Bukovets

Bukovets is a village in the Verkhovyna district. Within the village there is the Bukovetskyi pass with a height of 810 m (according to other sources - 835 m), near which there is a natural monument - the rocks "Pysanyi Kamen".

To the south of the village is Mount Varatyn (1038 m), and to the north is the Igrets ridge. A mountain road to Mount Pysanyi Kamin (1221 m) begins from Bukovets, on the top of which stands a rock with numerous carved inscriptions and signs. Probably, in the distant pre-Christian times, the Pysanyi Kamen was a pagan temple.

The village is one of the highest villages in Ukraine, located on a mountain saddle between the Pysanyi Kamen and Igrets mountains. That is why it is also called the "village on the seven winds". The village is located on the left bank of the Bukovets stream, the left tributary of the Black Cheremosh.

Pysanyi Kamen is a geological natural monument of local importance in Ukraine; a group of picturesque rocks. It is located in Verkhovyna district of Ivano-Frankivsk region, a few kilometers southeast of the village of Bukovets and the Bukovets Pass. The area of the protected area is 5 hectares. It is under the jurisdiction of the Verkhovyna MHL. The stone got its name from carvings (petroglyphs), the oldest of which dates back to the times of Kyivan Rus. According to some assumptions, in the past there was a pagan temple on the rocks. The remains of the temple are considered to be nine round recesses-bowls that are carved into the stone. On the inner walls of some of the recesses there are distinct traces of hollowing out by some sharp object. The bottom of some of them shows signs of burnt stone. There are more than 30 symbolic petroglyphs between the "bowls" and around them.

The Pysanyi Kamen is an interesting historical and geological landmark. The rocks offer a majestic panorama of mountain ranges and peaks. Ivan Franko, Lesya Ukrainka, Mykhailo Kotsiubynskyi and other Ukrainian cultural figures often visited the site.

The legend of the Pysanyi stone

A long time ago, the surrounding mountains were inhabited by tribes of carps, who gave the Carpathians their name. They were giant people, like mythical titans, endowed with extraordinary strength. So, they rolled these stones here to immortalize the memory of their stay here, buried their treasures and covered them with stones. Since then, people have been coming here to worship the powerful spirit of their ancestors.

Mountain Search and Rescue Service, Verkhovyna village, +38 (03432) 2-19-41, +38 (067) 342-04-96.