Synevir Lake

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Synevir Lake

Synevir Lake

The Carpathians is a region of wilderness and the center of Ukrainian green tourism. This is the place where you still can see ancient beech forests, rare trees and plants and abundant mushrooms and berries. The part of Ukraine which has the best ecology is considered Mezhgirsky district of the Transcarpathians, lying on the branches of the Gorgansky mountain ridge. This area has a kind of magnetic attraction for fans of wild nature. It is crowded with tourists at any season of the year: in spring they enjoy the blossom of mountain plains (they are called polonyna in the Carpathians), in summer they take hiking tours to mountain tops, in autumn they gather berries and mushrooms, and ski in winter.

One of the most picturesque nooks of Carpathian nature is high-altitude lake Synevir. The blue mirror of the water, steep banks covered with centuries-old smereka (Carpathian spruce), and a majestic mountain range — all this beauty is just bound to linger in your mind.

The lake is situated at 989 meters above sea level; its total surface area is about seven hectares. The lake bottom is formed by two adjacent depressions separated by an underwater range. The average depth is about 8 meters, and the maximum depth is 22 meters. Due to absence of chlorides in the water, it has a peculiar taste. The lake is rich in trout.

Around the lake, a recreation zone is arranged, with a small wooden hotel, a kolyba and fanciful garden- houses along the banks.

In the center of the lake lies a small island, related to a romantic legend of Synevir’s origin. The story tells us of a count s daughter and a simple shepherd who fell in love with each other in spite of the father’s will. The count ordered his servants to kill the boy and they threw a huge boulder from the mountain on him. The grief of the girl was unalloyed; she cried bitterly over the stone and soon her tears filled the whole meadow and covered the poor creature. Thus the lake with a stone — island appeared, and it got its name from the unfortunate lovers — Syn and Vir. In the memory of the legendary characters, a beautiful wooden sculpture by I. Browdie and M. Sanich was erected on the bank of the lake. If you want you may take a ride on the boat to the island.

From Ozerna Mountain (1496 m) you can see a picturesque view of the lake. The 12-km distance from its top to the Synevir is marked with special signs. From the distance the lake looks like an eye with a pupil (the island) in the middle. For this likeness, it is called “The sea eye of the Carpathians”.

This district has also a number of ski resorts, with most well known of them situated in the village Podobovets, Pylypets, Izki and Mezhgirya. Besides the district villages have many old wooden churches.

Synevir lake. Location on map
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