Led with legends, unique in its beauty, mesmerizing in its mystery Lake Synevir is one of the wonders of Transcarpathia. It is the largest mountain lake in Ukraine, and those who have seen it with their own eyes call Synevir also the most beautiful lake, unusually impressive, a true miracle of nature.
It is here that the creator of nature, who has the most exuberant imagination, has fully embodied his talent. Lake Synevir is surrounded on all sides by majestic mountain massifs: the Kamenka mountain from the north, the Ovcharsky Verkh ridge from the south, the ridge of Borzhava polonina from the west and mount Strymba from the southeast. Because of this location, it is called «A drop of the sea among the mountains», but this is far from being the only epithet. Synevir is often called «The Pearl of the Carpathians», «The Lake of Lovers» and «The Eye of the Sea», and each of the names reflects the legends associated with this unique creation of nature.
According to the legend, the lake owes its appearance to the great love that united the souls of the count’s daughter Sini and the shepherd Vir forever. On the orders of Sinya’s father, who did not want to bless such a union, the servants threw a huge stone on Vir and he died. Sinh, who learned of the incident, ran to the place of her beloved’s death and, embracing his body, cried for days and nights until her tears became a whole lake, which carried the grief-stricken girl into its depths. Today this tragic story is reminded by the tall mahogany sculptural group «Sin and Vir» standing on the shore, created in 1983 by Transcarpathian masters I. Brovdiy and M. Sanich.
Because of this legend Synevir is called the lake of lovers, it is believed that it helps everyone who is capable of true love, and if you come here with a lover, love will bring only joy.
Another legend follows from the first one. A small islet in the middle of the lake is the place where Vir was killed, because of this islet the lake from the height resembles a big eye — you can see it if you climb the Ozernaya Mountain. From the height Synevir really resembles an eye: with its shape, and blue surface, as if iris, and islet-transparent, and framing forests-lashes. More than once, watching the «Sea Eye» from the height of Ozernaya Mountain, people were cured of their long-standing diseases for good.
Why Synevir is also called the pearl of the Carpathians, you can understand at once, if you visit it. Centuries-old fir and beech trees several girths thick, mountain peaks jutting into the clouds, the mirror-like surface of crystal clear water of Synevir, the air fragrant with mountain aromas — all this together makes up a magical atmosphere, which you can feel only with your own eyes contemplating the beauty of this attraction of Transcarpathia — peaceful, quiet, calm.
Since 1974 Lake Synevir as a unique natural treasure was decided to protect. For this purpose a landscape reserve was established, in 1989 it received the status of National Nature Park «Synevir». Over time, the park was expanded to 40.4 thousand hectares, almost 6 thousand of which became a protected area.
Today, the Sinevir Nature Park is not only the famous lake, but also other beautiful and interesting natural sights. Among them are a small Wild Lake, which presents an amazing landscape — a transparent water surface surrounded by forests, an unusual bog Gluhanya, which has a convex spherical surface, the likes of which are no more in the Carpathians, and much more. Each corner of the park is a picturesque picture that opens up to the admiring eye.
Also on the territory of the park there is the unique in the world Lesosplava Museum — an amazing hydraulic engineering structure on the water. It is no exaggeration to say that the Synevir Park contains unique attractions of Ukraine, illustrating the natural beauty and wealth of this wonderful country in the most vivid way.