Are you an outdoor person and are planning a trip to Ukraine? We have prepared a list of camping and hiking vocabulary in Ukrainian that will come in handy for your active vacation! 🎒

Planning a hiking trip (похід)

Here are some useful expressions you may come across when looking for recommendations on the Internet or visiting a tourist store.  So, what are you going to do? Ви йдете в похід.

• Похід – a hiking tour
• Іти в похід – to go hiking
• Одноденний похід – one-day trip
• Похід вихідного дня – weekend trip
• Радіальний тур, «радіалка» – roundtrip
• Маршрут – itinerary, hiking route
• Тур – tour (organized by a company)

In this advanced Ukrainian Lessons Podcast episode, Anna explains how to prepare for a unique Carpathian experience: ULP 4-123 | Похід у Карпати: як підготуватися

On a hiking trip — У поході

«Я піду в далекі гори, на широкі полонини…» Do you know this song? It is very popular in Ukraine! You can listen to it in this video:

And yeah, this is all about Карпати – the Carpathian Mountains, the most popular place for hiking in Ukraine.

What Ukrainian expressions do you need when talking about your hiking itinerary?

•  Підніжжя – base (of a mountain)
•  Вершина – peak
•  Траверс – traverse, movement along the side of the mountain without a big ascend
•  Стежка траверсує вершину – the path traverses around the peak
•  Набирати висоту – to ascend, rise, climb
•  Підйом – ascent
•  Спуск – descent

Спуск / підйом може бути:

• Пологий – sloping, easy
• Стрімкий, крутий – steep
• Складний – difficult
• Легкий – easy
• Скелястий – rocky

  

•  Полонина – meadow
•  Колиба – cabin (used by shepherds)
•  Джерело – spring
•  Маркування – hiking markers

By the way, what is далекі гори?

Here they are. 

Camping vocabulary in Ukrainian

Let us stop for a while and have dinner.

•  Привал – break
•  Табір – camp
•  Стоянка, місце для стоянки – place for camping
•  Вогнище (багаття, ватра, вогонь) – campfire
•  Казанок – cauldron
•  Пальник – burner

Tourist equipment in Ukrainian

Let’s have a final look at the stuff you need for hiking:

• Спорядження – equipment
• Прокат спорядження – rent of equipment
• Рюкзак – backpack
• Ліхтарик – lamp
• Дощовик – rain jacket
• Трекінгові палки – trekking poles
• Килимок = Каремат – (yoga) mat, seen in the picture above!
• Намет – tent
• Спальний мішок (спальник) – sleeping bag
• Аптечка – first aid kit

Water sports

«Перейду я бистрі ріки, і кичери, і діброви» – lyrics from our leitmotif song. Ok, we’ve said enough about далекі гори; it’s time for бистрі ріки – rapid rivers. The most rapid are, of course, in the Carpathians, and many companies offer rafting tours:

•   Рафтинг – rafting
•   Рафт – inflatable raft

Water sports are very popular in calmer rivers too. The common word for a water trip is сплав, which comes from плавати – to float, to swim.

There’s one more word: сплавлятися – literally “to have a water tour, float down with the flow”. What do we use for this?

•   Каное – canoe
•   Байдарка, каяк – kayak
•   Човен – boat
•   Весло – paddle
•   Катамаран, спортивний катамаран – catamaran
  

  

•  Гермомішок (герметичний мішок) – dry bag
•  Рятувальний жилет – life vest

You always have some adventures during the сплав. The following words will help you to understand what’s going on if there are any troubles!

•  Обнос – portage
•  Пороги – water rapids/bolders

  

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Print out the hiking vocabulary in Ukrainian, and don’t forget to put it in a plastic bag. Now you are ready for далекі гори and бистрі ріки 🌄

Before starting your adventures, have a look at this check-out list where you can find tips on how to prepare before coming to Ukraine to practice your Ukrainian.

Looking for more resources to improve your Ukrainian vocabulary? Check out the 1000 most common words in Ukrainian with interactive flashcards. Also, you can learn Ukrainian step by step with our free Ukrainian Lessons Podcast!