Prypiat is the main river of Polissia and the largest right tributary of the Dnipro. It begins in Volyn, flows across the entire Volyn and Rivne Polissia, then through Belarus and returns to Ukraine near Chornobyl to flow into the Kyiv Reservoir. The length of the Prypiat is 775 kilometres, with 261 of them in Ukraine. The name is ancient: "Prypet" meant "tributary".
Source in Volyn
The Prypiat originates near the village of Holiadyn in the Kovel region, among marshes and drainage canals. In its upper course, the riverbed is canalised, while further down it becomes winding, with meanders, oxbows, channels, and sandy islands. The width of the river in its upper course is up to forty metres, in the middle course 50–70 metres, and in the lower course reaches 250 metres.
Great floodplain
The main feature of the Prypiat is its wide floodplain: two to four kilometres in the upper course, and ten to fifteen in the lower course. In spring, water rises by several metres and floods the meadows for weeks or even months. It is these floods that have made Polissia a land of marshes, lakes, and islands. The colour of the water is brownish due to the peat soils of the basin.
Over ten thousand rivers and streams flow into the Prypiat. The right tributaries flow through Ukraine: Turia, Stokhid, Styr, Horyn, Ubort, Uzh. The left ones flow mainly through Belarus: Pina, Yaselda, Sluch, Ptich. Through one of the channels, the Prypiat is connected to Lake Nobel, the largest in the Rivne region, and the Dnipro-Bug Canal connects it to the Western Bug basin.
Prypiat-Stokhid National Park
In Volyn, the floodplains of the Prypiat and the Stokhid are protected by the Prypiat-Stokhid National Nature Park near Liubeshiv. Many waterfowl nest here, and rare plants bloom on the floodplain meadows.
Fish
In the Rivne section of the Prypiat, there are 34 species of fish and the Ukrainian brook lamprey, which is listed in the Red Data Book. Dace, burbot, Dnieper barbel, and lake minnow can be found here. The most numerous are pike, roach, rudd, bream, loach, and perch.
Fishing
There are 34 species of fish in the Prypiat. The most frequently caught are pike, roach, rudd, bream, perch, and loach. People fish from boats in winding areas with meanders, oxbows, and channels, as well as near sandy islands. General fishing regulations apply, and from 1 November fishing is prohibited in wintering pits — list and map of the pits.
Prypiat on video
When to visit
The best time is late spring, when the floods have not yet receded, and in August — September for canoeing and fishing.
Nearby
Ratne and Liubeshiv are small towns on the Prypiat, Nobel Lake and Zarichne are in Rivne Oblast, and the Prypiat-Stokhid National Nature Park is in Volyn.
How to get there
The easiest way to see the Prypiat is in Ratne or near Liubeshiv. Roads through Zarichne lead to Nobel Lake.
