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Meridiela.

Kolochava

A long Transcarpathian valley village with an unusual density of open-air museums, including a narrow-gauge railway.

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WhereZakarpattia
Nearest cityMizhhirya
Best seasonMay to October
Time to allowA day
Getting thereAbout 30 km from Mizhhirya up the Terebl valley
EntrySmall charges at the museums

Kolochava stretches for about ten kilometres along the Terebl valley and has turned itself into a museum village: an open-air skansen of relocated wooden buildings, a narrow-gauge forest railway with rolling stock, a museum of the local school, and several smaller collections, ten or so in all. The village is also the setting of Ivan Olbracht's novel about the outlaw Nikola Shuhaj, which made it known across Central Europe.

What you actually see

  • The skansen - relocated wooden houses, a school and a church in an open-air museum.
  • The forest railway - narrow-gauge track and rolling stock from the timber industry.
  • The wooden church - an eighteenth-century timber church in the village.
  • The valley - a village strung ten kilometres along the Terebl.

When to go

May to October is the season and the museums keep summer hours. Winter access up the valley is difficult. The village is spread out and needs a vehicle.

Honest expectations

The museums are small and several can be seen in an hour. Opening hours are unreliable outside summer. The village is long and walking between sites is impractical.

Nearby

Mizhhirya is down the valley, and Sinevir lake is east.

What to pack for Kolochava

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Opening times, ticket prices and seasonal closures change - check the official source before you go: official site.

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