Na Penkakh Koliba, Yaremche

Yaremche, Ivano-Frankivsk region, Ukraine

A koliba where the stumps once stood

Na Penkakh koliba in Yaremche (“On the Stumps”) sits on quiet Svobody Street, right at the forest edge and near the start of the popular Dovbush Trail. The name is not a marketing invention: locals have long called this spot “on the stumps”, because an old koliba once stood here where travellers rested sitting on tree stumps. The new owners kept the name — and with it the spirit of a simple mountain shelter where you can sit at a wooden table and eat well after a walk in the woods.

The complex is built from Carpathian timber: a koliba with a high hall and wooden stairs to an upper gallery, a banquet hall, summer gazebos and a terrace. Around it is a neat yard decorated with wood carvings, an old cart, millstones, a weaving loom and a small fountain, so there are plenty of details of traditional Hutsul life to look at. Next door are a small wooden hotel and a sauna for those who want to stay overnight.

What to try

The koliba’s menu focuses on traditional Ukrainian and Hutsul cooking. The owners suggest starting with soup:

Ukrainian borscht or Carpathian mushroom soup — the two house signatures.
Carpathian trout in mushroom sauce — a local delicacy.
Hutsul-style roast and roasted ribs.
Banosh with brynza, with cracklings or with mushrooms — the Hutsul classic.
Bograch, potato pancakes, shashlyk, and meat, fish and vegetables from the open fire.
To order, the cooks roast a goose, rabbit or suckling pig — arrange it in advance if you come as a group.

Drinks come from the bar, and do try the Carpathian herbal tea from the house’s own harvest, served in the koliba and after the sauna. Visitors’ reviews and video tours also mention the signature red-and-black varenyky and homemade strudel. The restaurant does not currently publish an online menu with prices, so check prices on site or by phone.

Atmosphere and things to do

Na Penkakh is a place for an unhurried lunch or dinner after walking the Dovbush Trail or visiting the Probiy waterfall. In summer the gazebos in the fresh air are the nicest seats; in winter, the wooden hall of the koliba. It hosts banquets, family celebrations and corporate parties. For guests of the complex the owners help arrange excursions, mountain hikes and horse rides, and in winter transfers to ski resorts and equipment hire.

Practical information

If you want to stay the night, next to the koliba is a small three-storey wooden hotel with six rooms (four standard and two split-level) furnished in natural wood with woollen lizhnyk blankets; breakfast is included and there is a sauna on the ground floor.

Address: 345 Svobody St, Yaremche — in the southern part of town, by the forest and the start of the Dovbush Trail.
Getting there: by car on road N-09 to Yaremche, then along Svobody Street; a few minutes’ drive or about a 15–20-minute walk from the centre and the Probiy waterfall. Buses from Ivano-Frankivsk and Bukovel stop on the town’s main street.
Parking: on-site car park.
Hours and prices: not published — please check by phone; hotel guests get a discount on meals in the koliba.
Table bookings: +380 97 496 8485.