The recently published travel guide “Lakes, Parks and Nature Reserves of Ukraine” is just the size of a hand, yet it opens a big window into the fascinating world of the country’s nature.
The book is the recent edition of the travel guide series issued by Made in Ukraine, a project founded by local journalist and blogger Yuliya Savostina to promote goods produced exclusively in Ukraine.
“Out of all the 12 guides we published, this is the most beautiful one,” Savostina wrote on Facebook, “It also contains the least known information about our country.”
The 176-page guide features the exploration of Ukraine’s most stunning natural scenery – particularly focusing on lakes, parks, and nature reserves.
Beyond informative, the guide promises to contain the perfect recipe for fun and recreational outdoor relaxation. Restaurant, cafe, and hotel recommendations for each oblast are also included.
The English version of the guide will be distributed through Ukrainian embassies and consulates abroad. Its version in Ukrainian will be available by the beginning of November in local bookstores and Made in Ukraine’s online shop for Hr 290 (around $10).
Savostina initially launched the Made in Ukraine initiative in 2013 as a social experiment to find out whether it was possible to live a whole year without consuming anything but domestic produce.
Building on her success, Savostina decided to launch a platform that would popularize authentic Ukrainian products through bazaar festivals held in Kyiv and various other events that support domestic production.
Since 2014, Made in Ukraine has worked with about 8,000 Ukrainian brands to promote local businesses and domestic tourist locations to both locals and foreigners. Savostina’s organization further collaborates with different ministries of the Ukrainian government as well as the United Nations.
Natural treasures
The hand-sized pocketbook is divided into five sections based on different regions: northern, western, central, eastern, and southern Ukraine. Each region is then broken down into cities, such as Odesa or Chernihiv, highlighting the lakes, parks, and nature reserves that can be found there. Readers can choose their travel destination based on what each region has to offer.
The only territories that didn’t make it into the book are those currently occupied by Russia: parts of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts and the entire Crimean Peninsula.
According to Maryna Marycheva, the project producer and technical editor of the guide, the production team traveled all over Ukraine in search of hidden gems and aesthetic marvels before completing the guide.
“There is no book like (this one) that focuses on breathtaking natural treasures of the country and their biodiversity,” she told the Kyiv Post.
Around 100 photographers took part in its production, Marycheva says, sharing their archive photos of gorgeous sceneries and species in each region.
When flipping through the pages, it is hard to miss the diverse set of images illustrating the region-specific flora and fauna of Ukraine. While the aesthetics capture the eye, the content is not meant to merely illustrate the richness of biodiversity within Ukraine. Raising awareness on the need to protect areas bearing the status of “national treasure,” which make up to 6% of Ukraine’s territory, is a significant emphasis of the book.
Legends and history
“Lakes, Parks and Nature Reserves of Ukraine” introduces a wide variety of must-see places in Ukraine. The list includes Optymistychna Cave, the longest cave in Euroasia, Podilski Tovtry National Nature Park, easily the largest natural park in Ukraine, Shelekhivske Lake that originates from the Ice Age and Oleshky Sands, a desert that heats up to 70 degrees Celsius.
The readers can educate themselves on the history of various landmarks by reading the complementing background descriptions that go along with the pictures.
For example, the travel guide pinpoints Khortytsia Island, the largest of all islands on the Dnipro River, as the cradle of the Cossack army from the 16th to 18th centuries.
Local legends that have been passed down through generations are also included in the travel book, such as the idea that swimming or throwing stones at the Nesamovyte Lake in the Ukrainian Carpathians will disturb the lake and cause heavy rainfall. The editorial team of Made in Ukraine says it has cherry-picked the most fascinating traditional beliefs of each region by extensively working with the local guides.
Throughout the course of the book, phrases like the “Ukrainian Venice” or “Small Switzerland” are commonly used to compare Ukraine’s scenery with famous world destinations.
“It would be no overstatement if we said that in Ukraine, you can see the whole world in miniature,” reads the editors’ prelude to the book.
The guide comes with separate maps of the five different regions. The previous guides published by Made in Ukraine fit all the information of a book into one foldable map of the entire country, which some might find handier.
The book is meant to help foreigners and locals discover the most unforgettable sites Ukraine’s tourism has to offer, ranging from majestic mountains and deep caves to playful waterfalls and mineral springs with healing waters.
The guide’s editorial team says that they want to support the country’s economy by boosting tourism in Ukraine.
“Our goal is to encourage readers to travel across the country and see these places themselves,” Marycheva said.
The English version of the guide will be distributed through Ukrainian embassies and consulates abroad. Its version in Ukrainian will be available in November in local bookstores and Made in Ukraine’s online shop at www.madeinukraine.org for Hr 290 (around $10).
