Visit Ukraine - Dovbush's Rocks: Are you ready to find the opryshky's treasure?

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09 Oct. 2024

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Dovbush's Rocks: Are you ready to find the opryshky's treasure?

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Table of contents

What do you know about the geography of Dovbush Rocks?
Interesting facts about the Dovbush rocks
What is known about the history of the Dovbush rocks?
What are the most famous hiking routes to the Dovbush cliffs?
How much does it cost to visit the Dovbush Rocks Reserve?
How to get to Dovbush's Rocks?

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Dovbush's Rocks: Are you ready to find the opryshky's treasure?

The Bubnyshche tract in Ivano-Frankivsk region is home to a unique natural, historical and mythological landmark - the Dovbush Rocks. Named in honour of the Ukrainian rebel leader Oleksa Dovbush, the waterfalls still hold many secrets and mysteries. Find out about the structure and origin of the rock and cave complex, what historical periods it remembers, and what routes you can take to get there

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In spring and summer (and beyond!), the Carpathian forests attract Ukrainian and foreign tourists. One of the locations that remains popular is Dovbush's rocks in the Bubnyshche tract in Ivano-Frankivsk region. Every Ukrainian has heard of Oleksa Dovbush, although not many people have visited the site of his headquarters.

Today, on the rocks, you can touch the sun signs that have remained here since pre-Christian times, see hand and footprints that are said to be Dovbush's own, listen to legends about the Oprishkos' treasure and even try to guess its location. Read more about the mysterious place of the Beskydy in Visit Ukraine's article.

What do you know about the geography of Dovbush Rocks?

Dovbush Rocks is a unique complex of rocks and caves located in Ivano-Frankivsk region in the Bubnyshche tract on the territory of the Polianytsia Regional Park (established in 1996). The rocks belong to the Skole Beskydy (Ukrainian Carpathians) mountain system, stretch over an area of 100 hectares and rise to a height of 80 metres.

The rocks were formed more than 70 million years ago. The stone labyrinth is 200 metres wide and about 1 kilometre long. Most of the rocks here are beeches and spruces, which create unique landscapes and purify the air, so visitors are guaranteed health and aesthetic pleasure. In the second half of the last century, a recreational area was created here, and in 1981, the Rocks... were granted the status of a natural monument of republican significance.

The rock complex is unique, and the reason is not only its age. The piles of rocks look like fantastic creatures that have frozen forever among the Carpathian forests.

Interesting facts about the Dovbush rocks

1. According to legend, there was a camp of Oprishka rebels who fought against the lord's slavery, led by the legendary Oleksa Dovbush. The rock complex is named after him.

2. The first explorer of the rocks was Ivan Vahylevych, a famous Ukrainian poet and folklorist of the 19th century.

3. Ivan Franko repeatedly visited the ‘place of power’ and described Dovbush's rocks in his philosophical poem ‘Bubnyshche’.

4. The famous Ukrainian historian Mykhailo Hrushevsky reported that the rock and cave complex is of defensive importance.

5. On the Polish military map of 1935, the complex is marked as the Rocky Reserve Bubnyshche, which means that the reserve existed here even then.

6. The Dovbush Rocks have ‘twins’ near Yaremche, so you need to be careful when planning your route.

7. Each of Dovbush's rocks is amazing, which is reflected in the variety of their names: Kolobok, Tulip, Doll, Book, Witch's Massif, and others.

8. The dramatic story of Oleksa Dovbush's love and death, as it turns out, has no folk-poetic origin at all: the story of the love between Oleksa and Dzvinka, whose husband killed the prominent opryshok, was invented by the Polish poet Franciszek Karpinski. However, the story has become so popular that no one will ever find the truth.

9. On Dovbush's rocks, you can get rid of all your sins - of course, if you squeeze into the Devil's Gorge (or Purgatory, as it is also called), which is only 20 cm wide.

What is known about the history of the Dovbush rocks?

A pagan settlement of the 10th century.

Having studied the remains of an ancient settlement on the rocks and caves, scientists have concluded that this place was used as a settlement and as a defence facility. This is evidenced by the processing of the rocks and the even geometric shapes in the construction of the caves.

The research also revealed that there was an observatory here in the 12th and 13th centuries, as evidenced by ancient signs depicting the sun.

Next to the settlement is a large mound consisting of several mounds: their diameter reaches 5 m and height is 1 m.

The movement of the opryshky on Dovbush's rocks

In the Carpathian forests in the 16th-19th centuries, rebel groups were formed that fought against Polish, Hungarian, and Moldovan lords, and later against the Austrian administration. The rebels were called opryshky, and the movement began in Prykarpattia and later spread to Zakarpattia and Bukovyna. Ukrainian insurgents defended the peasants, attacked the lords' estates, ploughed them up, and gave the money to the peasants.

The Oprishky, led by a peasant leader, were particularly active in 1738-1739. The struggle against the Oprishky was unsuccessful, so the Polish authorities took an unprecedented step - they announced that the person who killed Dovbush would receive land and be relieved of all duties for the rest of his life. Such a person was found - in the village of Kosmach, which supported the opryshky, there was a supporter of the Polish gentry, Stefan Dzvinchuk. Dovbush decided to punish the apostate, but the latter shot him at point-blank range. Historians now believe that Oleksa died of blood loss, as the wound was not fatal.

Dovbush's legendary treasure

According to legend, Oleksa Dovbush hid countless treasures somewhere that he had taken from the Polish gentry. Some say that they are on the top of the Velykyi Odynets, one of the rocks, others simply mention Chornohora. According to eyewitness accounts of Dovbush's death, when the opryshko was questioned about the treasure, he replied: ‘I hid it on the Chornohora mountain, and I know where exactly, and God knows. Only this treasure will serve the earth, not people.’ So the treasure has not yet been found (if it exists), and the legends wander between the rocks.

Find out more mysterious stories and legends of the Carpathian forests in the special route from Visit Ukraine ‘Dovbush Trails and Mount Makovytsia’.

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What are the most famous hiking routes to the Dovbush cliffs?

- "Polianytsia Village - Dovbush Rocks ’ along the Sukel River to the Polianytsia Waterfall, where the entrance to the Dovbush Rocks Nature Park is located.

- "Trukhaniv Village - Dovbush Rocks ’ from the end of Oleksa Dovbush Street in Trukhaniv through the forest to the rock and cave complex.

How much does it cost to visit the Dovbush Rocks Reserve?

In 2020, the State Agency of Forest Resources approved the procedure for visiting the Dovbush Rocks monument of national importance. Since then, the cost of entry for a lego car to the territory is UAH 30.

How to get to Dovbush's Rocks?

The most convenient way to get to the cliffs from the city of Bolekhiv is by taxi or bus. Part of the route to the rocks will have to be walked.

Bus timetable from Bolekhiv to Dovbush Rocks:

09:01 - 12:37

12:31 - 16:17

16:01 - 19:57

Bus timetable from Ivano-Frankivsk to Bolekhiv

12:50 - 16:18 (from the Main Post Office)

12:50 - 16:16 (from Bastion)

13:55 - 18:17 (from the railway station)

14:01 - 18:01 (from Bastion)

18:55 - 22:40 (from the railway station)

Train schedule from Lviv to Bolekhiv

The train in the direction of Cherkasy - Ivano-Frankivsk runs daily. Departure from Lviv is at 06:00 and arrival in Bolekhiv is at 08:00.

Train schedule from Kyiv to Bolekhiv

The train in the direction of Cherkasy - Ivano-Frankivsk runs daily. Departure from Kyiv is at 21:25 - arrival in Bolekhiv is at 08:00.

The necessary tickets for all types of transport can be purchased on the Visit Ukraine portal.

To make your trip interesting and meaningful, please contact Visit Ukraine specialists (Telegram | WhatsApp). We will help you organise and plan your route, book tickets and accommodation at the nearest hotel, provide a guide, etc. The routes include several locations, so your travel experience will be incredible!

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Frequantly

asked questions

Where are the Dovbush rocks located in Ukraine?

Dovbush Rocks is a unique complex of rocks and caves located in Ivano-Frankivsk region in the Bubnyshche tract on the territory of the Polyanitsa Regional Park (established in 1996).

Who first explored the Dovbush rocks?

What poet wrote about the Dovbush rocks?

Who are the opryshky?

How much does it cost to enter Dovbush Rocks?

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