Dovbush's rocks in the village of Bubnyshche

Accommodation around

The Dovbush Rocks complex is a natural monument of national importance, a unique historical and architectural monument of the early Middle Ages. The Dovbush Rocks cave complex covers an area of 100 hectares and is located southwest of the city of Bolekhiv near the village of Bubnyshche. You will be surprised by the unique shapes of huge rocks, giant stones that resemble bizarre images of animals and various amazing creatures.

The rock cave complex "Dovbush's Rocks" is an interesting in shape and location pile of giant stones 30-50 meters high, which were formed thousands of years ago on the seabed. The labyrinth created by nature stretches for almost a kilometer from east to west, reaching a width of 200 meters. According to archaeologists, there was a pagan temple here, and later a Christian monastery.

The main group of Bubnyshche rocks is located near the villages of Bubnyshche and Polianytsia in Ivano-Frankivsk and Trukhaniv in Lviv region, in the Zalomy tract on the southern slope of Sokolova Mountain, within a 200-meter-wide and 600-meter-long ridge that stretches from the top (670 m) from north-north-east to the bottom (575 m) from south-south-east.

The truth is that the rock and cave complex of the Bubniski Rocks has long been a powerful defensive stronghold. Together with the Tustan fortress in Urych and the rock monastery in Rozgirchia, near Stryi, it formed a single system in which our distant ancestors defended their land and their faith.

The crescent of the main massif is a place of gathering of tourists with:

the inner square;
caves characterized by a clear geometry of forms;
traces of a well; stairs carved in stone blocks;
a moat and the remains of a defensive rampart.

The main massif is surrounded by magnificent stone statues of natural origin. People have given them fancy names: "Kolobok", "Tulip" (40 meters high), "Doll", "Sails", "Eyelash", "Witch's Massif", "Armor", "Rustler", "Kiss of the Drum Dog", "Salvador Dali's Suitcase, Intruders from Outer Space, Jolly Roger, The Murmur of the Lambs, Bridge to Eternity, Life is Beautiful, Heartfelt Relationships, etc. While traveling to the Dovbush rocks, use the opportunity to appease the "Forest Lord" carved on the "Dragon's Tail", unravel ancient inscriptions, take a photo in front of the heroic stone, and see the stone ear and heart of Oleksa Dovbush.

Карта схема "Скелі Довбуша" Степана Слуцького

In some places, the distance between the rocks is very narrow - only 20-30 centimeters. Tourists have conflicting feelings. In the caves between the rocks, it gets darker and darker, and you can hear the squeaking and rustling of bats' wings, as well as the echo of dripping water. Overcoming the path, for a moment it may seem that there is no way out! You have to move for some time in the twilight, trying to squeeze into those thirty centimeters. Once up there, a whole ensemble of rock caves awaits the tourist. Particular attention is drawn to an unusual rock, looking into which you can see the image of a lion. According to a folk legend, this predator guards the buried treasures of the folk hero Oleksa Dovbush, which no one has been able to find yet. There is also a staircase that allows you to climb the mane of the lion rock and appreciate the stunning panorama of Prykarpattia. There is also a "wishing stone" at the top, which you can touch to ask for the fulfillment of your most cherished dreams, and they will certainly come true!

Folk legends closely associate Dovbush's Rocks (Bubnyshche) with the name of the national avenger Oleksa Dovbush. According to legend, he hid his treasures here. It is said that Dovbush and his comrades dug caves in the rocks. The main one was in the Odynets rock. After Dovbush's death, his comrades hid a lot of gold in the cave, which they took from tavern keepers and merchants. The Odynets cave is covered by a rotating stone. If you turn it sideways, you can get inside. In order for the passage to open, you need to say a magic word. The person who knew that word died long ago. So those treasures have been lying under the rock for more than a hundred years.

There are three caves in the rocks that have clear geographical shapes. One of the places where the stones are piled up resembles a lion's head. Archaeologists have found traces of processing on some of the stones - apparently, people have helped nature a bit. In addition to the rock complex itself, Dovbush Rocks attract tourists with picturesque landscapes of the surrounding mountains, a beautiful light beech forest, and a waterfall located near the complex.

The Dovbush Rocks (Bubnyshche) are a regular training place for climbers. It is said that this is perhaps the best place for rock climbing in Ukraine. Some of the rocks are up to 80 meters high. On one of the rocks, they have installed a memorial sign and a cross in memory of their fallen friends.

According to the legends of Bubnyshche and Dovbush

Walk along the secret paths and passages, through the dark gorges, and you may see the image of a courageous lion or the heart of the brave Oleksa Dovbush. If you touch the stone heart with your hand and make a wish, it will definitely come true. Locals say that each rock reflects a part of the body of the opryshok Dovbush. So you can "spot" Dovbush's fist. Each of the rocks has its own interesting and unusual name: Golets, Kolobok, Austrian, Parus, Tulip, Biwachka, Battleship and Shurshun. The legend of the Dead Lake, which is located at an altitude of 900 meters, is also interesting. It is said that it was here that Dovbush hid his treasures.

The Ukrainian historian and politician Mykhailo Hrushevsky suggested that the rock and cave complex "Dovbush's Rocks" (Bubnyshche) served a defensive function. A mysterious place called the Devil's Gorge is especially attractive to tourists. It is 20 centimeters wide. According to legend, those who pass through it will get rid of their sins. So you will have to make a lot of effort to get into this small gap.

Скелі Довбуша Бубнище

Be sure to climb one of the rocks. From there you will see picturesque views of the Carpathians! At the top of the cliff there is a memorable place where tourists tie a knot of ribbon to signify that they have been here. Local guides also offer tourists to take a photo with a falcon or go for a horseback ride. An ancient well is located on the territory surrounded by caves and stones. Today its depth is 5-6 meters, although in ancient times it was much deeper. The well can be reached by stone stairs.

At the end of the walk, visit the kolyba, which is located nearby. Here you can warm up by the fire and taste delicious Hutsul dishes. You can also organize a picnic or relax with a tent in the forest. It is said that at night there is a special atmosphere here, filled with the romance of travel and the heroism of adventure.

Most scientists believe that Dovbush's Rocks are most likely the remains of a rock monastery similar to the Maniava Skete.

The Dovbush Rocks Botanical and Geomorphological Reserve was approved as a natural monument of republican significance in 1981. Its area is 100 hectares. The main group of rocks, up to 30 meters high, covers the inner area in a semicircle from the north and east, bounded on the western side by a moat and, apparently, a defensive rampart. The height of the entrance to the main cave is 1.6 m. Above the cave there is an open shelf hollowed out in the rock up to one meter deep, with slanting ditches cut into the chamber above it, in which the roof of the wooden extension was probably fixed. Further to the right is a second, slightly larger open cave, 2.3 meters high. It is called the "stable". Next to it is another small cave, which may have served the inhabitants of this ancient dwelling to store tools and food.

In addition to the main group of rocks that surround the ancient dwelling, there are many individual rock towers in the surrounding forest. Among them is the Tulip (up to 40 meters high) to the west, and the Doll to the southwest. The population has many legends and tales about these caves. Some people believe that there were castles or watch fortifications here since Russian times, which alerted the population to the alarm before an attack. There are still traces of additions to the rocks, perhaps they were wooden walls and fortifications of some castle.

One of the legends says that the Tatars attacked Bolekhiv and set it on fire. "And our people heard and saw the city burning. The peasants then began to beat a tambourine and let it be known that people should hide because the enemy was close. That's how Bubnyshche got its name." Some people associate the various buildings in the caves and the caves themselves with the stay of the leaders of the Carpathian opryshky, especially with the name of Oleksa Dovbush. He really did visit these places, but he could hardly have stayed here for long: the rocks were known to everyone. What can we say about the legend according to which Dovbush, as a man of unprecedented strength, built all the local fortifications and buildings with his own hands.

"Dovbush also went there. He liked to rest there. If it weren't for that Dzvinka who betrayed him, he would have lived a long time. But she married Stefan Dzvinchuk and told him how Dovbush could be killed.

As Dovbush was saying goodbye to the world, a storm broke out in the mountains, such thunder, and the winds carried that Dzvinka into the clouds and spun her around the castle. When you face those rooms in the rock, there is a tall stone pillar on the left side and a little bit behind. That's where Dzvinka was stoned," says one of the legends.

What should you do when you arrive at Dovbush's rocks?

See the 4-meter-deep well carved into the rock. It used to serve as a rainwater reservoir.
Climb to the highest rock - the view is impressive, and it's not difficult to get there. You can also take a picture with the "Ukrainian sphinx" there.
Take a chance to crawl through a narrow gap (about 20 cm). They say that not everyone can squeeze through, but it's worth the risk, just without "fanaticism" =) They also say that only a person who has no serious sins can do it. And if you manage to squeeze in, then the sins you have committed are "written off".
See three caves with clear geometric shapes.
To see the figures of various animals and solar signs - a lion, the sun, the foot of the Mother of God.

Ivan Franko visited the caves in the rocks more than once. In 1881, he wrote a philosophical poem "Bubnyshche" after visiting the caves.

The radiant sun is rising

From the pink bed of mills,

And first of all on our Pidhiria

His golden eyes darted.

Creamy as a maiden's breast,

Woke up - sighed - shivered,

Dew like a pearl bib,

Shook off the tender greenery.

And immediately blushed,

And the rivers opened like lips,

They whispered to us all at once

"To the bright darling king.

But he is from the purple bed

He jumps out of the luxurious embrace,

On the road, - the radiant messengers

Chasing after the darkness.

He hides his face in the darkness

In the valley and down to the ground

In the thicket and the mire and the mists

It covers itself with thick mists.

But what a powerful giant it is,

That proudly, like an enemy, has raised

His dark forehead to the sun,

And knee-deep in the ground?

Is this a reason for the darkness of the night?

That he wants to fight the sun?

Or is it the giant of the eternal curse?

Is he stuck here, like a rock?

Look at him! For centuries

A plowed bold forehead,

But here and there, wrinkles to hide,

It wears a mask of green.

Look at him! Here, in the stone pile

An evil enemy has made a hole in it,

And the curious eye is anxiously looking

Into the secret depths presses.

And a ray of sunshine with him

Brings it to the dark hole,

And looks into the giant's heart

Through a fierce, deep hole.

And the giant's thoughts are eternal,

And the giant's actions are terrible

He reads the fixed, stuck

In a cold, rocky wall.

It has already been mentioned that in the summer of 1884 Ivan Franko led his first group of student travelers on the route here: Boryslav-Skhidnytsia-Urych-Korchyn to Bubnyshche and further to Hutsulshchyna. Under the impression of this trip, he wrote the poem "Ukrainian-Russian Student Travel" and the poem "On the Road". In the summer of 1890, Ivan Franko walked from Stryi to Verkhnye Syniovydne, and from there to de Bubnyshche, then to the village of Lolyn.

The stairs lead to the top of the cliffs, which offer a magnificent panorama of the Carpathian ranges, and in the distance to the southwest you can see Mount Kliuch, which in October 1914 became the scene of bloody battles between the Ukrainian Insurgent Army and the Russian army. South of Mount Klyuch, on March 19, 1946, Yaroslav-Dmytro Vitovskyi ("Zmiuka", "Andrienko"), commander of the UPA's Makivka Tactical Unit, son of Dmytro Vitovskyi, was seriously wounded and tortured in prison.

Dovbush's Rocks are located near the village of Bubnyshche in the Carpathians, which can be reached by private or public transportation. The Dovbush Rocks rock and cave complex is located 15 kilometers from the town of Bolekhiv, Ivano-Frankivsk region. From Bolekhiv, there is a bus that will take you to the turnoff to Dovbush Rocks. Then you have to walk about 4 km. Alternatively, you can travel from Nyzhnye Syniovydne (Synevidsko) on the Stryi - Skole highway along the valley of the Tyshivnytsia River (11 km). You can also reach Dovbush's Rocks from the village of Rozgirche (12 km) on the right bank of the Stryi River.