Hidden mountains near Kyiv

The popular name of this location refers to the nearest town Vasylkiv and the name of the only (real) mountains in Ukraine - the Carpathians.

Vasylkiv Carpathians

But you wonder why hidden, and how is it possible at all to hide a mountain? (look, they are over there!)

This is a good point. Indeed, this place is located by the road but you most likely wouldn't spotted it when passing by. It's because it looks like mountains, but only if you stand ... at the bottom of the ravine. But what a ravine! 😍

First failure

I came here last fall during the mild and colorful season when any picture you capture in nature looks awesome. The roadside was all parked, and the field was full of people - wandering around, climbing, posing or waiting for their turn to pose. Crazy 😁

However, I took wonderful pictures on the sunset and was going to write a post about it but... I deleted them. Completely. I did it by accident and worst of all - I used Shift+Del so all pictures were removed past the Recycle Bin.

I was angry at myself but eventually accepted it as a second chance. A few weeks ago, unexpected circumstances allowed me to visit there again.

The lucky chance or ... not

As you may remember, my hubby is in the army now, apparently till the end of the war.

One day on Wednesday, he returned home in the middle and called me to make my day - "I got 4 days off!" Four days off in a row, what a fortune! We could make a mini-trip, maybe spend a few days in quiet somewhere in the mountains. I know Nick admires mountains. But Carpathians are in the west of Ukraine, and it took a whole day to drive there. So I urgently contacted my manager and team, took days off, and rushed home dreaming of a future trip.

When I came home it turned out that my hubby made other plans. I mean, sometimes life decides on its own, without asking us. On the first day of four, he should go to the office. He is still busy with his "before-the-war" job when he has spare time because... well, this company is like a second family, even for me.

Minus 1 day, but we still make a long trip, book a hotel. Or... not. As a military man, he is not allowed blah blah blah. WTF!

I was upset and disappointed but didn't feel like returning to my work. I have days off! So I arranged two 1-day trips on two separate days. Still not too bad, huh? 😉

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Breakfast in the nature

You should start your day early if you want to go far and see a lot. Nick must get up early every day no matter what, vacation or day off. So we just grabbed our backpacks, food and coffee, checked the location on Google Maps and got on our way.

Martial law constantly made adjustments to our plans and routes. We turned around twice and changed routes because the trespassing was closed in certain places.☠️👮🤷‍♀ But the weather was just wonderful, and besides, I haven't left the city in a long time and this small adventure made me so excited.

Vasylkiv is famous for its military airfield. It is where the military aviation unit is based, the pilot (or pilots) of which received the name "Ghost of Kyiv". Russian troops tried to capture it on the very first night/day of the invasion, they landed an amphibious assault here, and it was dangerous here for some time afterward.

But that day we were the only ones for miles around. Everything was perfect.

Sometimes the hills looked like giant green waves rolling smoothly to the bottom of the ravine. Against their background, slender birches seemed even more elegant.

Enjoy!

The other side of the field looked like some giant had carved pieces of earth here, just as you cut a piece of pie for your guests. There were whole trees lying in the deep ravines, and it was a little scary to stand on the edge.

This was not the spot I visited last year, and it turned out much better than I thought it would. Now it's time to check the popular one. You will see trodden paths but now this deserted area looks completely different.

That's all folks.

Thanks for your time,

@zirochka