Orikhove is a large, shallow lake in the very north of Volyn, in the Samary hromada, two to three kilometres from the border with Belarus. Around it are the villages of Male Orikhove, Samary-Orikhovi, Mezhysyt and Zalysytsia, along with forests and swamps. This is a quiet border lake where people go for fishing and Polissian solitude.
What it is like
The area of Orikhove is 5.5 square kilometres, its length is 3.9 kilometres, and its width is 2.1. The lake is shallow, with a depth of up to 3.6 metres. The shores are low, the bottom is covered with sapropel, and the lake is fed by surface runoff. A marshy area, separated by shore ridges, adjoins it from the south and east, while forests lie to the south and northeast.
Channels and two seas
From the southeast, the Tura Channel flows into Orikhove, carrying water from Lake Tura. It was dug back in the late 19th century, making it the first reclamation channel of the former Volyn Governorate. The Orikhove Channel flows out from the north: after 700 metres, it empties into the small Orikhovets lake, and then continues through the territory of Belarus to the Dnipro-Bug Canal and the Mukhavets River. Work on it began at the same time and was only completed in the 1960s.
Less than a kilometre east of the shore runs the watershed: from here, water flows either to the Western Bug and the Baltic Sea, or to the Prypiat and the Black Sea.
Fishing
Orikhove has long been used for fishing. The shallow water expanse with a sapropel bottom and overgrown shores is suitable for pike, perch, and peaceful fish, which are caught mainly from boats along the shoreline vegetation. General fishing regulations apply.
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Nearby
Lake Tura is connected to Orikhove by the channel, and Zabolottia is to the south. More can be found in the article Kovel Raion.
How to get there
Buses run to Samary from Ratne. This is a border zone, so have your documents with you.
