Shatsky Lakes are located in the corner of Ukraine, on the border with Poland and Belarus. Hallmark of the national park is the Svitiaz lake, the deepest in the country, with a maximum depth of 58 meters (the depth of the largest lake in Ukraine Ialpug is 6 meters). Water in Svityaz is very clean, the bottom is visible at a depth of 5-8 meters. Therefore, we are planning to come here in summer to dive.
Lake Svitiaz ©Yuriy Buriak
There are a huge number of tourists camps on the lakes also we saw modern hotels. And also almost all the locals offer guesthouses. Before the trip we agreed our lodging by phone. Double room with private bathroom in a guesthouse cost $17 per day. The price for a somethink like 3 star room with wi-fi should be $35-40. But I am not sure that it will be easy to find the hotel via phone in English.
Svitiaz village ©Yuriy Buriak
A couple of restaurants located along the road near the lake in Svityaz. Very good ones are in the heart of Shatsk, we ate there several times.
Despite the fact that the village Svitiaz is 3 times less then Shatsk, which is the regional center, it is located on the lake shore and you can watch a beautiful sunset, which is also a kind of landmark.
Sunset on the lake Svitiaz ©Yuriy Buriak
Sunset on the lake Svitiaz ©Yuriy Buriak
Shatsky Lakes offer different recreational options: swimming, fishing, mushroom picking, walks and so on. We were interested primarily in cycling. Despite the fact that the bikes are rented at many places, on the site we could not find them because they were all delivered. In the Internet we found some phones and as a result were able to agree the rent of 4 bikes for the next day. In English it will not be possible, so the best way to find bikes it to ask at the reception of your hotel, they can call.
As it turned out, Shatsky Lakes is a good place for cycling. Primarily due to a completely flat terrain. Good, but not perfect, as there is no dedicated bike paths, you have to go along the roads. We circled around the Svityaz lake (32 kilometers). From the village of Svityaz until the end of the village of Pulmo the road is perfect and almost with no cars.
Shatsky Lakes are ideal for cycling ©Yuriy Buriak
In the end of the Svitiaz vallage you can find an interesting object - Radiotelescope URAN-3 (wikimapia).
Radiotelescope URAN-3 ©http://rian.kharkov.ua
On the way we met many well-groomed horses and many nests of storks.
There are many beautiful horses around Shatsky Lakes ©Yuriy Buriak
Nest of storks ©Yuriy Buriak
Next is 6 kilometers of dirt road (not very good) that will finish near the tourist bases.
Cheap stay at Shatsky Lakes ©Yuriy Buriak
Next road will go through Shatsk where in the center you have to turn right in the direction of Svitiaz. We we very pleased with the trip and therefore strongly recommend Shatsky Lakes for bike lovers.
Shatsky Lakes are ideal for cycling ©Yuriy Buriak
Map of Shatsky Lakes ©@
Here is website about Shatsky lakes in English - http://www.ozera.com.ua/en/. They offer different tours around the lakes. Also you can find here list of guesthouses. Although almost in all cases there are only phone as contact. That is not very good as many people in Ukraine don't speak English. So, you can write a letter directly to the website and ask them about the guesthouse.
Getting there: Kiev connected to Shatsky lakes with a Warsaw highway (turn to the lakes in Lyuboml). We drove from home to home in 6 hours with two stops (550 km). There is no direct road from Lviv. GPS will lead you through Chervonograd (220 km), but do not go there. Normal way is through Dubno, Lutsk and Kovel (370 km) or through Poland.
If you go on the train then stop in Lutsk or Kovel and continue by bus to Shatsk or Svitiaz. Better from Kovel.
