The most valuable thing you can hear from foreigners who come to Ukraine is their sincere feedback about our country, about Ukrainians, candid feelings and remembrances remaining in their memory.

Such impressions about the unforgettable trip to Hoverla were shared by students of gr. MC.m - 728an, MC.m - 727an, MC.m - 729an, studying at the Medical Institute of SSU. Babi Alan tells:

"One of the finest and most satisfying adventures of my life so far was the time when we hiked mount Hoverla. That day of our trip brought new sites and new adventures as might be expected of such a grand landscape and precarious mode of travel.

Before the sunrise on 14 October me and my troop of 6 folks  (Alexander Pallivadakkathil Jacob Sachin, Amal Anil, Babi Alan, Johns p George, Joy Thomson, Namboothiri Madathil Dheeraj Jayarajan, Prasad Harisankar) packed our backpacks and started our journey from Sumy to Ivano-Frankivsk without having much plans. We reached Kyiv and waited for another 4 hrs for our next train to arrive. The train was dashing through green meadows, sunflowers ,bridges ,rivers and it was worth the time. At 23:00 we reached ivano-frankivs,even though it was a long journey but each moment was memorable. We set foot at ivano frankivsk by having a deep desire to conquer Hoverla next day. Ivano -Frankicsk greeted us with a blissful breeze. standing outside the railway station we were under the dilemma whether to take a taxi or bus to the base camp Zaroslyak. A group of taxi drivers approached us as we came out the railway station. After some arguments and bargaining one of the driver named Milan accepted on a reasonable amount and agreed to pick us very next morning. Even though it was so late we were lucky enough to get a place to stay. The hotel was small but budget- friendly. It doesn't had the heaters turned on yet, so we had to sleep tight with our provided blankets. We had a little less sleep than we usually had since our taxi arrives at 6 am to pick us the next day. We started to Zarosliak by road. We had a 2 and a half hours ride and finally reached the Hoverelanske divsion checkpoint. At the entry we had to pay 50 UAH per person. Our driver  took us further 7kms inside to the base of the mountain, Zarosliak. He was a cool guy. We took some selfies as we bid goodbye to him. We started our venture by 9am.

We entered a small pine forest and saw a small lake besides it. We had two options of route according to the map: a blue line path of 3.5km and a green line path of 4km. Blue was the shortest path but the steepest. Craving for adventure we took the blue path which is more risker than the green path, we planned to return by the green path afterwards. Some trees had a blue colored board on it (indicating the blue colored path on map) so that the hikers does not get lost. As we moved further we started facing steeper paths. Since the last week was snowy in that region, we walked through muddy wet roads since our day was hot and sunny. We walked trough muddy grounds. Even though some of our teammates slipped , everyone started walking with confidence and strength. We saw the mountain peak as we ascended more. We had hope that we will reach the top soon. Our teammates got tired after long steeps and tough walk. We settled down halfway to restore our energy and replenish our appetite. After resting for a while, we continued our venture to the top. As we got closer, the path got more steeper and slippery (since the snow hasn't melted in the top). It became more dangerous and riskier after each step. Some of us lacked behind and rest waited for them at each stop. 

After a lot of hardship and struggle we reached the summit. It was a pure bliss. The feeling of the wind blowing through the face was like the lullaby sang by the nature. At that moment, we realised that we hadn't just conquered the mountain alone, we conquered over all our fears and troubles we faced all the way to the top. Yes, we were champions. We achieved a feat which was difficult and adventurous at the same time. We were standing at the top of Ukraine at 2,061m. It was a joyful moment which we could never forget.

We stood there for nearly an hour. After we had a tea, we started to climb down by the green route. The route was not easier as we thought but not difficult as the one we took earlier. We slid down trough snowy slopes, we ran, we fell and continued. We got lost from each others as we descended. Thanks to God as we could find some other travellers and found each other again after an hour or two. At last we reached the base at 4:30pm. We ended our seven and a half our hiking by having hot bohrach ( a transcarpathian traditional soup with pork and potato). We then went down to find a taxi to Ivano-Frankvisk.

After a long search we found a taxi and reached there at 9:30 pm. As we pre booked another hotel while riding on the taxi, it was easier. This was actually a hostel and was much better than what we had last night. We went straight to bed after a bath and had a sound sleep. We woke up the next day at 7am and started getting ready as our train was at 9 am. We had tea and some snacks on our way to the railway station. We also bought some for lunch on the train. The journey back home was more relaxing and peaceful as we had a good sleep last night. Since we weren't sleepy, we talked all the way to Kiev, the whole 8 hours. Little we knew the time passed since we talked about many topics and had a great conversation all the way. We reached Kiev by 5pm. We booked a bus to Sumy and went on it by 7pm. Some of us slept, listened to music and watched movies on the way back home. We reached Sumy by 11:30 pm and took a taxi to hostel. Our travel concluded by 11:50 pm as we reached our room and settled down.

Finally as we reached home, we told ourselves that this trip was a "once in a life- time" experience which will remain in our hearts forever and after. This is a journey we will never forget. We are grateful to Ukraine for this experience!"

 This story, sincere and emotional, captures and penetrates the heart. We are proud of you guys!

We want to stay deep in our hearts feeling like "conquerors of Hoverla" throughout all the life, to go to our goal with confidence and determination! To be heroes both in studying and at leisure time !!! Keep it up!!