Exploring the Countryside

This hill can be seen from the cathedral area. This is the place where stratified stones come to the surface. The hill always attracted us. One day we allowed some time and visited it for the first time. Then we frequented it during our stay in Illyria. We climbed the hill several times and enjoyed the views of the village from its top.

You can approach the hill from Peace Street. Then you will reach the hilly side of the Village Hill. You can also take the path that leads you there from the cathedral. Then you will have to climb the rocks to get to the top. No mountaineering skills are required, just use your common sense and be happy!
The views are breath-taking indeed. They cannot be seen in every village.
You can take impressive photos of your company at the background of those stratified stones, and your friends, upon seeing them, might think you were somewhere in the mountains. I am sure this hill makes Illyria unique.
Address: Peace Street ("ulitsa mira" in Russian).
Directions: opposite the cathedral and near the cross located at the place of the ancient cemetery.
Website: Illyria Hill (the fourth picture from above).

Visiting the old quarry

An old stone quarry is located on the village outskirts. I found it to be a nice place to enjoy the countryside. This is where you can just stand and admire the countryside. It's especially nice in fine weather. Look around you! We stood at the top of the quarry that must be 100 feet deep. Locals still mine for stratified stone here. That stratified stone that is valued at the market and is used for making garden paths and fences. I would like to revisit that place. I think I will during my next visit of the village. It's nice to come here by car, but in dry weather you can make a shortcut across the field. The village church is about two miles away from the old quarry. The church is an outstanding landmark of Illyria.

The village stands on the banks of the River Olkhovka (in Russian), the River Vilkhivka (in Ukrainian), a tributary of the Luhanka that is a trubitary of the Seversky Donets. This is a small river whose waters are full in spring owing to snow. The majority of the village houses are located on its right bank. The river is very shallow and the wise locals never bather in it, although the water seems pure enough. However, they don't mind a picnic or a BBQ at the riverbank.

The River Vilkhivka (the Olkhovka in Russian, the Alder River in English) is the right tributary of the Luhanka, the river on which Luhansk stands.
The river name comes from the word “alder”.

The River Vilkhivka is heavily polluted. Villagers used to fish for pikes there, but this fish is hardly found in the river now. Therefore, anglers are happy to catch some perch, crucian carp, roach, chub, and sebel, if any.

This river is mostly less than a meter deep. Within Illyria, its depth reaches from two to three meters.

The Vilkhivka flows mostly in villagers' gardens. There are two bridges across the village on the territory of Illyria.

Here is a short Youtube video about the River Vilkhivka in Luhansk and the place where it turns into the Sea of Luhansk.

And another short video about Fishing at the Vilkhivka.

The villagers get the water from the wells made by themselves. The wells are from four to nine meters deep. I tasted the water and liked it a lot: I found it to be soft and pure.

Hiking and cycling are very popular here. There are hills around the village, about 5 km away. The hills there are 220-240 m above sea level, so you can have a beautiful panorama of the entire village in fine weather.