Mount Podyny

Mount Podyny (about 1499 m) is the highest summit of the Tavpyshyrka ridge in the Gorgany. It lies in Nadvirna Raion, Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, about 8 km west of Bystrytsia village, above the valley of the Salatruk stream. The Tavpyshyrka ridge is roughly 9 km long and runs from north-west to south-east; its slopes are steep and forested, with small meadows and stone screes near the tops. Reference works give the highest point of the ridge as 1503 m, or 1499.6 m according to other data, and on OpenStreetMap that top carries the name Podyny. Several gentle tops follow along the ridge: 1464 m (about 560 m to the north-west), 1455 m and Tavpysh (1450 m), some 3 km north-west.

How to get there / routes

From Bystrytsia, the marked route Bystrytsia village – Tavpyshyrka ridge climbs to the ridge on green waymarks that pass within a few dozen metres of the summit. Bystrytsia village, via Mount Tavpysh to Mount Velyka Syvulia, which continues to Velyka Syvulia, also runs almost directly over the top. From the south, from the Legioniv Pass (1110 m) about 2.4 km to the south-west, the shorter Legioniv Pass – Tavpyshyrka ridge reaches the crest about half a kilometre from the highest point. There is a hut at the pass, Hut at Lehioniv pass, and another in the valley, Hut by the Salatruk stream.

Long Gorgany routes also cross the Legioniv Pass area, including Lopukhiv village, via Legioniv Pass, Peklo tract, Mount Syvulia, Mount Popadia and Nimetska Mokra village to Ust-Chorna village and Tatariv village, via Mount Syniak, Mount Dovbushanka, Mount Chorna Kleva, Mount Bratkivska, Mount Syvulia, Mount Kinets Horhanu, Mount Popadia and Mount Grofa to Myslivka village; they pass about 550 m from the summit, so Podyny can be added as a short detour. The nearest springs are marked in the valleys at 850–1100 m — there is no water on the crest itself.

The view from the summit

We have not found any published description of the view from Podyny itself. The top of the ridge is partly open, so in good weather you should be able to see the neighbouring Gorgany summits within 6–8 km: Boiaryn (Korotkan) and Nehrova (about 6 km away), Mala Syvulia (about 7.6 km), and the rest of the Tavpyshyrka ridge with Tavpysh to the north-west.

Nature and history

Much of the ridge is protected. In 1974 the Tavpyshyrka Botanical Reserve of national importance (424 ha) was created on the slopes of its central and north-western parts. It protects high-mountain spruce forest mixed with Swiss stone pine, and on the screes old-growth stone pine and spruce forest with silver birch; dwarf mountain pine grows at the treeline, and there are two small stands of larch. Animals include brown bear, wild boar, lynx, marten, common buzzard and capercaillie. The ridge also holds the "Tavpishyrka" protected tract and a high-mountain arboretum, and on the Zakarpattia side the "Gorgany and Tavpishyrka" botanical reserve.

The oblast boundary between Ivano-Frankivsk and Zakarpattia follows the north-western part of the ridge; before the Second World War this was the state border between Poland and Czechoslovakia. The Legioniv Pass south of the summit is named after the road built across it in November 1914 by the 3rd Infantry Regiment of the Polish Legions; before that it was called Veliki Rohodze. At the north-eastern foot of the ridge, about 2.6 km east of the summit, is the two-step Salatruchil waterfall, about 6 m high.

The origin of the name Tavpyshyrka is uncertain. One theory links it to the Romanian ţeapă ("stake, spike"), the same root as Vlad Țepeș's nickname; another derives it from the Hungarian talpa ("sole"). Locals pronounce it "Talpishurka".

Safety, season and rules

The best time to go is June to October. Gorgany slopes are steep, and scree stones are loose and slippery after rain, so wear boots with a good tread. There is no shelter near the summit, and Gorgany weather changes quickly — check the forecast and start early. Mobile coverage on the ridge can be patchy.

Inside the reserve it is forbidden to cut trees, break branches of stone pine or mountain pine, or light fires outside designated places — stay on the marked paths. Bears live in the Gorgany, so do not leave food around your camp. In an emergency call 112 or 101 (State Emergency Service); mountain rescue contacts are listed under mountain rescue.