Mount Liutianska Holytsia

Liutianska Holytsia (also known as Lautanska Holytsia and Liutanska Holytsia) is a 1375-meter peak in the Ukrainian Carpathians, located in the northwestern part of the Polonyna Range (Polonyna Beskyd).

The mountain is located within the Velykyi Bereznyi district of Zakarpattia region, south of the village of Liuta.

Lyutyanska Holytsia has the shape of a narrow ridge stretching from northwest to southeast. The slopes of the peak in the northeastern direction are very steep and difficult to access.

The foot of the mountain is covered with forests, and above - with meadows.

To the southeast of Liutianska Holytsia is the Polonyna Runa mountain range.

The nearest settlements are the village of Liuta and the village of Lumshory in the Velykyi Bereznyi and Perechyn districts of Zakarpattia region, respectively.

The polonyna on Liutianska Holytsia

Liutianska Holytsia is not only a summit but also a narrow treeless polonyna that runs along the ridge from about 1,160 m up to its highest point of 1,374.9 m. After a steep climb through the forest the path suddenly brings you out onto a spacious meadow plateau: thick grass, bilberry and lingonberry bushes, and between them stone "patches" covered with moss and lichen. From the forest edge to the summit it is about 600 m along an old mountain road. Holytsia is the north-western neighbour of Polonyna Rivna (Runa), and it is from here that you see Runa's whole broad plateau best.

Views

In clear weather Holytsia opens up views of Runa to the south-east, Mala Holytsia to the west, Ostra Hora to the east, and the village of Liuta below to the north. The ridge is so prominent that it is photographed even from Tarnica in the Polish Bieszczady.

Pastures

The name "holytsia", like that of other Carpathian peaks with this word, points to a treeless, "bare" mountain. The treeless tops of the Polonynskyi Ridge were traditionally used as pastures, but sources do not say whether livestock grazes here today. There is no cheese and no hut serving food on the ridge, so bring your own.

Routes to the polonyna

• Liuta — Liutianska Holytsia — Lumshory — green marking, a north-to-south crossing of the ridge.
• Lumshory — Liutianska Holytsia — Lumshory — a loop of about 14 km, roughly 6.5 hours: from the "Polonyna" tourist centre along the Turytsia past the Solovei and Partyzan waterfalls, then up a steep spur to the plateau; down along 2.5 km of open ridge and a steep descent through the forest.
• Liuta — Danylivska — Liutianska Holytsia — Lumshory and the long traverse Kostryna — Liuta — Holytsia — Runa — for those who want to combine both polonynas.

Water and safety

There are no springs on the ridge itself; the nearest is a spring below Holytsia at about 1,250 m. The open ridge is dangerous in thunderstorms and fog, and part of the climb crosses overgrown slopes and windfalls — you need good footwear, an offline map and time in reserve. Emergency number: 112.

What visitors say

• Holytsia is valued for its quiet: part of the route crosses rarely visited slopes where you can feel the presence of wildlife.
• The hardest section is the final climb to the plateau: it is very steep and overgrown in places with young beech.
• The reward is an unexpectedly wide grassy meadow and a view of the whole of Runa.
• On the way down to Lumshory there is a meadow that in summer is often scattered with wildflowers.

Nearby, the Lumshory waterfalls and the Voievodyn Waterfall are worth a visit.

Photos: Maximym44, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons.