Ukrainian Scythia Ecological tour to the South of Ukraine (13 days) (Donetsk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhya, Odesa and Mykolayiv regions) This unique route will take you through the centuries to the ancient times, billions, thousands and hundreds years ago…The Southern and the Southeastern parts of Ukraine are hiding a great number of mysterious and enigmatic places. The flowing rivers formed the magnificent and extremely picturesque canyons with the interesting rapids, whimsical rocks, rich flora and fauna in the surroundings. Here on Khortytsya island the capital of the Cossack state used to be, somewhere in this area the legendary Scythian Escampey was lost, the Stone Tombs (Kamyani mogyly) in Donetsk region and the Stone Tomb (Kamyana Mogyla) – an ancient sanctuary with rock inscriptions near Melitopol – are associated with the so called “places of power”. The route goes through the biggest desert in Europe – Oleshkivska and a number of the unique areas of the reserves – the steppe reserve Askaniya Nova, the Danube Biosphere Reserve. Program Day 1 Leaving from Kyiv. Visiting the national reserve “Khortytsya” (the biggest island on the Dnipro river, the most important cradle of Ukrainian Cossackdom). During the excursion we are going to visit the historic-cultural complex “Zaporizhska Sich”, the memorial and tourist complexes and the unique and extremely interesting folklore- ethnographic “Mounted Zaporizhsky Cossacks” performance. Optionally: “Protovche” tract with the Dnipro floodplains and a panoramic view on the legendary Bayda island from the rocky Khortytsya banks. Arrival to the camp. Dinner. Day 2 Breakfast. The Stone Tombs (Kamyani mogyly). When you find yourself in this place for the first time, a thought that you’re looking at the ambrosial landscapes suddenly occur. It is this place with its unique granitic formations of the age of about 2 billion years that deeply impresses with its greatness, uniqueness and originality. Considering the chemical composition and physical properties of the granite, there are no analogues of this place in the world. Besides some rare plants which you can’t find anywhere else are growing here. Moreover “Kamyani Mogyly” are well-known as a place where the representatives of different archeological cultures used to live more than four thousand years ago. Arrival to the camp. Dinner. Day 3 – 4 Breakfast. A boat trip on the Kalmius river (you are about to make the fascinating 2-day trip on the Kalmius river, banks of which are decorated with the stunning granitic formations. Kalmius belongs to the rare Ukrainian rivers, where you can go through the rapids during the summer and some specific places may be classified as the second category of complicacy). Arrival to the camp. Dinner. Day 5 Breakfast. The Stone Tomb (Kamyana mogyla) - visiting the national historic-architectural reserve “Kamyana mogyla”, the monument of the ancient history. This place has been attracting people since a long time ago. They would use the Stone Grave for the different rituals. A great number of the ancient inscriptions were found on the rocks surface (petroglyphs) during the research work. Arrival to the camp. Dinner. Day 6 Breakfast. Askaniya-Nova (the unique corner of nature with the only steppe area in Europe which has never been used by people). Askaniya-Nova Reserve is an open-air museum, where the ancient burial-mounds and stone Scythian figures survived. There are about 400 species of the various plants and a unique collection of animals in the reserve. Arrival to the camp. Dinner. Day 7 Breakfast. Oleshky desert (the biggest desert/semi-desert in Europe with the diameter of about 15 km). Oleshky sands can be called the most mysterious territory in Ukraine, surrounded by the biggest forests planted by man in the world. They beckon those seeking peace. On climbing the highest desert mountain, you will see how Oleshky live. Arrival to the camp. Dinner. Day 8 Breakfast. Pontic Olbia (Olvia). “Happy” – this is how the name of this city-colony was translated from Greek. The heyday of the city occurred in 6-4th centuries B.C. Nowadays the archeological excavations are conducted annually here in Olbia, which give us an opportunity to find out more and more about the ancient settlement on the bank of the Bug estuary. It is here that we will visit a museum, see the Evrisiy and Aretta crypt, Zeuss mound, Lapidarium, the temple of Apollo Physician and other famous places of Olbia. Arrival to the camp. Dinner. Day 9 Breakfast. Odesa (a tour around the city considered to be straight from the literature – an energetic, decadent boomtown - the main architectural monuments, the most popular beach Arkadia, French Boulevard, Pushkinska Street, the Naval Station, the tree-lined Prymorsky Boulevard; the pink and white colonnaded Odesa City Hall; a beautiful building of the well-known Opera and Ballet Theatre; the famous Potyomkin Stairs, sweeping down to the Black Sea; Derybasivska Street, Odesas’s main commercial street, jam-packed with restaurants and bars; the city garden where all manner of souvenirs are sold). Arrival to the camp. Dinner. Day 10 Breakfast. Kuyalnuk estuary (the Dead Sea, the place of the ancient Cossack and Chumak salt mining. The unique areas of the steppe, the endemic plants and rare animals like badgers, steppe polecats, stilts and sandpipers etc – all these can be found here. And nearby the architectural monument – a fine construction of Kuyalnyk resort – is situated). Tuzla estuary (the picturesque landscapes, protected flora and fauna, an opportunity to see peregrine falcons, sandpipers, elks, foxes and learn about the fisheries in the Black Sea area). Arrival to the camp. Dinner. Day 11 Breakfast. Vylkove (“The Venice of Ukraine” – this is how this town at the Danube delta is often called. Although, unlike the Italian Venice, there are no outstanding architectural monuments in Vylkove, the town itself is the unique symbol of human and nature coexistence and attracts a lot of tourists every year. You will have a boat-tour along the streets-canals, through a delta visiting the symbolic “0 km”, learning about the nature peculiarities at delta, flora and fauna of Danube Biosphere Reserve, traditions and everyday life of local population and also trying the local wine made of grape “Novak”, which is growing only in this area in the silt and water). Arrival to the camp. Dinner. Day 12 Breakfast. The Canyon of Mertvovid and Arbuzynka (the stunning and original landscapes, protected flora and fauna, learning about the historical territories of the Granit-Steppe Buh area). Hardovy island and a site of the Buh-Hardivska Palanca (the administrative unit in the Cossack epoch) - the unique granite canyon of the Southern Buh. Arrival to the camp. Dinner. Day 13 Breakfast. Myhiya rapids and Protychanska cliff (Protych tract, the picturesque lake at the former granite canyon). Excursion to the Museum of the strategic missile forces (the former secret military base for the nuclear missiles launching. The only another museum of the kind is situated in the US). Returning back to Kyiv. *The organizer is entitled to the right to make the slight changes to the program without changing the general content of a trip. www.terraincognita.info [email protected] Kyiv, Mala Zhytomyrska Str, 16/3, of.4 Tel. +380443616801, fax +380672313200, mob. +380982259997 .