Cycling around Kýiv - National Reserve Čyhyryn

A two-day cycling trip to a vast historical area around the town of Čyhyryn (Чигирин), aggregating numerous tourist landmarks in the town itself and in the surrounding villages.
The start is at Čerkasy (Черкаси) railway station, where it is possible to get from Kýiv in several ways. The connection by suburb trains involves an interchange in Hrebinka.
The first 65 km is basically a shabby road from Čerkasy to the village Raceve (Рацеве), passing a number of villages on the bank of the Dnieper. From Borovyća (Боровиця) village there starts a stone road, which is very uncomfortable.
The first interesting point upon the way is the flooded village Adamivka, where there is currently a small grain port and a lighthouse.
Another 10 km along the P-10 highway and then thought the forest in the village Vitove, and we enter a half-abandoned town of Orbita, which was designed for the workers of Čyhyryn nuclear power plant, a project never completed. In the vicinity from it situates a dam at the mouth of the river Ťasmyn, where there opens a panoramic view on the Dnieper.
The next village upon the way is Stecivka, hosting a couple of ethnographic museums amid the picturesque hilly landscapes. From here it takes another 10 km along a broken road to the centre of Čyhyryn. In general, as of summer 2021 road condition in this region is rather poor...
Čyhyryn itself has a wonderful natural landmark - Zamkova Hora ('Castle Hill'), surrounded by preserved and rebuilt historical buildings, dating back to 17th ct. Nowadays these places are well-known among tourists, and so is the next village upon the way - Subotiv with its iconic Illinśka Church and a small skansen. On the outskirts of Subotiv situates a well-organized spring 'Three Wells' inside a beautiful ravine. I was here at 8 am on a holiday, and many local people already gathered here for water.
It takes another 12 km northwards along the road of uneven quality to reach the turn into the hills, leading eventually to the village Ivkivci (Івківці). It meets the traveler with an old renovated windmill, and in the centre situates a small private ethno-museum 'Zernoland'.
Here there is a gateway into the highlands of the interfluve of upper and lower Ťasmyn with several mountains: Semydubova Hora, Strilyća and Žukova Hora, which open wonderful panoramic views on the surrounding landscape.
Before entering the village Holovkivka, we also make a loop down to the spring Žyvun, situated in a large forest massive Atamanśký Park - a wonderful place worth enjoying for a longer time, if it hadn't been for the mosquitos.
So in Holovkivka starts the final interval of the route, leading towards the railway station Funduklijivka (Фундукліївка), with a direct connection to Smila. The road itself is a complete shame: in some places it is flooded by the mud from the neighbouring fields, in others - it is a stone road.