Vasylkivski Karpaty

It is a landscape reserve of local significance covering 226.8 hectares, declared by decision № 79-06-XXIII of the Kyiv Oblast Council on 2 February 1999. It lies between the villages of Velyka Buhaiivka, Hvozdiv, Krushynka and Rostavychi in the Vasylkiv district of Kyiv Oblast.

The reserve is built around a large balka with adjoining ravines. It belongs to the Stuhna basin: the Buhaivka, its tributary, runs along the floor of the balka. This dissected ravine-and-balka relief is what earned the area its nickname.

There is one official name: the Vasylkivski Karpaty landscape reserve. "Ukrainian Iceland" and "Fairytale Ravine" are nicknames that appeared on social media alongside drone footage. Google Maps carries a pin labelled "Ukrainian Iceland" near Velyka Buhaiivka, and most visitors find the place by that rather than by its official name.

A second confusion is the word "park". People most often search for it as "Vasylkivski Karpaty landscape park", though its status is that of a reserve. The difference is not cosmetic: a zakaznyk is a protected-fund territory with a conservation regime, not a landscaped park with paths and facilities.

The upper and central parts of the balka carry artificial pine plantings; the lower third holds natural broadleaf forest, including floodplain aspen. The slopes are steppe-meadow, the balka floors marshy, and riparian ecotopes run along the Buhaivka.

A 2014 field survey concluded that the site once held artificial forest planting and ponds, and before that a river along the balka floor. This explains the relatively poor species composition: the scenery is more spectacular than the botany behind it.

The reserve preserves steppe biotopes that have all but disappeared across Kyiv Oblast under intensive agriculture. The steppe vegetation comprises sedge-forb, couch-grass and beard-grass groupings — this is where the site’s scientific value lies.

Over 30 bird species nest here, and game animals are common. Common broom grows across the slopes — in spring its yellow flowering is visible from a distance.

This is protected land and should be treated as such. Published survey reports record that the reserve has neither information boards nor protection signage — so nothing on site will remind you of its status.

The same surveys recorded off-road vehicle damage on the slopes and in the streambed and floodplain, along with shooting debris. The reserve suffers precisely from its visitors — so the most useful thing you can do is come, look, and leave without a trace.