Valley of Narcissi

In Transcarpathia, there is a unique place in the Kireshi tract - the Valley of Daffodils. Tourists come here every spring to see millions of daffodils in bloom.

The place is notable for the fact that daffodils grow in huge numbers here at an altitude of only 200 meters above sea level. When in nature, such quantities are found only in the Alps, in the Balkans at an altitude of 1000-2000 meters. The Valley of daffodils arose after the Ice Age. Then, along with the glacier, a huge layer of soil came down from the mountains, and the melting glaciers only contributed to the acclimatization of the flowers of the narrow-leaved narcissus. After a while, flowers grew over a vast area, but human economic activity significantly reduced the number of flowers. During the Soviet era, they wanted to plow the entire valley of daffodils, but they only touched 50 hectares and gave the land to the ownership of the Carpathian Biosphere Reserve. In 1980, the narrow-leaved narcissus was listed in the Red Book of Ukraine.

The flowering period of daffodils depends on the weather conditions, but often the first flowers begin to bloom in early May and towards the middle of May the peak flowering of daffodils takes place. At this time, everything is covered with a white carpet of flowers, attracting many tourists. In addition to daffodils, there are more than 400 varieties of plants in the valley, including rare species of orchids, iris, gentian, candyk, fragrant cockatrice, and lapchatka. 104 species of birds can also be seen in the meadows, among which buntings, gray warblers, and meadow warblers are more common than others. Pheasants can be found near the Khusttsa River, and the river itself is home to 20 species of fish.