Uzhanskyi National Nature Park is part of the first-ever trilateral Ukrainian-Polish-Slovakian Biosphere Reserve “Eastern Carpathians”, which belongs to the UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves. Its untouched nature and rich cultural heritage are a treasure of global significance.
More than 2,500 hectares of primeval beech forests, a rare finding in Central Europe, are protected in Uzhanskyi NNP. They also form part of the UNESCO World Nature Heritage “Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and old-growth forests of Germany”. Beech and fir-beech forests, green alder communities and sub-alpine meadows are the typical vegetation of the park. 78 plant and 92 animal species listed in the Red Book of Ukraine (2009) were found here. Particularly noteworthy are a few endemic species that grow only in the Southern and Eastern Carpathians and do not spread farther to the west. Furthermore, there are a few age-old oaks standing in the park, witnesses for the long-time development of the region. Kreminets Mountain, located in the highest mountain range of Uzhansky NNP, marks the tri-border area. It is the place, where the primeval landscape of the Ukrainian Carpathians meets the Polish Bieszczady and the Slovakian Bukovsky Verkhy regions.
Most of the park area belongs to ethnic Lemkos, a small Ukrainian ethnic group that has been living in the mountains since ancient times. They are famous for their traditional lifestyle and typical wooden architecture. Some wooden temples from the 17th and 18th centuries are preserved in the park. Besides, Uzhanskyi is the area where “Princess”, the largest meteorite discovered in Europe’s recent history, landed in 1866. ,Further places of interest like military cemeteries and battle fields of the First and Second World Wars advance the development of “green tourism”.
For more details please visit http://pzf.menr.gov.ua/ужанський-нпп.html
