Buky Canyon

The Hirskyi Tikych has cut down into the granite of the Ukrainian shield at Buky, leaving a gorge about five kilometres long, some twenty metres deep and 20 to 40 metres wide, rapids, and a small hydroelectric dam built in the 1920s and still standing. The rock is pink granite, worn smooth by the water, and people swim in the pools and camp along the banks. It is an unexpected landscape in otherwise flat farming country.

The landscape

• The granite walls - pink rock rising some twenty metres above the river.
• The rapids - fast water and pools through the narrow section.
• The old dam - a small 1920s hydro structure in the gorge.
• The contrast - a rock canyon in the middle of flat agricultural country.

When to go

May to September is the season for swimming and camping. Water is highest in spring. Weekends bring campers in numbers.

Before you go

There are no facilities. The rocks are slippery and there are no safety measures. Access roads are poor.

Nearby

Uman and Sofiyivka park are southwest, and Cherkasy is northeast.

Key facts