Kryshtaleva Cave

Kryshtaleva, the Crystal Cave, is a gypsum maze at Kryvche with around twenty-two kilometres of surveyed passage, of which a short lit circuit is shown to visitors. The interest is the gypsum itself: the walls and ceilings carry crystals, in places large and clear, formed as the mineral dissolved and reset. It was the first of the Podillia gypsum caves opened to the public, back in the 1960s, and the guided route takes about forty minutes.

What you actually see

• The gypsum crystals - transparent crystals lining walls and ceilings along the route.
• The maze passages - the labyrinthine pattern typical of Podillia gypsum caves.
• The lit circuit - a laid-out route of about a kilometre through the system.
• The colours - gypsum shading from white through yellow and red.

When to go

Year round; the cave holds a constant temperature of around eleven degrees, so a jacket is needed in any season. Tours run to set times. Weekends are busiest.

Honest expectations

Only a fraction of the system is open and the tour is short for the price. Lighting is basic and some sections are dim. The passages are low in places and involve stooping.

Nearby

Optymistychna is north near Korolivka, and Borshchiv is northeast.