CARPATHIANS

GENERAL INFORMATION:
Big mountain system of the Carpathians begins near Bratislava in Slovakia and ends in the South-East not far from the “Iron Gates” in Romania. The Carpathians are about 1500 kilometers long. Depending on the location and distinctive features, the Carpathians are divided into Western, Eastern and Southern. Southern Carpathians stretch from the East to the West and consist of five main districts (ridges): Marmoroshsky Alps, Chernogorye, Svidovetskiy Ridge, Gorganskiy Ridge and Borzhavskiy Ridge. The average height of Ukrainian Carpathians is 1000 meters. The highest peak is Hoverla – 2016 meters high.

Carpathian mountains are interesting with ancient forests (unique in the Central Europe) that are preserved on the territory of the mountains. The mountains are flat, without rocky ledges. The peaks are plateaus. Mountain cranberries and bilberries grow on the plateaus. On the mountain sides there are thickets of blackberries. In the summer you can see countless numbers of sheep on the slopes.  Most of the Carpathians are covered with coniferous and beech forests. Besides fir-tree and beech you can also find oak, hornbeam, pine-tree, alder, cherry-tree, walnut. On the mountain peaks there are alpine meadows where you can find various kinds of plants. Many rivers of the western region of Ukraine spring out here – Prut, Cheremosh, Limnitsa (which is considered one of the cleanest rivers in Europe). Karst caves and rock-salt deposits generated in the mountains many hundreds of years ago. Above the salt deposits there are salt lakes resembling “The Dead Sea” of Israel with their therapeutic characteristics. The climate is mild in the Carpathians as they are situated in the centre of Europe. High mountains protect the region from cold northern winds and moist continental climate makes for warm summers and mild winters.
POPULATION OF THE CARPATHIANS UKRAINE:
Representatives of more than 76 different nationalities reside on the territory of Ukrainian Carpathians. The majority of population is Ukrainians. Transcarpathian Ukrainians are divided into four special ethnographic groups: Boyki, Lemki, Hutsuly, Dolynyane. The Carpathians are also home for Hungarians, Russians, Romanians, Gypsies, Slovenians, Germans, Hebrews, Byelorussians, Czechs, Poles, Italians, Armenians, Azerbaijanians and representatives of other nationalities. 
CARPATHIAN FLORA:
Carpathian flora is rich, various and colorful. Forests are the best decoration and the greatest pride of the mountains. Nearly two thousand kinds of plants grow here. Flora consists mostly of different kinds of mid-European broad-leaved forests. They make up nearly 35% of the flora. They are beeches, hornbeams, oaks, lindens, maples. European Siberian plants amount about 30% of the flora. You can also see some of the steppe flora and Crimean-Caucasian plants. About 2% of Ukrainian Carpathian plants are unique and can only be found here. Some relic plants that are preserved since ancient times grow here as well. Some kinds of plants were brought from Northern and Southern America.
CARPATHIAN FAUNA:
Carpathian fauna is rich and diverse. Spine animals only number more than 435 species. All major animal types are widely presented in the Carpathians: Mammals, Birds, Reptiles, Amphibia, Fish, Insects. Most of Carpathian animals are spread all over the territory of the mountains. They are bear, deer, roe, wild pig, lynx, squirrel, wild cat, ermine, marten, many kinds if Amphibia, fish and birds. They settle on the vast territory between 200 meters and 1850 meters high. There are only two species that live high in the mountains – Alpine shrew and snow vole-mouse. They inhabit the heights of 1650 – 2000 meters.

REST IN THE CARPATHIANS:
If you decided to enter the world of sports tourism, active rest available in the Carpathians is the following: mountaineering (in the Hoverla region as all the mountains nearing two thousand meters in height are situated here); snowboarding (most resorts and health centers, five months in the year starting in November); camping (foot or bike camping – a huge variety of camping life which is not surprising provided with such a landscape); hunting (forests, reserves and sanctuaries are at your disposal); fishing and paragliding.
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The most popular ukrainian carpathians resorts are Slavskoye, Bukovel, Dragobrat. There are slopes of all levels of difficulty. Skiing season lasts since December till March. Tourists who prefer green tourism (horse-riding, swimming in the mountain rivers etc.) or extreme tourism (foot or bike camping in the mountains, jeep riding, paragliding) visit the Carpathians in the summer. Also the Carpathians are a perfect place for treatment and improving health due to plenty mineral springs. The most famous health resorts in the Carpathians are Svalyava, Polyana, Sinyak.
POPULAR RESORTS:
ZAKARPATYE
Antalovtsy •  Beregovo •  Velykiy Berezniy •  Vinogradov •  Volovets-Podobovets •  Dragobrat •  Dubovoye •  Zhdeniyevo •  Irshava •  Krasiya •  Lumshory •  Mezhgorye •  Mukachevo •  Perechin •  Pilipets •  Polyana •  Rakhov •  Svalyava •  Sinyevir •  Sinyak •  Solochin (Kvitka Poloniny) •  Tyachev •  Uzhgorod •  Hust •  Tshinadievo •  Chop •  Shayan •  Ysinya 
IVANO-FRANKIVSKIY DISTRICT
Bukovel •  Verkhovyna •  Vorokhta •  Ivano-Frankivsk •  Kolomiya •  Kosov •  Tatariv •  Sheshory •  Yablunitsa •  Yaremcha
LVIV DISTRICT
Lvov •  Morshin •  Oryavchik •  Rozluch •  Skole •  Slavskoye •  Shodnitsa •  Truskavets •  Tysovets