Buzk’s Gard

Buzk’s Gard

Buzkiy Hard National Park was established by Presidential Decree in 2009 covering 6,138.13 hectares of Arbuzynka, Bratsk, Voznesensk, Domanivka and Pervomaisk Counties in Mykolayiv Oblast.

The climate is temperate continental, as the Oblast is located in northern-steppe subzone. It is characterized by mild, relatively unstable warm winters, hot summers with low, unstable humidity, and frequent droughts and dry winds.

Local flora includes more than 1,000 species of vascular plants, 34 of them already in Ukraine’s Red Book, including the Buh moehringia, Buh silene, Klokov cherry, Buh carnation, and wild tulip.

The Southern Buh valley has many and varied animal habitats, with more than 9,000 species of insects alone.The valley also has more than 300 species of vertebrates includes about 300 species, 23 of which are currently protected, including the Dnipro barbel, the Danube bleak, the yellow-bellied snake, the dwarf eagle, river otter, and the stoat. The name of this park comes from the word “hard,” which was a special hut for fishing used in the Kozak era. Buzkiy Hard, meaning the “hard” on the Buh River, was the historic name for a palanka or province of the Zaporizhzhian Sich, located at the confluence of the Great Tashlyk and Southern Buh rivers.

The riverside villages of Myhiya, Kuripchyne and Hrushivka in Pervomaisk County offer one of the best natural routes for water slalom in Europe.

For nearly 40 km from Myhiya to Oleksandrivka, the Southern Buh rushes through steep rocky shores, forming the narrow Buh gorge with its majestic granite rocks, rapid-filled channel, waterfalls and islands.

The rapids that have remained on the Southern Buh to this day are called “broyaky” locally. Many Zaporizhzhian and Haidamak legends and tales are connected to these and other islands and cliffs, preserved in many of their names: Zaporizka Broyaka, Kozak Mamai Island, Turkish Table cliffs, Haidamak Saddle, Puhach, and Haidamak Gully.

The riverside villages of Myhiya, Kuripchyne and Hrushivka in Pervomaisk County offer one of the best natural routes for water slalom in Europe. And the steep granite canyons are a favorite place for rock-climbing competitions. Picturesque landscapes attract many visitors for rest and outdoor recreation, who return home with unforgettable experiences communing with nature.