Yavirnyk tourist shelter

Tourist shelters

Before I start talking about Yavirnyk, I would like to mention a few more shelters and kolybas that exist in the Ukrainian Carpathians. In general, there are enough of them, but not many of them are in good condition, so here's a list from us:

1. Yavirnyk shelter is located at the beginning of the Yavirnyk ridge near the town of Velykyi Bereznyi. Nearby is the route to the Yavirnyk mountain 1017m
2. Shelter under Smotrych - is located at the beginning of the route to Pip Ivan Chornohirsky at the exit from the village of Dzembronia. From the shelter you can climb the mountain Pip Ivan Chornohirsky
3. Kolyba on the Borsuchyna meadow - located halfway to Mount Kukul, if you go from the road behind Vorokhta. From the hut you can climb the Kukul ridge.
4. Marmaros Rescue Hut is a shelter on the Strunga meadow. Now this hut is closed because it is located a few meters from the state border. From this hut, one could climb to Pip Ivan of Marmaros.
5. The ecological point “Peremichka” is a hut on the pass between Hoverla and Petros. From there you can climb Hoverla and Petros.
6. Kolyba Plisce is a route from the village of Osmoloda, where you can plan a hike in the Western Gorgany.
7. TT Shelter - a route from the town of Skole, the hut is located near the top of Mount Parashka.
8. Edelweiss huts on the Yavirnyk meadow - located near Yaremche, the huts are open only in the warm season. The route can be built to Mount Yavirnyk-Horgan and Mount Zhenets.
9. The shelter near Chyvchyn - this shelter is in an abandoned state and is located on the Chyvchyn ridge, which is also closed to the public now. But in the future, this shelter will be perfect if you are traveling around Chivchyny.
10. White Elephant. “Gadzhyna” is a hut located near the village of Bystrets. The hut offers routes to the Spikes, Ribs, Chornohora, and Kostrych Ridge.

We stayed in each of these kolybas and I must say that the conditions there are quite normal to include in your travel plan.

What did we like about this shelter?

1. It's a very easy route, and it's a beautiful place that offers gorgeous views; in good weather, you can even see the High Tatras.
2. The shelter is very well thought out: there is heating that is not turned off to save money, motion sensors to turn off and on the lights, a sufficient number of showers, sinks and toilets. A spacious kitchen and all the equipment for cooking, rooms for 2-3 people, and others to make everyone comfortable. And there are many such moments for convenience and leisure.
3. There is a large area around and you can hold mass events, even weddings, birthdays, or something else. There is a large gazebo, a vat outside, and a barbecue stove.
4. What surprised me was the way to the kolyba: as soon as you leave the main street of the city, you come across the Roma quarter, the road there is as bad as it gets, pit upon pit, but when you pass this part, the asphalt road continues uphill in a much better condition. Just so you understand, in Dzembronia, where several hundred people live, such a road is as far as the eye can see.
5. This is the flavor of this place. A well-known artist and sculptor, Yanko Derevlianyi, lives next door to the kolyba, and you've probably seen a program about him somewhere or read about him in Ukraїner's materials.
6. The most important thing is the owner of the shelter and his contribution to the development of the Carpathian infrastructure, but I'll talk about that separately.
7. The infrastructure around the shelter, several hiking and biking routes have been developed here, which Oleksandr and his team are updating and marking. If you are a fan of cycling, you can also try the bike route.

The route to the shelter

The shelter is quite easy to get to, you can drive from Lviv (206 km) or Uzhhorod (42 km) to Velykyi Bereznyi. There will be 3 checkpoints in front of the town, some soldiers may ask you for permission to stay in the border area, but this is not required for Yavirnyk, mostly because they do not know all the requirements and are playing it safe, as they see all tourists with backpacks as fleeing across the border. In the worst case, if you have your military registration documents with you, you will be detained for 2-3 hours and then released.

The walking route should start from the point indicated on the map, you can leave the car there under the chapel, or near the house on the hill - friends of the owner of the Yavirnyk shelter live there. On the spot, you will understand which house we are talking about, there is only one, and you will not have to worry about the safety of your property.

The owner of the Yavirnyk shelter is Oleksandr Bursanov

We cannot but tell you about the owner of this shelter, who restored it and thanks to whom it exists. He is also the head of the Carpathian Trails Society, and it is this organization that is responsible for marking hiking trails in the Carpathians and developing the tourist infrastructure. Can you imagine for a moment how you would walk in the mountains if the routes were not marked?

Sashko has a recording of a stream in which he discussed important issues of creating and maintaining tourist routes. In general, it is interesting to listen to his thoughts to understand what contribution he has made to the development of the Carpathian routes.