“Kaskady” Tract, Zlynka
The granite valley of the Buka river with natural waterfalls — a nature monument of local significance.
The tract lies in the valley of the Buka river, a right tributary of the Pletenyi Tashlyk, south-west of the village of Zlynka, 10 km from Kapustyne railway station. Here Lower Proterozoic granites and migmatites of the Ukrainian Shield, estimated to be about two billion years old, come to the surface. Between the granite boulders the river forms riffles, rocky pools and waterfalls; according to the regional library, the highest reaches 7 m. According to the Zlynka community, this is one of the few places with natural waterfalls on the Dnipro Upland and in the lowland part of Ukraine. Nine plant species of the tract are listed in the European Red List and the Red Book of Ukraine. The tract was declared a geological nature monument of local significance with an area of 2.5 ha by decision No. 233 of the Kirovohrad Regional Executive Committee of 9 June 1971 (one source gives 1984). In 2024 the regional council enlarged the monument to 72.45 ha and changed its category to a complex one.
Zlynka community, Novoukrainka district (under the old division, Mala Vyska district). Access is via the Kropyvnytskyi — Uman highway to the turn-off for Zlynka, then, according to Telegraf (18.11.2025), about 7 km on a dirt road, part of which has been broken up by lorries from the Kapustianskyi granite quarry; without a car — by bus to Zlynka and 1.5–2 hours on foot (pokatushki.kh.ua, 2026). An open-air site with free access around the clock; the tract has no facilities, and local residents clear the litter themselves. The historian Serhii Miliutin advises combining Zlynka, Kaskady and the Voinivskyi reserve in a one-day route, best of all in spring (Ukrinform, 28.09.2026).