Donskoy Nature Park Viewpoint

This viewpoint above the Don river lies in the Donskoy Nature Park (природный парк «Донской») in the Ilovlinsky District of Volgograd Oblast, a couple of kilometres from the khutor of Khmelevskoy. It looks out over the Don, the white chalk hills and the gullies cutting through them. There is a gazebo with a table.

Donskoy Nature Park

The Donskoy Nature Park was established in 2001 on the right bank of the Don, inside the river's great bend. The landscape is shaped by chalk hills dropping steeply to the river, steppe slopes, ravines and springs. The park is part of the Kalach Bend of the Don Important Bird Area.

The viewpoint near Khmelevskoy was set up by the park's rangers. According to travellers, the old khutor itself is gone, and the platform has become one of the best spots to take in the Don valley and its chalk slopes.

What to see nearby

• Kobylya Golova (Mare's Head), one of the park's best-known chalk peaks, about 95 metres high, with several viewing platforms overlooking the Don and its banks.
• The ruins of the Sirotskaya Hermitage at the foot of Kobylya Golova, the remains of a former monastery. The entrance to its cave cell lay under a chalk outcrop known as the "Don Sphinx".
• The Ognevishche, or Trekhostrovskaya sanctuary, about 7 km north of the stanitsa of Trekhostrovskaya. Archaeologists excavated a shrine of Iranian-speaking tribes who worshipped fire here; the site is known as the "Temple of Fire" natural monument.

Legends

Local tales say trade caravans once passed through these parts, while robbers hid in the scrub and sparse woods. One version holds that a northern branch of the Silk Road ran here. The caravans are also linked to the black, or "Afghan", tulip that flowers in the park in April: according to one story, its seeds spilled from the traders' sacks.

Getting there

It is best to approach the viewpoint via Khmelevskoy: past the khutor the road runs over the chalk hills, and views of the Don open up within a couple of kilometres. Travellers coming from the left bank use the ferry near the stanitsa of Novogrigoryevskaya on the Log – Novogrigoryevskaya road, about 15 km from the Moscow – Volgograd highway. The ferry is closed from time to time, so check that it is running before you go. Inside the park, follow the signs to Trekhostrovskaya.

A scheduled bus runs from the Volgograd bus station to the Trekhostrovskaya ferry: it leaves early in the morning and returns in the evening, roughly between 17:40 and 18:00.