Hutsulshchyna National Nature Park

Hutsulshchyna National Nature Park (Національний природний парк «Гуцульщина»; Natsionalnyi pryrodnyi park “Hutsulshchyna” or HNNP). A national park established in 2002 with the aim of protecting wildlife, landscapes, and unique ecosystems of the Ukrainian Carpathian Mountains in the Pokutia region. One of the Carpathian protected areas, the HNNP is located in Kosiv raion, Ivano-Frankivsk oblast. It covers an area of 32,271 ha and is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Ukraine.

HNNP is situated in the lower Hutsul Beskyd, known as the Pokutia-Bukovynian Carpathians. Divided into two parts, it features mountainous landscapes reaching altitudes of 1,470 m and low foothills 350–500 m in elevation with gentle slopes. Parallel mountain ridges, stretching from northwest to southeast and separated by wide valleys represent a characteristic relief feature. The climate is moderate and the local flora and fauna are diverse. The mountainous part of the park features spruce-fir-beech and spruce-beech-fir forests. The foothills are covered with beech and beech-hornbeam forests and the lowlands with oak groves.

Natural conditions of the HNNP are favorable for the development of tourism and recreational activities (hiking, horse riding, and ethnographic- and eco-tourism). Picturesque waterfalls and waterways are particularly popular tourist attractions. This region is an important center of the Hutsul folk culture and crafts. It also features numerous health resorts and sanatoriums.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Popovych, S. Pryrodno-zapovidna sprava (Kyiv 2007)

Volodymyr Kricsfalusy

[This article was written in 2011]