From Varangians to Greeks: historic trade route through the region.
Tourist routes of the Dabinka district — "Udachnaya"
Brest · Sulkova · Kavasady · Pyatrovichi · Nepakoichytsy · Zdzitava
Besides the land and railway routes that cross the Dabinka area, the main blue artery of the region is the Mukhavets River. Therefore this route can be combined — water and land — with obligatory visits to the interesting natural and historical places of the district. Tourists will enjoy a boat trip along the fairly wide river, starting their journey from Brest. Soon the waterway will bring them to the land of Dabinka.
The first stop can be Sulkova, and via Kavasady you can paddle to Pyatrovichi, painted in 1870 in watercolor by Napoleon Orda.
Not far from there is the biological reserve "Nepakoichytsy", located along the Mukhavets and consisting of two territorially diverse sectors. The reserve was established in 1995 on the lands of the Pyatrovichi forestry (Bobrinsky forestry enterprise) to preserve rare and endangered species of flora and fauna listed in the Red Book of Belarus and typical Polesie landscapes.
On the territory of "Nepakoichytsy" spots have been recorded where rare and endangered plants grow — for example Salvinia natans (floating fern), Siberian iris and Carthusian pink — and also animals such as the hazel dormouse, the silver gull, the mute swan, the penduline tit, the European pond turtle, the fritillary and the swallowtail. More than a hundred species of medicinal plants grow in the reserve. Its regime does not exclude the use of the territory for limited forms of nature use: sport hunting and fishing, berry and mushroom picking, and recreation.
The journey can become even more attractive by using agritourism, which allows you to spend time wonderfully in an ecologically clean corner of the Brest region. For this you can visit the homestead "Udachnaya", which is located on the bank of the Mukhavets near the village of Zdzitava. The owner of the homestead, V. V. Surytsin, himself an experienced tourist, will gladly offer guests various kinds of recreation.
The river is home to a variety of fish — from ide to catfish — so a few meters from the homestead volunteers have placed a bench and often sit there in the hope of a catch. For those who want a bigger haul, there is the Shakalov fish farm, located 5 km from Zdzitava.
At the "Udachnaya" homestead there is a main house with rooms for living and relaxing, an orchard and a sauna. Nearby is the so-called Base Camp with a summer cottage "Uzor", the shelter "Uchanarog", a peasant hut "Khad — osvai-rakoy", a fire pit and a barbecue.
During a stay at "Udachnaya" travelers are offered walking tours through the Zdzitava forest and the surrounding area, boat rides and horse-drawn carriage rides. You can take a geological walk to collect flint (near the village) and amber (5–20 km from Zdzitava). It is also recommended to visit the ancient Zdzitava church and the "Belarusian House" museum in Galuzze, where you can take part in the family-household ritual "Ukhodchina" and taste traditional Belarusian cuisine. The traveler can choose any tourist route that will allow them to become better acquainted with the history and contemporary life of the Dabinka area.
However, the water routes developed by V. V. Surytsin using kayaks are the most popular.
The first route, which starts from the "Udachnaya" homestead, is called "From Varag to Hrek" and follows the current of the Mukhavets, further on to the Pripyat and ultimately towards the Black Sea. Of course, you can limit your trip to just several kilometers along the blue sands of the Mukhavets and steer your kayak into small tributaries that flow into the river — Zalakhva, Prastynta, Osipok, Vyta — each of them attractive in its own way.
The second route, from the Belovezhskaya Pushcha to Brest, is considerably more difficult, since it runs along the wavy, fast and capricious Yasnaya River. Parts of the route, especially near villages, may resemble white-water rafting, but the current on the Yasnaya is not turbulent, so even a novice kayaker can cope with steering.
The "From Varag to Hrek" route is intended and planned for all categories of tourists. For those who have limited time, one- or two-day trips are offered, with overnight stays in tents or without overnight stays; for water-travel enthusiasts it is possible to complete the entire route with a return to the "Udachnaya" homestead for rest.