Rakhiv

Rakhiv (Ukrainian: Рахів) is a town in Western Ukraine. It's the highest located town in Ukraine (430 m above sea level).

Understand
It is one of Hutsul culture capitals.



By train
Direct connections with such cities are available: Ivano-Frankivsk, Lviv and others.

Tickets are available on Ukrzaliznytsia website and in mobile app (iOS, Android).

By bus
Buses from Ivano-Frankivsk, Lviv operate daily.

Tickets are available on BlaBlaCar.

Get around
There are regular bus connections (every 1-2 h) from 06:45 to 18:00 between Rakhiv and Luhi (Луги), one starting point for the hike to Hoverla. Check out the exact times at the bus station, so you do not miss the last bus on the way back, otherwise you have to walk for 4 h or hitchhike.

See
Rakhiv is one of the places that consider themselves located in the geographical centre of Europe. See the monument erected by Austro-Hungarian geographers in 1887, located in Dilove village (12 km from Rakhiv).

Do

 * Hiking – Some of the highest mountains in Ukraine are located nearby: Hoverla, Brebeneskul, Pip Ivan.
 * To reach Hoverla, you best catch an early morning bus to Luhi (Луги). You can hike out somewhere else towards the main highway and head back to Rakhiv with another bus. Or you hike back to Luhi and take the same bus out. Otherwise, you can also stay overnight in the national park, there are many huts and shelters that are good if you have a warm sleeping bag. Checkout OpenStreetMap to find the huts - there is even a proper shelter to stay overnight near the summit of Hoverla.
 * Pop Ivan summit (2,022 m) features ruins of a Polish observatory called White Elephant.



Sleep

 * Hotel Rakhiv
 * Hotel Rakhiv
 * Hotel Rakhiv

Go next

 * Chernivtsi – If you want to remain in Ukraine and came from Lviv originally, you can head further to Chernivtsi, which has two slow bus connections (5 hr) per day from Rakhiv.
 * Romania is only a stone's throw away, and Rakhiv is optimal if you planning to head further into this direction.