Buzk's Gard
Bugsky Gard is a fairly young national park in Ukraine, established in 2009 on an area of 61 km2. The park was created to preserve unique natural sites, including numerous tracts and geological monuments.
The National Park is located in the valley of the Southern Bug River and its tributaries. The relief of the Bugsky Gard is mainly represented by the gentle slopes of the Ukrainian Shield, which are cut by rivers, so there are many rapids, gullies and rocky shores on the rivers. Due to its location, the territory of the national park is replete with picturesque corners, especially in this regard, the Gromovoye tract, Labyrinth, Protic and Aktovsky Canyon are attractive. During the voting, this area was included in the list of seven natural wonders of Ukraine.
The Aktovsky Canyon runs along the Deadovod River near the village of Aktovo. The walls of the Aktovsky Canyon rise to a height of 40-50 meters, and the total area occupied by it is 250 hectares. The canyon in its beauty of bizarre rocks, graceful figures and unusual boulders resembles the famous Grand Canyon in the USA in miniature. The difficult terrain does not allow rafting on the river, but extreme athletes and tourists are attracted by a simple walk on the rocks. In the old days, there was a border between Turkey, Poland, and Zaporizhia, and each side built a fortress, the remains of which can still be found today. Many legends are associated with these places, some of them are related to the origin of the name of the river Deadwater. According to one of them, the name appeared after a bloody battle between Cossacks and Turks, after which numerous corpses hid the water. According to another, the Scythian tribes floated down the river on the last journey of their rulers. The names of some natural monuments also testify to the turbulent past: the rocks of the Turkish Table, the gully of Gaydamak, the island of the Cossack Mamai, the Zaporozhye brojaka.
The territory of the Bugsky Gard next to the rivers is mainly occupied by floodplain meadows and forests. In total, over a thousand varieties of plants can be found here, 34 of them are under protection. Among them, the Klokov cherry, gromovik granitny, smolevka, carnation Bug, meringia Pridnestrovskaya, tulip Bug, rutvica smelly and others stand out. Bugsky Gard is home to many animals, of which 22 are listed in the Red Book.
