Tustan

Tustan is one of the most unusual castles on the territory of modern Ukraine. The original wooden fortifications on the site were built in the IX century. They did not preserve till nowadays, simply because the wooden castles of those times did not survive anywhere else.

Tustan uniqueness lies in the fact that the fortifications were built on the high cliffs of sandstone, 25 million years old, standing in the middle of the forest. The best idea of ​​the original castle provides a modern 3D reconstruction. We hope that this model will be implemented soon.

Tustan is also known as the venue of the traditional summer festival of Ukrainian medieval culture (https://www.facebook.com/tustan.ua).


Many travellers, especially Lviv citizens, get here by bicycle from Borislav or Drohobych, where train stops.


The major investigator of Tustan




At first we went to the rock formations on the next hill to the right. Although there are no trails there, you have to reach the top through the forest. This place is quite extreme, but views are excellent.




As seen on previous photos, the top of Tustan have wooden platforms, which can be reached, just follow the signs.


The remains of brickwork


A tunnel in the wall.


There is also a "Museum of the History of Tustan", you will pass it. Also near the rocks there is a small market with souvenirs, where you can eat some Carpathian food

Tustan definetely needs some investments. We hope that in the future the wooden strengthen will be restored and road will be repaired. Due to an extremely picturesque location and a significant historical value, this place can be the top attraction. Now it is visited by only a few thousand people a year.

Getting to Tustan: only by car, although the road is horrible. We arrived by train in Skole where took a taxi to Tustan and back for $28 (with waiting time of 1.5 hours). Usually taxis can be found near the train station, except the early morning. Also Tustan can be reached by taxi from Skhodnitsa, Borislav or Truskavets.