Yasnohorodka Family Eco Park. Ukraine’s largest ostrich farm, 30 minutes from Kyiv

Yasnohorodka began as the Ostrich Valley breeding farm – the first in the country and still the largest. Today it has more than 500 ostriches of different breeds, with 6 hectares of green grounds and spacious enclosures set aside for them alone. A special treat is the incubator with a large viewing area, where you can see newly hatched ostrich chicks. Over the years the farm has grown into a family eco park. Alongside the ostriches live camels, deer, Highland cattle, buffalo bathing in a pond, alpacas, goats, rams, pigs and rabbits. In the petting area you can stroke and feed the gentle animals – but only with the special feed sold at the box offices and on the grounds. A large aviary houses chickens, Muscovy ducks, fighting roosters and exotic peacocks. Admission includes the ostrich farm, the zoo, the photo spots and a basic guided tour: guides set off every hour from 10:30 to 16:30 in any weather – a wooden boardwalk runs along the enclosures. For school students there is a live zoology lesson as part of the “I Explore the World” program, and for groups there are group and private VIP tours along a separate route from the incubator to the adult birds’ enclosure. The park has a separate kids’ zone, Yasnohrai: a trampoline complex, an indoor maze, a swing park, slides and climbing frames, kids’ electric cars and the Trolley zip line, more than 150 meters long. The basic attractions are included in admission, and the extended set in the KidsPLUS ticket. The grown-up part of the program includes its own winery with wine tours and a tasting of six wines, a whiskey distillery, the Ferma locavore restaurant with dishes made from ostrich meat and eggs, food courts and the Chill&Grill zone. In summer there is a pool complex with sun loungers, bungalows and a VIP area, and you can stay overnight in eco-cottages, a hotel, the “Winemaker’s Dacha” or glamping tents. Every year in early September the park hosts the “Family Winemaker” wine festival – a tradition now 15 years old. There is a shelter on the grounds, and the park says it is fully self-sufficient, with power, heating and internet 24/7.