Polonyna Dil

Accommodation around

Shepherds graze cows in the meadow. You can buy dairy products from the shepherds, as well as take part in a master class on its preparation from May to October.

The meadow is located at an altitude of over 950 meters above sea level. It includes almost 50 hectares of alpine pastures. This is one of the nearest meadows in the Verkhovyna district. There are two ways to get there. One of them has a steeper climb, and the other is through a forest with a stream. The journey takes a good 40 minutes. Both children and the elderly can climb. Cattle (cows) are kept in the meadow and traditional dairy products are produced there - fresh and smoked budz, brynza, and butter. Above Polonyna there is a mountain range where you can pick berries, mushrooms, and medicinal herbs to your heart's content.

Tourists come to the Dil mountain meadow in the Verkhovyna district of Ivano-Frankivsk region every day to enjoy fresh cheese and picturesque mountain scenery. The locals call it "the lord's meadow" because the road to the meadow is easy and fast.

Shepherds tell tourists about life in the meadow and treat them to cheese. The cheeses are made in a special separate room. Guests are shown a large 300-liter vat. Fresh milk is poured into it, and gluck, a curdling enzyme made from the stomach of a young calf, is added.

When the milk curdles, it turns into cheese. It is called budz. The cheese is filtered and smoked. The remaining whey is used to make vurda. This kind of cheese is less fatty and is cheaper. Brynza is made from budz.

People mostly go to the meadow on foot. Only horses, UAZs, and URAL or ZIL trucks can drive down the steep road with stones. "Cool" SUVs and cars are left down by the asphalt road.