National Nature Park "Aleshkinsky Sands"

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Sights of Ukraine amaze with their variety and huge choice. Therefore, every tourist is an experienced or beginner, will find a great option for outdoor activities considering their preferences and seasonality. The choice is so huge that it is sometimes difficult to decide where to spend your vacation or weekend. Such difficulties are quite obvious, because in the expanses of our country there are absolutely all natural wonders for a great pastime: mountains, rocks, seas, lakes, rivers, waterfalls, caves, canyons, parks, nature reserves and this list can be proudly replenished even with know how Aleshkinsky sands. Nowadays, due to the rapid development of domestic tourism, a unique sand massif is quite popular especially among fans of extreme recreation. Perhaps it should be noted that a big plus in the high attendance of this tourist place is the regional sights of the Kherson region. After all, to get here is absolutely not difficult, since the array is spread only 30 km from the well-known resort town of Kherson.

For general perception, I would like to note that Aleshkovskiy sands do not consist of a solid massif, a landmark is a single territory of 7 sites. To be more precise, the total area of the massif reaches almost 40 km if you move to the north-south, and 150 km to the west-east. Here you can walk through the coniferous forest, which in its time hit specially planted to stop the desert. But, the main desert area of dunes and 5-meter-high dunes of red-hot sand spread over an area of 210 thousand hectares, and is almost 15 km in diameter. This territory has been actively used as a military training ground for quite a long time. Today, the local area is given the status of the national natural park "Oleshkovskie sands", which anyone can visit.

How were formed Aleshkinsky sands

The appearance of Aleshkovsky sands was not without a person. The array, without exaggeration, is a good example and a manual, no matter how ironic it may sound, what our land can turn into with its rich flora and fauna due to the negligent attitude of man to nature. As confirmed by the research of the scientist P. Kostychev, who did a great scientific work on the cause of Aleshkovskiy sands, he said that initially this region was distinguished by an abundance of vegetation and deciduous trees. Also frightening is the fact that for a radical change of nature in this area it took man only a hundred years. The scientist denied the inveterate opinion, “as if the emergence of a desert territory came from climate change of the local area ", he considered a similar theory unfounded without scientifically based evidence.

As it turned out, “The initial stage of the formation of the Aleshkov sands and their further consolidation was facilitated by only one reason: active divorce and grazing of cattle. I will give an example, in 1802 the area of the lower Dnieper wooded territory covered almost 5,000 hectares, and by 1832 the vegetation in the same area was equal to zero. The activity of the mass delivery of sheep was recorded in the XVIII and XIX centuries. For example, in the household of a fairly well-known personality Baron Falz-Fein, who is also the founder nature reserve Askania Nova, the number of herds reached a million heads. As a result, almost all vegetation was destroyed from overgrazing. There was no one to hold the sand in a natural way. The wind contributed to a significant expansion of the desert area, and this was how the Aleshkovskiy sands appeared.

The territory of the desert massif rapidly increased and only in 1905-1970, the coming disaster became so obvious and frightening that the locals began planting conifers and acacias around the entire perimeter of the massif. Thus, it was still possible to stop the expansion of the sands, but only for a long time ......

Today, Aleshkovskiy sands are called by many tourists desert, but this classification is erroneous. According to the peculiarities of the climate, the local territory belongs to semi-deserts. In the summer, the heating of the sand sometimes exceeds 75 degrees Celsius. It rains, but extremely rarely. On the territory there are small land and underground lakes, which actually support the vital activity of flora and fauna.

How to get to Aleshkovsky Sands

Despite the difficult climatic conditions, those wishing to visit the Ukrainian desert are more than enough. Moreover, this landmark is located just 30 km from Kherson. Naturally go to Aleshkovskiy sands best on their own transport and preferably accompanied by a guide. Therefore, for those who prefer to travel independently it is useful to know that the nearest settlements from where you can start: Kherson, Kopani and Nova Kakhovka. If you prefer an organized excursion, then you should contact any tourist agency of Kherson in advance and book a tour to Aleshkinsky sands. It is much easier, safer, more interesting and inexpensive.

Nearest sights

If you are planning to visit Aleshkovskiye Sands and you will have the opportunity to visit the nearest sights in the range of 200 km, then pay your attention to:

Lemurian Lake or the “Dead Sea”, which is located just 135 km from Kherson.
Reserve Askania-Nova. If you start from Kherson, you will have to overcome 145 km. In the case of continuing the tourist route from Lake Lemurian, then the total mileage will be only 46 km.
Uninhabited island Dzharylgach, which is located near the resort town of Skadovsk. By mileage, from Kherson you need to drive 100 km.
Tourists who travel by car will be interested to visit a very beautiful place on the road in the direction of Kherson through Pervomaisk - Radonovoe Lake, Migiya. This attraction is located at the highway village Migiya. This is an excellent option to relax and enjoy the nature of the neighborhood. It is here that the same art object is installed in the form of a wrought heart, which is so often found in social networks.