Mount Babyn Pohar

Babyn Pohar is a 1,449 m mountain in the eastern Gorgany, in the Nadvirna district of Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast. It stands at the western end of a long ridge crowned by Syniak (1,665 m), with Malyi Horhan (1,592 m) next along the crest. To the north-west, across the Zubrynka stream valley, rises Dovbushanka (1,754 m). The nearest village in our catalogue is Polianytsia (Bukovel), about 4 km away; reference books also name Zelena and Bystrytsia.

The summit is covered with spruce forest, so the wide views open from the clearings on the slopes rather than from the top itself. The mountain lies on the edge of the Gorgany Nature Reserve, and the Carpathian National Nature Park begins less than half a kilometre to the east.

How to get there

The red-marked East Carpathian Tourist Trail crosses Babyn Pohar: westwards along the main ridge to the Stoly pass, eastwards over Malyi Horhan and Syniak. From Polianytsia (Bukovel) you can walk the loops Polianytsia – Mount Malyi Horhan – Polianytsia (16.2 km) or Polianytsia – Malyi Horhan – Syniak – Polianytsia (18.8 km); both pass the summit.

From Bystrytsia the route Bystrytsia – Mount Malyi Horhan (22.1 km) climbs onto the ridge. For a two-day crossing try Yablunytsia – Khomiak – Syniak – Malyi Horhan – Dovbushanka – Vedmezhyk – Bystrytsia (38.2 km); the longest option is the Tatariv – Myslivka traverse over the main Gorgany summits (171 km).

Water, shelter and safety

Our map shows several springs on the Blazhiv mountain meadow about 1.1 km from the summit (one of them dries up), and a hut and a mountain shelter on the same meadow about 1.2 km away. Weather shelters stand on the slopes above Polianytsia. The Gorgany are famous for their boulder fields and dwarf-pine thickets: stay on the marked path, don't take shortcuts, and remember that the nature reserve has its own rules for visitors. The weather changes fast, so carry a rain jacket, warm layers and a charged phone. In an emergency call 112 or 101 — mountain rescue works around the clock.

Interesting facts

• In the local dialect «pohar» means a burnt area, a place left after a fire — hence the mountain's name.
• Bukovel ski lifts run on the southern slopes of Babyn Pohar, and a yellow-marked loop path leads from the resort up to the ridge.
• In the 1930s the Main Carpathian Trail crossed the summit; it then descended into the Zubrynka valley, where tourist shelters stood.

Photos: Kostya Holoborodov, CC BY-SA 4.0 — Wikimedia Commons.