Sights of Kherson Region

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• Biosphere reserve Askaniia-Nova
• The Black Sea Biosphere Reserve
• The Ukrainian desert Oleshky Sands
• Pink Lakes
• Syvash Bay
• Lemuriiske Lake
• Kherson Mountains (Stanislav Wildlife Reserve)
• Oguz Mound
• Trubetskyi Chateau
• Dzharylhach Island
• Biriuchyi Island
• Kinburn Spit
• Arabatska Spit

Biosphere reserve Askaniia-Nova

A lot of Ukrainians and residents of the other countries have heard about the unique Biosphere Reserve Askaniia Nova built more than 100 years ago by German baron Friedrich Falz-Fein. It is the only in Europe plot of land 33.000 ha in area the third of which has been preserved wild and has never been tilled.

The goal of the reserve is to provide animals with the natural place of habitat undisturbed by people. Nowadays there are over than 3.000 species of animals and about 500 species of higher plants in fescue-feather grass steppe.

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The Black Sea Biosphere Reserve

One of the biggest locations where numerous representatives of flora and fauna live in a heritage spot is the Black Sea Biosphere Reserve founded in 1927. It stretches from the southern part of Kinburn spit up to Zaliznyi Port. Its territory encompasses sea, island and forest-steppe parts the significant part of which is closed to the public.

A great number of the feathery nest and winter here; all in all there are 3.500 representatives of the animal kingdom. Its pearl is Tendrivska spit where the lighthouse sours up. Only here you can watch herds of horses in wild.

The Ukrainian desert Oleshky Sands

If you would like to see extraordinary and the most interesting places of Kherson region it is worth heading for the National Park Oleshky Sands. To do that go by bus or by car to Radensk and from there keep going with the help of a compass or GPS-navigator.

In Europe it is the biggest sand massif that occupies over 200.000 ha.

The desert appeared naturally because of soil displacements of the Dnipro riverbed and sandy deposits since the ancient times. Sandstorms that form barchans 5 m high and more occur here.

One of the main activities of the National Park is tourism. Here you can go along walking paths and look at the rare species of plants, wild animals and birds; and soon you will be able to drive ATVs there.

Pink Lakes

In Kherson region there is not one but three known pink lakes besides salt water bodies in Kinburn. One of them is Lemuriiske. It is a Ukrainian peer of the Dead Sea in Israel sui generis. Henicheske and Ziablivske (Kasyrske) lakes are two other sights of Kherson land located in Arabatska spit (Arabatka the way residents call it). Henicheske is the biggest drainless water body in Arabatka close to which the village Pryozerne is situated.

In 1840 the beta-carotene salt-works was founded. According to one of the legends it is exactly where Сhumatskyi Shliakh (WBT The Road of Chumaks) started by which salt was brought all around Ukraine and the world. There are only 4 springs in the world where the similar beta carotene salt quarried. The Ukrainian one is considered the best. Ziablivske pink lake is located between Schaslivtseve and Henhirka. Here you can breathe the air rich in iodine, bromine, and other microelements.

Syvash Bay

Due to its curative characteristics Syvash is famous not only in Ukraine but also far beyond it. It is the bay of the Azov Sea with numerous peninsula and channels that turn a water body into a complex labyrinth. Water comes here from the Azov Sea but because of shallow waters it evaporates fast which results in salt crystallization on the bottom.

Rare animals, salt crystals, water rich in microelements, mineral muds and vegetation able to survive in such an environment  is only a small part of natural treasures of the place.

Lemuriiske Lake

One of the wonders in Ukraine is a pink lake Lemuriiske located in Chaplynskyi district close to the village of Hryhorivka. Its waters are rich in microelements, magnesium and potassic salts, bromine and iodine ions that compare favourably in the positive influence on human health with the ones of the Dead Sea. Thanks to high concentration in salts (300gr/liter) a person can freely lie on the surface of the water mirror.

The pink colour is provided by unicellular algae which exposed to the sun produce beta-carotene. The brighter the sun shines, the more saturated colour is. As soon as there is a low tide, there are chimerical salt stalagmites on the banks.

Kherson Mountains (Stanislav Wildlife Reserve)

Kherson Mountains are the part of landscape wildlife reserve “Stanislavskyi” the total square of which is almost 660 ha. Local residents call them Grand Canyon through their external resemblance with the famous North American reserve.

One of the unique landscapes in Ukraine is represented with bold vertical shores, deep cloves, combinations of steppe spots with uncovered slopes of limestone and clay rocks that swiftly turn into the coastal water area of the Dnipro-Bug estuary. Atop of the canyon wonderful steppe sceneries and landscapes open themselves to an onlooker.

Oguz Mound

In Kherson land there is a number of places that store ancient mysteries. One of them is a Scythian mound Oguz by name located close to the settlement of Nyzhni Sirogozy. Archeologists suggest that it used to be a sepulcher of the Scythian Tzar Atei and dates back to the 2nd half of 4 cent. B.C.

Excavations of the mound started in the late 19 cent. At that moment its height was 20 m and its perimeter was 380m. In the centre there was a pit 6m deep which housed a sepulcher crypt.

Weapon, golden jewelry, burial sites of horses and servants were found in the mound. Unfortunately part of treasures was stolen by the black archeologists.

Trubetskyi Chateau

Connoisseurs of delicious wine, beautiful nature and ancient palaces are much inspired after visiting Prince Trubetskyi Chateau in the village of Kozatske. First vineyards were founded here yet in 1896.The palace, winery and wine-cellar to store 180 thousands of bottles were established for the Prince and wine-makers. Four years later Kherson Riesling won a Grand-Prix at the exhibition in Paris.

Winery produced white, red, dry, dessert, as well as the fortified types of wine. Within 2003 and 2011 the reconstruction was implemented on the winemaking factory, new equipment was installed so that they could produce wine according to the French technology.

Today over 10 thousands bottles of exquisite wine are stored in the wine galleries. Some of them you can taste during the tour around the chateau.

Dzharylhach Island

Not every tourist can state that s/he has seen all sights of Kherson region if s/he has not been to the largest island of the Black Sea – Dzharylhach.

It is a National Park located on Karkinitskyi Bay between Lazurne and Skadovsk. In a wonderfully picturesque locality dozens of various wild animals live from fresh-water turtles to wild boars, moufllons and deer. Mounds, ceramics, goods made from bones of the Neolithic age were found due to archeological works on the island. At the Medieval Age there was a trade city Tamiraka.

Nowadays Dzarylhach is an uninhabited island which is visited by the tourists every single day. They come to admire marvelous landscapes, watch dolphins playing in coastal waters.

Biriuchyi Island

Cotton-white sands, turquoise sea, an ancient lighthouse, huge flocks of birds and plenty of animal world representatives living in wildlife conditions are the island Biriuchyi. It is a spit 26 km long and 5 km wide which is washed by the Azov Sea from one side and from the other it is washed by the Utliuk Bay. A narrow land bridge connects the spit with the mainland. In Fall it goes under water.

In 1996 the unique plot of land was incorporated into Azov and Syvash National Park.

Here you can meet mouflons, kulans, hares, foxes, pheasants, white swans as well as deer and fallow-deer.

Kinburn Spit

Land-wise Kinburnska spit is a cape located not far from the city of Ochakov in Mykolaiiv region. It is a favorite place of rest for many Kherson residents and tourists from the other regions. The cape is 40 km long and about 5 km wide washed by the Black Sea and the Dnipro-Bug Estuary. The part of the territory is occupied by the National Nature Part Biloberezhia Sviatoslava.

Kinburn spit is a remote locality far away from the civilization where nature is preserved in its undisturbed state. There are about 300 hundreds of water bodies on its territory the biggest of which is located not far from the village Heroiske.

Herodotiv (Volozhyn) Forest, fields of wild orchids, shallow waters of Yagorlytska Bay, and various historical sights refer to the distinguished sights of the peninsula. Also, you can see flocks of pink pelicans.

Arabatska Spit

Tourist sights of Kherson land are represented not only by architectural and historical, and nature sights but also by sea vacation on the coastline of Arabatska spit. The recreational zone is one of the unique destinations of Europe. The sand spit which stretches along the coastline of the Crimean peninsula is 113 km long. The width of the spit varies within 250 and 8 m.

There are children camps, over 75 guest houses and tourist camps as well as private spas. Thanks to mineral water spring, salt and mud lakes thousands of tourists head for Arabatska Strilka every year in order to improve their health.