Mount Hrab

Hrab is a summit in the Polonyna Borzhava massif (Ukrainian Carpathians) on the border of the Svaliava and Mizhhiria districts of Zakarpattia Oblast, south-west of the village of Potik. Its height is 1,374 m according to OpenStreetMap and 1,378 m according to Ukrainian Wikipedia. The foot of the mountain is covered with virgin beech forest with scattered spruce and fir; higher up are meadows and large patches of bilberry. Hrab lies in the eastern part of Borzhava next to Zhyd-Mahura (1,517 m); besides Potik, the nearest villages are Bukovets and Richka.

How to get there

More than ten of our routes along the main Borzhava ridge cross or pass Hrab:

• Bereznyky — Mt Hrab — Mt Zhyd-Mahura — Mt Hemba — Shypit waterfall, 25.8 km, the shortest option that crosses the summit;
• Tiushka — Mt Zhyd-Mahura — Mt Hemba — Mt Velykyi Verkh — Volovets, 35.2 km;
• Rychka — Mt Zhyd-Mahura — Mt Hemba — Shypit waterfall — Mt Velykyi Verkh — Volovets, 40.3 km;
• Mizhhiria — Mt Zhyd-Mahura — Mt Hemba — Mt Stii — Mt Velykyi Verkh — Volovets, 56.4 km.

The Transcarpathian Tourist Trail also runs close to the summit.

Water, shelter and safety

According to our map, a spring below Mount Hrab lies about 350 m from the summit, and a shepherd hut «under Mt Hrab» with a tent spot is about 1.3 km away. The main Borzhava ridge is treeless: there is no shelter in a thunderstorm or strong wind, and fog is frequent, so follow your track. In winter avalanches are possible on the slopes. In an emergency call 112 or 101 — the mountain rescue units work around the clock.

Interesting facts

• The Vendrycha river rises on the south-eastern slopes of the mountain.
• From the ridge you can see the highest summits of Borzhava — Stii (1,681 m) and Velykyi Verkh (1,598 m).

Photos: Zysko serhii, CC BY-SA 4.0; Jiří Komárek, CC BY-SA 4.0 — Wikimedia Commons.