Donetsk Oblast: Chalk Cliffs, Nature Trails and Cultural Heritage

Nature Trails in Sviati Hory National Park

Sviati Hory National Nature Park has two ecological nature trails: “Zustrich” and “Dubovyi hai.” The “Dubovyi hai” trail passes a patriarch oak said to be 600 years old. It is 29 m tall, has a diameter of 2 m and a trunk circumference of 6.3 m. The park also has excursion and tourist routes through the chalk mountains, which are also known as the Holy Mountains. The National Nature Park is located in the Sviatohirsk community along the Siverskyi Donets River.

A Variety of Landscapes

The chalk cliffs near Bilokuzmynivka are a geological natural monument of local significance. They are located in Kostiantynivka Raion, Donetsk Oblast, 500 m from the center of Bilokuzmynivka. This distance gives a clear sense of the site’s proximity to the village center. Kleban-Byk Regional Landscape Park is one of the places in Donetsk Oblast with especially beautiful scenery and good opportunities for relaxation. Meotyda National Nature Park has a more varied landscape profile: it brings together coastal spits, salt lakes, small rivers, warm sea waves, reed beds, saline soils, steppe slopes and granite rock. While the focus near Bilokuzmynivka is on a single geological natural monument, Meotyda’s landscape profile encompasses bodies of water, shoreline features, vegetation, soils, slopes and rock.

Cultural Heritage and Architecture

An official classification from 2026 describes the Sviatohirsk Dormition Monastery as a religious, architectural and natural heritage complex; it is one of the oldest spiritual and cultural centers in eastern Ukraine. St. Nicholas Church in Druzhkivka was included in the State Register of Immovable Monuments of Ukraine as a cultural heritage site of national significance. It is a brick structure dating from the 17th century; its chalk altar draws on traditions of Ukrainian folk wooden architecture, rendered in stone. The church thus combines a specific building material with a design tradition rooted in folk wooden architecture.

Culture in the Broader Context of Ukraine

At the national level, Ukraine offers other distinctive examples of culture. In Ukraine, the Struve Geodetic Arc includes four of its original survey points, established between 1816 and 1851. The Residence of the Metropolitans of Bukovina and Dalmatia in Chernivtsi was built from 1864 to 1882 to designs by Czech architect Josef Hlavka; it is an example of 19th-century historicist architecture. The Ukrainian tradition of cooking borscht has been passed down within families for centuries, and children take part in its preparation. UNESCO identifies the tradition as being in urgent need of safeguarding. In the Ukrainian pysanka egg-decorating tradition, patterns and symbols are applied to the egg with wax, which is then dyed. This process is repeated until the desired pattern and colors are achieved.

When searching for a hotel in Donetsk Oblast, start with one question: should your trip focus mainly on nature and landscapes, or on religious and architectural history? This can help you tailor your search to the focus that will shape your stay.

Discover more destinations: Donetsk, Makiivka, Amvrosiivka, Yenakiieve, Mariupol, Kostiantynivka, Amvrosiivskyi Raion, Kostiantynivka, Horlivka, Shchurove, Prymorske, Sviatohirsk, Melekyne, Yatskivka, Bilosaraiska Kosa, Nyzh nia Krynka, Kramatorsk, Yasynuvata, Pokrovka, Siedove, Sloviansk, Prokhorivka, Pokrovsk, Vodyane, Stepanivka.

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