Vydubytsky Monastery

Lonely Planet review

Few churches appear more frozen in time than those of the Vydubytsky Monastery, nestled into the hill's dense foliage beneath the Botanical Gardens. If you found the crowds at the Lavra a little too much to bear - or if you're just into intense serenity - you should not hesitate to come here. The monastery, which is thought to be at least as old as Kyiv, is looking in fine fettle today after centuries of catastrophes followed by years of Soviet neglect.

The monastery is home to a small community of monks who, quite frankly, have chosen a much more monk-friendly place to practice their faith than the increasingly touristy Lavra.

The bucolic church looking down on the monastery from the crest of the hill is the recently restored Trinity Cathedral.