Hereshavske Lake is one of those quietly spectacular alpine spots in the Ukrainian Carpathians that feels like a secret kept by the mountains. Sitting at 1,577 m above sea level in a glacial cirque on the north-eastern slope of Mount Dogyaska (1,761 m) in the Svydovets massif, this small lake rewards those willing to make the trek with raw, unspoiled scenery. It is also the source of the Kosivska River.
The lake is modest in size — about 125 m long, 110 m wide and no deeper than 1.2 m — but its setting is dramatic. A wide moraine ridge frames the irregular rectangle of water, a testament to the glacier that carved this hollow thousands of years ago. The northern shores are fringed with sedge, and the water, fed almost entirely by snowmelt, stays bitterly cold even in summer — reaching only around +10–11°C in June. In summer the surrounding Svydovets ridgeline provides a sweeping backdrop; in autumn the grasses turn gold; in late spring snowfields still linger on the slopes above.
How to get thereDespite its shallow depth, the lake supports microscopic crustacean life and feeds the Kosivska River — a reminder that even the smallest alpine lakes play a vital role in the landscape.