The forest caves, which, walking through the fairy-tale forests that cover the mountain peaks that surround the village, can be stumbled upon in its vicinity — are considered to be one of the most interesting categories of Putilshchyna attractions. And the most famous among them is Cave (rock) Oleksa Dovbusha.
Oleksa Dovbush (1700-1745) is a Ukrainian national hero. For those who are unfamiliar with the history of the Oprishkov movement, in a nutshell, the activities of this man can be described as follows: he was the Ukrainian Robin Hood. Standing at the head of the rebels who opposed the arbitrary rule of feudal lords who profited from the peasants who bore the exorbitant burden of taxes and duties, Oleksa robbed landlords, rich tenants and moneylenders, as well as Polish nobles, and distributed the loot to the peasants. Folk legends and stories were written about his life, deeds, courage and valor, his image has forever entered the Ukrainian, Hungarian, Moldavian and Polish folklore. The death of this hero was unexpected — he was betrayed and killed by a peasant Stepan Dzvinchuk, who cooperated with the nobility, such a tragic death further strengthened the glory of Dovbush, which is kept in the memory of the people to this day.
Dovbush and his detachment hid in the mountains — in mountainous areas it was easier for them to hide from the feudal lords, who were constantly hunting for heroes. The caves in the vicinity of Putila were one of the places where they rested and gained strength before their next exploits.
The cave (rock), called today by the name of Oleksa Dovbush, is located in the area of Nemchich Pass, which is located on the border of Vizhnitsa and Putila districts of Chernivtsi and Kosovo district of Ivano-Frankivsk regions. To find this cave, you need to walk along the pass, which offers a stunning panorama of the mountain valley Cheremosh River — in the Carpathians this pass is considered one of the most picturesque places. The famous writer Lesya Ukrainka wrote about it as follows: «We drove up Nemchich Mountain and saw from there at sunset something as beautiful and silver as a dream».
From the pass to the cave there is a mountain path, following which at the branches you should always choose the path that leads upwards. Continuing to follow the trail, travelers come to the ridge «Berezka» and along its crest through the mountain Verkhorechye height of 834m (the highest point of the ridge) come to the concrete geodesic post, from which the trail turns down to the left into the thicket of the forest. The way from the village Putila to the cave is a few hours, and no special preparation is required. It’s easy to realize that you’ve reached your goal — the pandemonium of gigantic stone blocks and the «natural monument» sign will be the main evidence of that. The entrance to the cave where Dovbush once hid his treasures, according to legend, is hidden under these gigantic blocks of stone.
From the scientific point of view, the Dovbush Cave is an inclined crack in sandstone of tectonic origin, 22 meters long, 3-6 meters high and 1 to 1.5 meters wide. And from the point of view of travelers, who speak about the trip to the legendary cave in the most positive way — it is an amazing, fantastic place that allows you to feel the touch of two famous fairy tales at once — about Robin Hood and Ali Baba and the treasures found in the forest cave.
This is a truly enchanting place, which is worth seeing by all those who are interested in the sights of Ukraine and its amazing places, who are fond of legends and legends, who believe in fairy tales and miracles.