Does anyone remember the Tumblr days? I think that’s what inspired a lot of my travels for off-the-beaten-path adventurous places. One photo that stood out to me that put Ukraine on my radar was the “Tunnel of Love,” located in the western part of the country. Unfortunately I didn’t have time to venture all the way to that part of the country, but I stumbled upon a photo that looked similar to it, except right in Kyiv!
When to Visit
It’s a beautiful tram ride at any point in the year, but the fall colors really make this adventure really special.
What you need to Know
I got two fines trying to make it there and back so you don’t have to! First of all, before even attempting to make this journey, pick up a Kyiv Metro Pass from an underground subway station office. I tried purchasing from booths near tram stations along with electronic stations but didn’t have any luck; people told me I had to buy from the metro station offices underground. Also, make sure it has a few trips left in it since you’ll be doing a bit of transferring to get to the correct line!
How to get There
You’re basically navigating to the Pushcha-Voditsa Park, and yes there’s a lot of ways to get there. The trick is to get the classic red tram is you have to find the special line that departs from a certain square in Kyiv, called Kontractova-Ploscha. Once you find yourself at Kontractova-Ploscha, you’ll see all the classic red trams coming and going but there’s only one that will take you to where you want to go: Tram 12. Once you’re on, sit back and enjoy the ride because it’s an hour to the forest.
The Best Photography Spot
Take Tram 12 all the way to the first stop of the town Pushcha-Voditsa, right where the tram comes out of the forest. That way you’re only back-tracking a little bit into the forest, but you still have the luxury of catching several different tram lines back to Kyiv. I also read that there’s a really nice spa and resort nearby, and the actual park is beautiful to explore!
Final Thoughts
I was stressed out about the whole journey because of the fines, not really knowing what I was doing or where I was going while being solo, and the locals were quite unfriendly and didn’t want to speak to you if you didn’t speak Ukrainian. I even got approached a third time about getting fined because the police was claiming that my two other tickets were “fake” and I had to Google translate that I haven’t had the chance to go to the metro office to get the proper pass since I was out in the middle of nowhere. Anyways, I put a lot of work trying to find this spot so I hope it saves you the mistakes that I did and you have somewhere new to explore!
