About the park

Yavorivskyi National Nature Park

Yavorivskyi National Nature Park is a picturesque corner of nature near Lviv with unique natural complexes, historical and cultural centers of European and world importance. Battles took place on the territory of the park during the First and Second World Wars, parts of trenches and burial places have been preserved here.

The park is part of the Roztocze International Biosphere Reserve, which stretches across Poland and Ukraine under the auspices of UNESCO. Yavorivskyi National Nature Park is one of the four transboundary biosphere reserves in Ukraine, the territory of which is among the most visited.

Here the natural and climatic features of three regions intersect: Podillya, Polissya and the Carpathians. The main European watershed passes through the park, on the slope of which rivers flow, which flow into either the Black or the Baltic Sea.

Yavorivskyi National Nature Park is characterized by a great variety of ecosystems, including wetlands, lakes, rivers and forests. The latter consist of rare pine-beech-oak groups, which are found in Ukraine only in the region of Roztocze and Crimea. These forests are home to a variety of animals, including European deer, ermine and long-tailed owls. The nature of Ukraine is protected on the territory of 7,108 hectares.

The Yavorivskyi National Nature Park has established a Center for Breeding and Conservation of Wild Horses, which are genetically related to the tarpan, which previously lived in Ukraine but became extinct more than 100 years ago. Currently, eight horses are kept in the park. The center can be visited and even ride these horses.

Yavorivskyi National Nature Park with its picturesque landscapes, small height differences and great diversity of ecosystems is a popular place among tourists, especially from Lviv. The park is ideal for hiking, cycling or swimming in lakes and ponds.

The park also opens to visitors the fascinating historical, religious and national traditions of the region. Here you can get acquainted with numerous battles of wars during the last centuries, visit the centers of religious pilgrimage, as well as learn to paint a Yavoriv toy, make a wax candle or a doll-motanka.

Yavorivskyi National Nature Park has great potential for further expansion of its tourism opportunities. This can further strengthen its environmental function while maintaining the economic prosperity of the region.

History of the park

Yavorivskyi National Nature Park (Yavorivskyi NNP) was established by the Decree of the President of Ukraine on July 4, 1998 in the central part of the Ukrainian Roztocze. It is a nature protection institution of national importance, subordinated to the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine, whose main tasks are environmental, research, recreational and environmental education.

The purpose of establishing the Yavorivskyi National Nature Park is to preserve, reproduce and rationally use typical and unique forest-steppe landscapes and other natural complexes of the Main European Watershed, which have important environmental, scientific, aesthetic, educational, recreational and health value.

International statuses

Yavorivskyi National Nature Park is part of the Roztocze International Biosphere Reserve under the auspices of UNESCO.