Rakhiv

Rakhiv sits at around four hundred and thirty metres on the upper Tisza, the highest town in Ukraine, hemmed in by the Marmarosh and Svydovets ranges. Sheep are taken up to the polonyna pastures for the summer and the milk is made into brynza, the salted sheep cheese that the town has built a festival around each September, with cheesemakers coming down from the mountain dairies. It is also the road base for the Marmarosh massif.

What you actually see

• The brynza - salted sheep cheese made at the mountain dairies above the town.
• The September festival - cheesemakers coming down from the polonyny to sell and compete.
• The Tisza - the river running through the town between steep ranges.
• The Marmarosh - the crystalline massif rising south of the town.

When to go

May to October is the season; the cheese festival is in September and is the busiest weekend. Summer is when the mountain dairies are working. Winter is cold and quiet.

Honest expectations

The town itself is plain and strung along the river. Accommodation is guesthouse level. Outside the festival, buying brynza means finding a producer rather than a shop.

Nearby

The Centre of Europe marker is downstream at Dilove, and Dragobrat is north.