Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians

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Introduction

The Carphantians are a mountain range in the extreme west of the country, on the border with Romania. It is the only real mountainous area of the country and is a welcome relief to the flatter areas in the central and east of the country. Popular for skiing in the winter (although services are not to the same level as elsewhere in Europe) and hiking in the summer, the Carphantians are rugged and covered with forests. In fact, the Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathian are placed on the Unesco World Heritage List since 2007 because they are an outstanding example of undisturbed forests in Ukraine all the way to the border with Slovakia. They also contain an invaluable reservoir of beech and many species associated with, and dependent on, these forest habitats. More inhabited areas of Carpathia unfortunately suffer from attempted overdevelopment (stalled hotel projects litter the hillsides).