees at once anywhere else in the world. Beech, birch, hornbeam, fir, spruce, poplar, ash, elm, oak, white acacia and even more rare black alpine pine grow here. Among thousands of plants there are a lot of endemic, rare and endangered — 65 species of plants are included in the Red Book of Ukraine. The fauna of the park is also rich and diverse, and the Red Book includes 16 species of vertebrates and 4 species of insects. The most common «inhabitants» of the park are brown bears, Carpathian deer and European roe deer.
It seems that the nature in the park «Hutsulschina» has been preserved as it was hundreds, maybe thousands of years ago. The splendor of the forest landscapes is rivaled by the mountain reservoirs flowing through the park, the most famous of which are Ribnitsa, Pistynka, Lyuchka and Cheremosh, tributaries of Prut. Cheremosh, which is considered to be one of the visiting cards of Gutsulshchina, is most of all famous because of its stormy temper and picturesqueness. Every river and every mountain stream surprises with its crystal purity, but the local water bodies are even more impressive where nature decided to fantasize and show its character. Flowing through the mountainous terrain, the river waters form splashes, rolls and even waterfalls. Because of the noise created in such places, the locals call them «gukas» — these are the most popular places of recreation in the park.
Walking through the park, one can’t help but notice the beautiful mountain scenery. Park «Hutsulschina» is the gate of the Ukrainian Carpathians, starting from here, the green giants, striving higher and higher into the sky, become bigger and bigger. The highest point of the park is Mount Hregit, 1472 meters above sea level, its slopes are covered with stone placers, because of which it got such a name. Rocky ledges on Mount Gregit and other peaks, reaching up to 40 m, have made recreation in the park popular among mountain climbers as well.
In the park «Hutsulschina» you can see, in addition to picturesque natural panoramas, and real architectural masterpieces, recognized throughout the world attractions of the Carpathians — wooden Hutsul churches. Many sanatoriums and vacation homes here are also built in the Hutsul style, which makes the pictures even more fabulous and impressive. And everyone can relax surrounded by such beauty — you just have to want to!