Gorgany is the wildest and most deserted place in the Carpathians. There are few places left on earth where nature has been preserved in its original form - Gorgany is one of them. Having climbed to the top, you will not see a single village for many kilometers around. You won't find crowds of tourists or idle sightseers here - the impenetrable thickets and harsh climate frighten them. But they attract real adventurers like you and me.
Trek plan
RouteRoute map
Open the map →The GPS track is not digitised yet, the line is approximate (by key points).
Along the trailWhat you will see
Day by dayItinerary
1 Day 1. Ivano-Frankivsk - Osmoloda village - Matagiv ridge (6km)
This trip to the Carpathians, like most others, begins with a group meeting at the railway station in Ivano-Frankivsk. The meeting usually starts at 10 or 11 am. The instructor distributes food and equipment. Then the group moves by minibus to the village of Osmoloda (about 3 hours on the road). We cross the Limnitsa River via a suspension bridge and head to the Cold Beast tract. From here we will begin our climb to the Matakhov ridge, where we will spend the night near a lonely hut, which miraculously climbed into the very depths of a dense forest.
2 Day 2. Vysokaya town (1803m.) - Igrovets town (1804m.) - Pogar valley (12km)
Behind the enchanted forest with fallen spruce trees, thick moss and lush ferns, a rightstock awaits us - a clearing cut into the thickets of the slannik. The trail goes serpentine, approaching the Igrovets ridge (1804m). Here we finally learn what the word Gorgans means - these are huge boulders covered with green lichen. We will camp for the night among the tall grasses of the Pogar meadow.
3 Day 3. Lopushna town (1694 m.) - Sivulya town (1836 m.) - Malaya Sivulya town (1818 m.) (12 km)
From the Pogar valley we will head to the highest peak of Gorgan - Sivule. Having walked along the rocky ridge connecting Sivulya with Malaya Sivulya, we will descend to the Rushchina clearing. The ruins of the old Polish border outpost have been preserved here - the old Polish-Slovak border passed along the Gorgans, as well as along the Montenegrin ridge (see route "Highest Peaks").
4 Day 4. Peklo tract - Tavpishirka - Legions pass - Pantir valley (18 km)
At the very beginning of the fourth day of the hike through the Gorgans, we will pass by the Peklo tract - a huge landslide that fully justifies its name. Along the Taupishirka ridge (a strange place with a specific atmosphere) we will reach the Legions Pass. In memory of those same Legions, a huge cross was erected here. Before spending the night we will walk a little more and stop at the Pantir meadow.
5 Day 5. traverse Durnya - Gropa (1758m) - Bratkivska (1788m) (15km)
We have to climb another ridge. The first of its peaks is called Durnya. The name speaks for itself - the mountain is so overgrown with shlank that it is better to go around it with a traverse. The next few peaks: Gropa, Bratkivskaya will be climbed without problems. After which we will begin our descent from the ridge to spend the night on one of the valleys.
6 Day 6. Descent to the village of Bystritsa - transfer to Ivano-Frankivsk
The trip to the Carpathians is coming to an end. After several hours of winding along hunting trails and logging highways, we will approach the village of Bystritsa. This is a typical example of a Carpathian village lost in the mountains. Local residents have not yet turned into resort servants and live in the old fashioned way by raising livestock and logging. Soon civilization will get here too, we must hurry to see the Carpathians as they are.
We will get to Ivano-Frankivsk at approximately 18:00, so take return tickets for trains leaving no earlier than 19:00.
ReviewsTraveller reviews
In July 2007, I took part in the “Wild Gorgans” hike in the Carpathians and brought back a lot of new impressions from my trip. The Carpathian nature is amazing: spruce and beech forests, thickets of creeping pine and juniper, thick grass in open areas, clear streams and springs, mountain streams running down the rocks - an unforgettable experience.
There are also these stones and small paths that have already been covered by tree branches - you feel like the hero of some adventure film on uninhabited lands.
Bad people really don’t go hiking... Therefore, in the evening around the fire there is complete mutual understanding and fun, which was greatly facilitated by the game “There is Contact.” We laughed until we cried and fell off the logs. Our trip was a success!
You have lost a piece of your heart - there, in the moss, in the forests, in the smells, in the ringing air. You gave a little bit of yourself to your group, you remember the guide as the main person in the world.
It was a wonderful trip, wonderful company, the best instructor I have ever walked with, and even three days of nasty weather could not leave a dark imprint on this week-long fairy tale.
For anyone who is hesitant to go hiking or not, I can say with confidence that only those who have never been on a hike don’t like going on a hike. Anyone who goes camping at least once will no longer be able to deny themselves this pleasure.
So it was beautiful, fun, interesting, tasty, good and pleasant... Soul and body demand the continuation of the Marlezon ballet... See you soon...
In general, if you have a need to be “alone with yourself, but not alone,” go to the mountains. And if you want mysticism, go see an instructor. For everyone who wants to hear mystical tales and real night stories of the Carpathians - this is Oleg Boyko (our instructor, the Klondike Man of tourist stories).
The hike in Gorgany turned out to be incredibly interesting! These yellow alien stone landscapes, soft fairy-tale forests, waves of mountain ranges around from horizon to horizon - all this is a real natural treasure. Despite the fact that the hike requires a lot of effort, the impressions of the Carpathians provide so much energy that you don't have time to spend all of it during the hike.
I advise everyone who is thinking about going or not to go to the Carpathians without hesitation! Just read carefully about your route, about possible weather conditions and prepare good equipment. Then neither storm, nor rain, nor wind will disturb you. Love the mountains and they will love you!
