Gurkalo Waterfall is Ukraine’s Niagara.
The Carpathian Mountains in the center of Europe curve in a powerful horseshoe. Their ridges decorated the territories of 8 countries. Therefore, vacation in the Carpathians is available for guests and citizens of Slovakia and Austria, Poland and Romania, Czech Republic and Serbia, Hungary and Ukraine. On the territory of this mountainous country, the former Roman colony of Dacia, there are many interesting places — Tatras, Pienina, Gerlachovský Štítít and Transylvanian plateau with Gospodar the Bloodsucker. But not one bit inferior to the out-of-town ones are the attractions of Skole, located in the Ukrainian Carpathians.
An obligatory component of rest in these places is a visit to the Gurkalo waterfall. It is located on the territory of National Park «Skolivskie Beskidy». This is the southern part of the Lviv region, Skolivsky district, the vicinity of the village Korchyn. From the center of the village to the waterfall — 6 km, from the edge of the village — 3 km. Those who start the route from the railway station «Skole» should walk 12 km to the «noisy water». An alternative way of approaching Gurkal is a marked trail from the village of Krushelnitsy, known for its preserved wooden bridge.
Interestingly, in the standard «Atlas of the Motor Tourist» this attraction of Skole is called Turkalo Waterfall, which slightly perverts the character of this hydrological object. Those who regularly go on vacation to Skole know that the waterfall is reached by a broken dirt road, difficult for cars and very pleasant for pilgrims on foot.
The waterfall itself is a part of the channel of the Big River, the right tributary of the Stryj, into which it flows near the mentioned village Korchin. The height from which the noisy water mass comes down is 5 meters. Just like Niagara Falls, Gurkalo is divided by an argilite ledge into two jets. The left half — «Canadian», is much more powerful than the right half — «American». If the summer is dry, then by August there is nothing left from the right half of the watercourse that could be called by the loud word «Gurkalo». But in May, when the snow begins to melt en masse on the Parashka and the water rushes down, both streams in unison show visitors who is the noisiest attraction of Skole.
The same «loud water» has carved out a nice depression in the place of its fall, popularly known as the «bathtub of youth». With a depth of more than 2 meters and a diameter of 10 meters, a rejuvenating thalassotherapy session in this improvised pool can be available simultaneously to 5 people staying here on vacation from Skole.
The surroundings of Gurcalo are dark forests of spruce and beech trees. Ivy and mosses cover the outcrops of flysch rocks, making this section of the Great River as romantic as the walls of an English castle. Above the waterfall there are a few rolls, claiming the title of Small Gurkal, and in the neighborhood of the head of the water family you can find a couple of glades, suitable for a short vacation in the Carpathians in tents, with mushroom picking and dinner by the fire. Not far from this natural monument there is Kichera Mountain, known as a place of deployment of the UPA.
One of the advantages of vacationing in Skole is the opportunity to visit the Gurkalo waterfall. This small but very noisy attraction of Skole, has the ability to mesmerize tourists, reanimate their souls and return tone to their bodies. Thanks to the beauty of the local waterfall, endless succession of ridges and oxygenated atmosphere, vacation in the Carpathians becomes an alternative to the best climatic resorts in the world.