Lake Svitiaz
Ukraine's deepest karst lake — down to 58 metres.
Svitiaz is the largest lake of the Shatsk National Nature Park: according to the park, it covers 2622 hectares and is up to 58.4 metres deep; it is the deepest lake of natural origin in Ukraine. Sources differ on how many lakes the park has: the park's website says 23, VolynPost over 30. The park was established on 28 December 1983, and in 2002 UNESCO gave it the status of the Shatsk biosphere reserve. The lake's origin is still debated: the park calls it karst, while another version links the Shatsk lakes to the retreat of the Dnipro glacier. According to the park, the water level depends about 80% on precipitation; “7 Chudes Ukrainy” writes of feeding by groundwater and artesian springs. The lake is 9225 metres long and 4000 wide, with an average depth of 6.9 metres; there is an island of about 7 hectares. Forests grow along the shores, and the sandy beaches have tourist bases and campsites.
National park: tents only with the permission of a forester or gamekeeper, campfires only in specially designated places (park website). The villages of the Shatsk community and Lake Svitiaz itself are not part of the 5-kilometre border strip, so for a holiday a passport or ID card is enough, and men aged 18–60 also need a military registration document; forest routes outside the villages within 5 km of the border with belarus require written permission from the State Border Guard Service (ThePage, 22.06.2026).