In the Ukrainian Carpathians, there are two peaks named Pip Ivan. One of them is located in Ukraine’s highest and most popular mountain range, Chornohora, hence the peak’s name, Pip Ivan Chornohora (2,028 m), or Pipivan, or Black Mountain. It is the third-highest peak in the Carpathians and the easternmost of the six two-thousanders. Its significantly lower namesake, Pip Ivan Marmaroshsky (1,936 m), is located in the Marmarosy mountain range.

The mountain is located in the southeastern part of the mountain range, on the border of Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast and Zakarpattia Oblast. Mount Pip Ivan Chornohora on Google Maps. Photos by: Alexander Kotenko.

the main sight of the mountain

Tags: Ivano-Frankivsk oblast · Zakarpattia oblast

Polissia is a historical, cultural and physical-geographical region located on the territory of the Polissia Lowland.

It is located primarily in the south of Belarus and the north of Ukraine, but also partially covers the territories of the Lublin Voivodeship of Poland and the Bryansk Oblast of Russia.

folk architecture of Polissya

Tags: Kiev city · museum

In Ukraine, there are only three monasteries, which have the highest spiritual title of Lavra – Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, Pochayiv Lavra and Sviatohirsk Lavra.

The Holy Assumption Sviatohirsk Lavra (also known as The Holy Mountains Lavra, Sviatohirsk Cave Monastery), an important spiritual center of eastern Ukraine and southern Russia, was first mentioned in written sources in 1526. Sviatohirsk Lavra on Google Maps. Photos by: Alexey Novik.

beautiful monastery

Tags: church · Donetsk oblast

Hoverla (in Romanian, “Howarla” means “insurmountable height”) is the highest mountain and the highest point in Ukraine (2,061 m above sea level). It is located on the border of Zakarpattia Oblast and Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, approximately 17 km from the Ukrainian border with Romania.

It’s a popular destination for summer and winter tourism. The first hiking route up the mountain was opened in 1880. In the north, you can see the cities of Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast: Ivano-Frankivsk, Kolomyia, and Snyatin. Mount Hoverla on Google Maps. Photos by: Alexey Medvedev.

winter on Mount Hoverla

Tags: Ivano-Frankivsk oblast · Zakarpattia oblast

Berdychiv, a historic city with a population of about 73 thousand people, is located 41 km south of Zhytomyr. In total, there are more than 90 monuments of history, architecture and monumental art here.

One of the most interesting architectural monuments of Berdychiv is the monastery-fortress of the Barefoot Carmelites – the Sanctuary of the Mother of God of the Holy Scapular. For Roman Catholics in Ukraine, it is the main pilgrimage site. Berdychiv on Google Maps. Photos by: Maxim Ritus.

beautiful architectural monument

Tags: Berdychiv city · Zhitomir oblast

Korostyshivsky quarry is a picturesque flooded granite quarry located on the outskirts of the town of Korostyshiv in Zhytomyr Oblast, about 30 km east of Zhytomyr and 100 km west of Kyiv.

The landscape around the quarry is unusual, the shore is covered with spruces and birches, which resembles Karelia (Russia). The height of the rocks reaches about 10 m, the depth of the artificial lake is up to 20 m. This place has become a popular object of industrial tourism and a natural landmark. Korostyshiv Quarry on Google Maps. Photos by: Igor Golovach.

walk along the shore of an artificial lake

Tags: abandoned · Zhitomir oblast

Khmilnyk is a resort town (a balneological resort, one of the radon resorts in Ukraine) with a population of about 27 thousand people located in the north-west of Vinnytsia Oblast, about 63 km from Vinnytsia.

The most interesting architectural monument of this town is the Palace of Count Konstantin Ksido (1911-1915), built by the architect Ivan Fomin on the foundations of a 16th-century Lithuanian castle. Khmilnyk on Google Maps. Photos by: Maxim Ritus.

very unusual palace

Tags: Vinnitsa oblast

The Palanok Castle or Mukachevo Castle is a very picturesque castle located in the city of Mukachevo in Zakarpattia Oblast of Ukraine.

It is a unique example of medieval fortification architecture with a combination of different styles, an architectural monument of national importance. Today, the Mukachevo Castle houses a historical museum. Photos by: Maxim Ritus.

beautiful medieval castle

Tags: fortress · Mukachevo city · Zakarpattia oblast

Stare Selo is a village with a population of about 2,100 people located in Lviv Oblast, about 27 km southeast of the center of Lviv. Stare Selo was first mentioned in 1442. In 1498, it was destroyed by the Ottomans, in 1648 – by the Crimean Tatars.

The main attraction of this place is its gradually crumbling castle – an architectural monument of national importance, the largest castle in Lviv Oblast and one of the largest castles in Ukraine. The Stare Selo Castle on Google Maps. Photos by: Maxim Ritus.

picturesque abandoned castle

Tags: fortress · Lviv oblast

Ostroh, first mentioned in 1100, is a town with a population of about 14 thousand people located in the south of Rivne Oblast. The main attraction of this town is its old castle located on the top of a 20-meter hill above the valley of the Viliy River. It was built on the site of a wooden fortification destroyed by the Mongols in 1241.

In the 14th-16th centuries, it was the residence of the House of Ostrogski – one of the most prominent families in the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Ostroh Castle on Google Maps. Photos by: Maxim Ritus.

fly over the Ostroh Castle

Tags: fortress · Rivne oblast