In the Land of the Hutsuls: A Visit to the Town of Rakhiv

June 28, 2022June 22, 2023 Koen 0 Comments

In this destination guide we visit the town of Rakhiv in the Zakarpattia Region of Western Ukraine, which is home to the ethnic Hutsuls.

A visit to Rakhiv

After a long journey by train and bus from Romania, I had finally arrived in the town of Rakhiv in Ukraine’s south-western region of Zakarpattia (Transcarpathia).

To me, Rakhiv looked like the ideal place to break up my long trip from Bucharest to Mariupol and a fine travel destination in its own right.

After all, Rakhiv is located in the Carpathian Mountains and the region is home to the ethnic subgroup of the Hutsuls, so it sounded like a scenic and interesting place to visit.

Having checked into the old-fashioned but clean and affordable Hotel Europa, it was time to explore the town.

rakhiv ukraine — *Walking along the main road in Rakhiv. ©Paliparan*

carpathians ukraine town — *Block of flats and houses alongside a small creek. ©Paliparan*

ukrainian army reservist poster — *Poster calling up people to become a reservist in the Ukrainian Army. ©Paliparan*

The land of the Hutsuls

The first sight on my list was the Museum of Hutsul Bryndza, located a short walk away from the town centre along the main road towards the south.

This museum has generally excellent online reviews and it is said to be a great way to experience Hutsul culture.

The Hutsuls are an ethnic group living in the Carpathian Mountains on both sides of the border between Ukraine and Romania.

They are well-known for their colourful clothing, craftsmanship and pastoral lifestyle.

It’s therefore not surprising that the museum is not only dedicated to Hutsul culture but also towards their reputation as shepherds and makers of cheese.

Unfortunately, the Hutsul museum seemed to be closed when I arrived and nobody answered when I rang the bell or called the phone number, although there was a cute cat patrolling the premises which did make up for it.

Another small museum dedicated to the Hutsuls in the centre of town was unfortunately closed too.

snowy road — *Walking along the main road towards the Hutsul museum. ©Paliparan*

soviet apartment block — *Into the suburbs of the town. ©Paliparan*

rakhiv road hutsuls — *Walking along the main road, which links Rakhiv to Solotvyno in the south and Tatariv in the north. ©Paliparan*

ukraine road sign — *Turn left for the city of Ivano-Frankivsk and right for Mukachevo and Uzghorod. ©Paliparan*

cat ukraine hutsuls — *Hutsul museum cat. ©Paliparan*

Back to the city centre

As the museum was closed, there was no other option than to head back to the town centre.

This time I opted for an alternative way as I went off the main road and walked to the riverside.

Rakhiv is located in the valley of the River Tisza, which has its source in the Ukrainian Carpathians and flows from this city to the south, where it forms the border with Romania.

The Tisza eventually flows into Hungary and streams into the mighty Danube near the city of Novi Sad in Serbia, making it one of Eastern Europe’s most important rivers.

From a small pedestrian suspension bridge I enjoyed the wonderful views over the ice cold waters of the river and the snowy mountains before walking onward to the city centre.

rakhiv street — *Walking towards the banks of the River Tisza. ©Paliparan*

pedestrian suspension bridge river tisza — *Pedestrian suspension bridge over the River Tisza. ©Paliparan*

rakhiv river tisza — *The town of Rakhiv is located in the valley of the River Tisza. ©Paliparan*

river tisza — *From Rakhiv, the Tisza river flows south where it forms the border between Ukraine and Romania. ©Paliparan*

winter street hutsuls — *Woman and child walking on the winter streets of Rakhiv. ©Paliparan*

woman child walking — *Walking through the streets of Rakhiv. ©Paliparan*

*Different styles of housing in Rakhiv. ©Paliparan*

river creek town — *Little river flowing through town. ©Paliparan*

Coffee break

If you need a place in Rakhiv with good-quality coffee, tasty cakes, friendly service and reliable WiFi internet, look no further than Coffee Jazz.

Located on the main thoroughfare, this was my to-go café in Rakhiv to warm up with a steaming cup of coffee and some tasty food.

As I was already walking for quite a while through the snow, the coffee and cake were certainly welcomed!

coffee cake rakhiv — *Coffee and cake at ‘Coffee Jazz’ in Rakhiv. ©Paliparan*

A foreshadowing

When I was making my way to the Greek-Catholic church of Rakhiv, I suddenly encountered a large funeral procession.

A priest and three people carrying a large crucifix and religious banners were walking in front of a flatbed lorry with a coffin placed on top, behind which a few dozen people were walking.

To me, it felt like some kind of foreshadowing as at the time of my visit Russia was already amassing huge numbers of soldiers and military equipment at the border with Ukraine.

Indeed, just weeks later Russia invaded Ukraine and tens of thousands more innocent soldiers and civilians have lost their lives as a result of it.

rakhiv greek-catholic church — *The Greek-Catholic church in Rakhiv. ©Paliparan*

cemetery rakhiv ukraine — *Rakhiv cemetery. ©Paliparan*

funeral procession ukraine — *A funeral procession making its way to the Greek-Catholic church. ©Paliparan*

funeral procession — *Funeral procession. ©Paliparan*

church funeral — *Sadly, Ukraine would see many more of such funeral processions in the weeks and months after my visit.. ©Paliparan*

Rakhiv city centre

From the church I headed back down to Vulytsya Myru (Peace Street), the main thoroughfare of Rakhiv.

The area around the Rakhiv District State Administration building is considered to be the heart of the city centre and you can find several shops, cafés and restaurants here.

Close to the District Administration office you can also find the Hutsul Monument – a statue of a man in typical Hutsul dress.

street — *Walking towards the city centre. ©Paliparan*

Vulytsya Myru rakhiv — *On the main street of Vulytsya Myru you can find plenty of shops and cafés. ©Paliparan*

rakhiv city centre — *Rakhiv city centre. ©Paliparan*

hutsul monument hutsuls rakhiv — *The Hutsul monument in the city centre of Rakhiv is dedicated to the culture of the ethnic Hutsuls. ©Paliparan*

rakhiv district state administration building — *The Rakhiv District State Administration building. ©Paliparan*

government building ukraine — *The district administration building basically looks like any other communist-era government building you’ll find throughout the former Soviet Union. ©Paliparan*

*The main street next to the district office. ©Paliparan*

SIM card

As I knew that war was looming and wanted to ensure I would be informed about all the latest developments and get news updates about the situation at the border at any time during my journey east, I visited a local shop to buy a SIM card.

For the price of just 3 euro I got a Ukrainian SIM card and 25gb of mobile data – which had to be one of the best deals I ever got during my travels.

More importantly, it was an extremely easy and fast process as not even a passport nor any paperwork were needed to get a SIM card – a big contrast to the two I bought on trips in the year before in Egypt and Russia.

shops rakhiv ukraine — *Shops in the town centre of Rakhiv. ©Paliparan*

Rakhiv Churches

Having bought the SIM card, I continued to explore the last few remaining sights of Rakhiv.

In the city centre you can find the Hungarian Catholic church and Ukrainian Orthodox church right next to each other at the riverside.

From the bridge over the River Tisza you have a beautiful view over both churches, the river and the surrounding mountains.

churches rakhiv — *The Catholic and Orthodox churches are located right next to each other. ©Paliparan*

catholic church rakhiv — *The Hungarian Catholic Church. ©Paliparan*

catholic church interior — *A look inside the Catholic church. ©Paliparan*

rakhiv zakarpattia ukraine — *The main Orthodox church in Rakhiv – called the Church of the Holy Spirit – is located on the banks of the River Tisza. ©Paliparan*

orthodox church rakhiv — *The Orthodox Church of the Holy Spirit. ©Paliparan*

bridge river tisza — *View from the main bridge across the River Tisza. ©Paliparan*

rakhiv river tisza ukraine — *From the bridge, you have a beautiful view over the river, valley and mountains. ©Paliparan*

koen rakhiv ukraine — *Yours truly admiring the fine winter views in Rakhiv. ©Paliparan*

Across the river

Across the bridge on the left bank of the River Tisza you can find a pleasant riverside park.

At the waterside a special Epiphany bathing spot was made.

Each year on 19th January, Orthodox Christians across Ukraine celebrate Epiphany by bathing in the icy cold waters of lakes and rivers.

This annual ritual celebrates the baptism of Jesus Christ in the River Jordan, and is also common in Russia and Belarus.

In the same riverside park you can also find a statue of the revered Ukrainian poet and writer Taras Shevchenko.

*Rakhiv’s city centre as seen from the opposite river bank. ©Paliparan*

bathing spot river — *Epiphany bathing spot. ©Paliparan*

*The riverside park on the left bank of the Tisza. ©Paliparan*

park snow — *Walking through the snow-covered grounds of the park. ©Paliparan*

Train and bus station

Just a stone throw away from the riverside park you will find Rakhiv’s train station and adjacent bus station.

From here, trains depart north from Rakhiv towards Ivano-Frankivsk and Lviv, with some even continuing from Lviv to destinations as far east in Ukraine as Kharkiv and Mariupol.

Although the railway line extends southward as well towards the Romanian border, there are currently no passenger services on them, making Rakhiv the terminus station on this line.

The next day I would myself depart from this station on an epic train journey to Mariupol.

rakhiv train station — *Rakhiv train station. ©Paliparan*

rakhiv bus station — *A few metres north of the train station you can find the adjacent bus station. ©Paliparan*

Craft beer

To my pleasant surprise, I came across a small craft beer shop and bar right opposite the train station.

It sold some locally brewed Tsypa craft beers, as well as homemade delicacies such as cheese and chocolate.

I certainly enjoyed tasting a couple of craft beers and chatting with the barkeep about life in Rakhiv and Ukraine and can wholeheartedly recommend the place.

rakhiv craft beer — *The small craft beer shop and bar in Rakhiv. ©Paliparan*

tsypa craft beer food — *Tsypa craft beer and food shop. ©Paliparan*

craft beer ukraine — *Enjoying a locally made Tsypa craft beer. ©Paliparan*

Dinner

Another place in Rakhiv I can certainly recommend is Veranda, the restaurant which I chose to have dinner.

To start, I enjoyed some tasty borsch, followed by the regional speciality of trout which turned out to be great as well.

My only slight complaint about the meal was the (over)use of dill on the potatoes – although that’s something which you just have to live with when travelling in this part of the world..

veranda restaurant — *Veranda restaurant is located right at the riverside. ©Paliparan*

veranda restaurant rakhiv — *Veranda restaurant. ©Paliparan*

borsch ukraine — *A tasty bowl of borsch to start my meal. ©Paliparan*

grilled trout — *Grilled trout as my main course. ©Paliparan*

*Countryside-style baked potatoes with cheese as side dish. ©Paliparan*

coffee water — *Coffee and some water to end a great meal at Veranda. ©Paliparan*

Evening walk

After the excellent dinner I had an evening walk through Rakhiv to digest all the food.

Of course, I couldn’t resist popping into the craft beer bar again for another drink or two.

It didn’t take long until I had enough of all the drinking and eating and decided it was probably best to walk back towards my hotel as I would need all my energy for the long train ride east the next day.

hungarian church — *The Hungarian Catholic Church at night. ©Paliparan*

orthodox church — *Christmas tree and lights in front of the Orthodox Church. ©Paliparan*

*Enjoying a hoppy nightcap at the craft beer bar. ©Paliparan*

hutsul monument rakhiv — *Walking back to my hotel across the Hutsul monument. ©Paliparan*

Conclusion

Rakhiv turned out to be a very pleasant little mountain town and a great place to break up my long journey across Ukraine.

This small city has some surprisingly great cafés, bars and restaurants and is a good place to stock up on supplies if you are heading into the mountains or destinations further afield by train or bus.

Rakhiv and the wider region are well-known as the home of the Hutsuls, although unfortunately all museums dedicated to this ethnic group were closed when I visited.

Although I certainly enjoyed the winter landscapes and my walks around the snowy streets of Rakhiv, I would love to revisit this town as well one day in summer given that it’s a popular destination for mountain hiking.

Trip report index

This article is part of the ‘Mail From Mariupol: A Pre-War Trip to Ukraine by Train‘ trip report, which consists of the following chapters:

1. Review: Night Train Bucharest to Sighetu Marmatiei, Romania
2. At the Sighet-Solotvyno Border: From Romania Into Ukraine
3. Review: Solotvyno to Rakhiv by Bus
4. Review: Hotel Europa, Rakhiv, Ukraine
5. In the Land of the Hutsuls: A Visit to the Town of Rakhiv (current chapter)
6. Rakhiv to Mariupol: Riding Ukraine’s Longest Train Route
7. A Tribute to Mariupol: Memories of a Pre-War Visit
8. Ukrainian Railways Mariupol to Kiev Train in Platzkart
9. Review: Ibis Kyiv Railway Station Hotel
10. Review: Kyiv-Pasazhyrskyi Station First Class Lounge
11. Ukraine Night Train: Over the Mountains to Mukachevo
12. Review: Latorca InterCity Train Mukachevo to Budapest
13. A Short Stopover in Szolnok, Hungary
14. Review: Ister Night Train Budapest to Bucharest
15. Epilogue: Witnessing the Ukrainian Refugee Crisis at the Border