The route runs through the sacred Khortitsa and Kamennaya Mogila, a unique reserve "Askania-Nova" with a plot of virgin steppe and rich nature, passes by the very large sandy desert of Europe and ends on the sea coast near the largest island of the Black Sea - Dzharylgach.
Khortytsya
In the heart of one of the most industrial cities in Ukraine, not far from the huge dam of the Dnieper Hydroelectric Power Station, there is one of the most sacred sights for Ukrainians - the cradle of the Ukrainian Cossacks, the island of Khortytsya.
| Image via Flickr (by Red-Boy) |
The island of Khortytsya is located in the middle of the wide channel of the Dnieper in these places. Earlier, before the appearance of DneproGES, there were rapids upstream of the river, which gave the name of the Zaporizhzhya Sich, because it was, as it were, "beyond the rapids". However, in the middle of the last century, during the construction of the hydroelectric power station, all the rapids, and with them most of the lands belonging to the Cossacks, were flooded during the formation of the reservoir.
Nowadays on the island of Khortytsya there is a National Reserve "Khortytsya", which includes the historical and cultural complex "Zaporozhye Sich". Its expositions are devoted to the life and life of the Cossacks. Here you can see with your own eyes and visit the housing of the Cossacks and the chieftain of the kosh, outbuildings, a kuren, a church, etc.
 |
| Photo via Flickr (by dmytro.golub) |
Stone grave
From Zaporozhye we go southward, towards Melitopol, to the village of Mirnoe, where there is an amazing place with the mysterious name "Stone Tomb". More than sixty grottoes, caves, clusters of huge (the size of a five-storey building!) Yellow-black stones, and a little further - the underground world with a suite of halls and corridors - all this is a natural formation.
 |
| Photo from stonegrave.org |
In this place, since ancient times, people have left inscriptions and drawings on soft sandstone (the oldest date back to the 7th - 3rd millennium BC). All the most interesting was found in the caves. Despite the fact that there are a large number of drawings and inscriptions, the most interesting caves are deliberately filled in so that visitors do not add modern inscriptions to the Stone Age petroglyphs.
 |
| Photo from stonegrave.org |
Many legends "live" on the territory of the Stone Tomb. It is believed that this object is a pyramid destroyed by time or a ziggurat of the ancient Amazon tribe. Women warriors supposedly lived in the area of \u200b\u200bpresent-day Melitopol and its environs.
Biosphere reserve "Askania-Nova"
From Melitopol we go south along the E105 highway towards Genichesk, before reaching which there will be a right turn, onto the P47 highway, and then right - to the town of Askania-Nova. Next to it is the biosphere reserve of the same name, which includes a zoo and arboretum, as well as a unique area of \u200b\u200babsolutely reserved steppe, which has never been cultivated by humans.
 |
| Photo from iloveukraine.com.ua |
On the territory of the reserve, a huge number of a wide variety of plants, birds and animals from all over the world are collected - from African zebras to American bison.
Vegetation changes its color throughout the year: in April tulips and irises blaze here, feather grass blooms in May, in summer steppe grasses form a real green sea, and in autumn the steppe becomes like a bright and soft multi-colored carpet.
The fauna of the reserve is also rich and varied and has more than a thousand species of animals, including arthropods and reptiles, mammals and nearly 300 species of birds.
 |
| Image via Flickr (by 2bpatchett) |
The reserve is protected by UNESCO, is included in the list of 7 Wonders of Ukraine, and in the world voting for 7 natural wonders of the planet "Askania-Nova" took 14th place.
In Askania-Novaya, you can spend the night in hotels located near the reserve, or on the campground.
Oleshkovsky sands
After Askania-Novaya to Chaplinka and past Novaya Kakhovka, we move further west, after large forests and in front of Kherson there will be a left turn onto the E97 highway, along it we reach Radensk, or Bolshiye Kopany.
Near these settlements there is the largest sand massif in Europe - Oleshkovsky sands. 210,000 hectares of land with a unique landscape and nature.
According to the traditional classification, Oleshkovsky sands are semi-desert. In summer, the sand heats up to 70 degrees Celsius, the air gathers in hot updrafts and disperses rain clouds, so there is very little rainfall here, much less than in the surrounding regions. You can even get caught in a sandstorm.
During the time of Herodotus, dense forests grew in these places, but later they were cut down by the local population. The forests were replaced by the steppe with small sandy massifs created thanks to the Dnieper.
Oleshkovskie sands is a sea of \u200b\u200bdunes that stretches as far as the eye can see. On these dunes, some vegetation grows in places, there are small lakes-salt marshes, near which there are usually more plants.
 |
| Photo via Flickr (by Pid_rukzak) |
The sand here is very fine and light and is easily carried by the wind. Sometimes you can see how small tornadoes twirl it into a dance. There is an oasis among the sands - a small pine forest on the shore of a lake with clear water.
When you get tired of wandering in the Ukrainian desert, you can go further south, towards Skadovsk and Dzharylgach Bay, and then even further west, to the village of Lazurnoe, where you can get to largest island The Black Sea.
Dzharylgach Island
Dzharylgach is a spit, a narrow strip of land that cuts deep into the Black Sea. Such a huge natural breakwater. On one side of Dzharylgach there is a sea, on the other - a bay. Naturally, also Dzharilgatsky. The official status of Dzharylgach sometimes changes. It is now an island. And if you get bored, it turns into a peninsula. Dzharylgach is separated from the land by a narrow strait, which is periodically covered with sand.
 |
| Photo from uafacts.com |
There is a cafe on the coast where you can taste fried stingrays, bulls, borscht and other delights of Ukrainian cuisine. On the opposite southern side of the island - to the open sea - you can take an exciting 45-minute walk. The southern coast of Dzharylgach is a local resort area, where you can swim in the sea and sunbathe on the white sand.
If you find an error on this page, select it with the mouse and press Ctrl + Enter.