Trostyanets Arboretum

There's a small but beautiful arboretum (dendrological park) in Trostyanets. The park was founded in 1834 by the Ukrainian philanthropist Ivan Skoropadsky.

Of course it's very different from the popular tourist parks in Ukraine. There's almost no tourists here. But the park is definitely worth visiting. Despite the low funding, still you can see a huge variety of plants and walk around a large lake along artificial hills. The height of some of them reaches 35 meters and they were made ​​entirely by hands more than 150 years ago.

According to a legend, Skoropadsky made these hills ​​to create a little Switzerland on the flat land and impress a foreign woman. We don't know if she liked the park. Besides, the philanthropist didn't see the finished park himself.

The park left a very positive impression even despite the neglection. After some reconstruction it will definitely be popular with tourists.

Getting there: There's no direct transport from Kyiv and Chernihiv. You can get there either by train or by bus to Nizhyn, and from there by bus to Ivanytsya (2-3 times a day), but look for the schedule in advance. An easier way is to order a tour, which will also include Sokyryntsi and Kachanivka.