National Nature Park "Podil's'ki Tovtry"

“Podil’s’ka Switzerland” – so called fabulous country of the pictorial steppes, overgrew by nectariferous herbs and secular forests, a pictorial corner of Ukraine – Podil’s’ki Tovtry.

Approximately 20-25 millions ago the waters of the Sarmats’ke Sea splashed at this place, fauna and flora of which were surprisingly rich. In course of many years, gigantic colonies of corals, water plants, mollusks and other organisms were dying off and its remains with the elements of the rocks gradually put aside creating a huge coral-reef barrier. The sea bit by bit moved off in result of the modern Carpathians foundation, and left behind long ridge of calcareous mountains, to be called to date Podil’s’ki Tovtry. People simply call it “Medobory”. The local residents like to name it this way as this land is a rich source of melliferous fruit plants, strawberries, haws, raspberry, wild rose and blackberry. The air is simply intoxicated with these sweet odours of motley grass: here you can find marjoram with lily of the valley, old oak, thyme, adonis, althaea, sunflowers, spireia, tutsan, rokytnyk. That is a real treasury for herbariums, to collect curative plants and make different magistral tinctures or simply add in a cup of tea. The place is rich in the aroma of honey. One can breathe freely.

One should not be a rock climber in order to see this extraordinary planet of the nature from the top of the rock, since the hills are not high and tender. These hills are perfect for those who do not like to waste much time to exhausting ascents.

A significant part of Podil’s’ki Tovtry is covered with oak hornbeam forests. There is a great variety of plant types such as: birch, maple, yasen, linden, il’m, elms.

Underbrush is represented by snowball tree, cornel, hazel, spindle tree, sweet brier. It is a real natural wealth! Lots of apples, cheery and peer trees grow outskirts; they are to bring sappy sugary fruits and the one to taste them is to be truly delighted!

For a very long time the territory of Tovtry was inhabited by primitive human beings. This was a place to extract silicon which used to make the implements. And to date archaeologists keep in discovering settlements of Trypil’s’ka culture epoch. Thus, stone axes were founded in Domkiv and Truskiv ravines. Also, the founded the remains of ceramics of Chernakivs’ka culture (II-V centuries AD). An important finding is bead zuba, to be an amulet of a chief.

This land is also rich in legends, one of them voices a miracle, gifted to local people of Nihyn and Cherche villages. During Tatar invasions, people hided in a cave close to Nihyl pass. In the course of several weeks, not water but milk, flowed over the cave walls and was a kind of food and energy stimulus for the locals. Also, the inhabitants of Ivakhnivtsi village say source water in their village is healing one since, once, Mother of God condescended to this land.

Various touristic routes operate in Podil’s’ki Tovtry like ski, water, horse, hiker, cycle and automobile ones. You can try one day excursion or prolong it; or even to visit health-improving and cognitive ones, with fishing or hunting, horse riding or navigating boats. You can visit mineral sources and health resorts. A sanatorium Tovtry is located at this territory exactly. It is a unique one as far as it operates on the base of springs of Zbruchans’ke deposit of mineral waters, which can not be compared with anything else throughout the world. This water is mild and tasty and evacuates the organism from radioactive species by caesium and strontium. It also favors the entire health of a man.