Most people who come here think nature swallowed up a railway.
It’s actually the opposite.
The green arch exists because of the trains — not despite them. It’s the locomotive itself, passing through the forest, that trims the branches exactly to its own clearance. That’s what forms and maintains this precise tunnel shape. If the trains stopped running for good, the arch would vanish under chaotic overgrowth within a few seasons.
General Information
| What? | Description |
|---|---|
| Name | Tunnel of Love |
| Location | between Klevan and Orzhiv urban-type settlements, Rivne district, Rivne Oblast |
| Coordinates | 50.676°N, 26.026°E |
| Length | ~2.5 miles (~4 km); the green section is about 0.6–0.9 miles (1–1.5 km) |
| Track type | narrow-gauge railway, active |
| Destination | a woodworking plant in Orzhiv |
| Admission | free |
What’s Actually Happening Here
The line between Klevan and Orzhiv is an industrial track, built during the Soviet period to haul timber to the plant. A train runs here three times a day. It doesn’t pay attention to tourists, doesn’t react to selfies, and won’t wait for you to step off the rails.
It’s exactly this movement — mechanical, regular, entirely utilitarian — that shapes the tunnel. The locomotive trims the branches to its exact clearance and leaves behind a living corridor with an arched vault.
This isn’t a natural phenomenon or “romantic reclamation.” It’s a woodworking plant acting as an unwitting landscape designer.
What Not to Expect
The Tunnel of Love is Ukraine’s most overhyped photo location, and at the same time one of the few where reality outperforms the photos.
Online photos are taken in May–June, in perfect leafy light. You might arrive in dry August heat, when the foliage looks tired, or in November, when the arch is wide open. The tunnel varies enormously by season — and it looks exactly like most of the photos only for two or three weeks in spring.
One more thing: there’s nothing “enclosed” here. It’s an open track through a forest. If you’re expecting a dark tunnel, you’re in for a surprise.
Legends Versus Documents
Several versions of the name’s origin circulate. One tells of eloping lovers from Klevan Castle in the Czartoryski era. Another tells of a Polish engineer who built the railway to shorten his path to a beloved in Orzhiv.
They’re good stories. But the railway was genuinely built under the USSR for industrial purposes — and the name “Tunnel of Love” came from 2000s tourism marketing, not local tradition.
When to Go
May to early June — peak greenery, fresh leaves, the arch at its densest. This is when the photos that circulate online are taken.
September–October — golden leaves, fewer people, an entirely different character.
Winter — the arch nearly disappears, the sky shows through. But it has its own character — rails in the snow, silence.
Summer weekends — not recommended. Crowds.
What to See Nearby
1.2 miles (2 km) from the tunnel entrance stands Klevan Castle (15th–16th centuries) — neglected, open, unguarded. Combining “castle plus tunnel” takes 2–3 hours and needs no separate agenda.
Further along the route: Tarakaniv Fort (~28 miles / ~45 km), Dubno Castle (~31 miles / ~50 km). This forms a natural “castle thread” through the Rivne region, and the tunnel fits conveniently at the start or end of such a day.
Practical Information
- Admission: free
- The track is active — a train runs ~3 times a day; step off the rails when you hear it
- Parking: informal, near Zaliznychna St. in Klevan
- From parking to the tunnel: ~1,300 ft (~400 m) on foot
- Time for the walk: 30–60 minutes (round trip along the green section)
- Infrastructure: seasonal coffee and souvenirs near the entrance
How to Get There
- From Rivne: ~12 miles (~20 km) via the E40 highway; ~25 min by car
- From Lutsk: ~40 miles (~65 km) east on the E40
- GPS: “Tunnel of Love, Klevan” or coordinates 50.676, 26.026
- Note there are Klevan 1 and Klevan 2 stations — the tunnel is near Klevan 1
Conclusion
The Tunnel of Love exists because some freight train runs three times a day to a woodworking plant. That’s not a metaphor or an anti-romantic twist — it’s simply a fact that makes the place more interesting than most of the legends told about it.
The best time to come is a weekday morning in May — then continue on to the castle.
