Border zone. Since 2023, access to the northern part of the lake district requires a permit from the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine.
Shatsk Lakesreference guide · svityaz.lutsk.ua
Заросле водяною рослинністю плесо озера Луки під блакитним небом
51.5667, 23.8500

Photo «Луки - 1.jpg» — Бондар ВолодимирCC BY-SA 4.0cropped

karst lake

Luky

Луки

Shatsk National Nature Park; the third largest lake in the park (the Luky-Peremut system)

Verified dataset

Key facts

Luky is the third largest lake in the park, with an elongated, deeply indented basin of bays and small islands. Together with Peremut it forms a single system, and the Kopaivka river rises here.

Area
≈6.75 km²
Maximum depth
3.2 m
Average depth
2.1 m
Shoreline
21 km

Water

Published water indicators

Transparency
pH
Total dissolved solids
136 mg/L
Dissolved oxygen
Water type
calcium bicarbonate

Ionic composition, mg/dm³

HCO₃⁻85
Ca²⁺20
Cl⁻12
Na⁺+K⁺12
Mg²⁺4
SO₄²⁻3

Comparative ionic composition from studies of the Shatsk group.

Ichthyofauna

Fish of the lake

All species →

Ecosystem

Flora and birds

Birds

mute swanwaterfowl (nesting on the islands)

What to know

Lake in detail

  • The third largest lake of the group, and the most elongated and most indented basin in the Shatsk lake district.
  • Numerous bays, headlands and several small islands, where thousands of birds nest alongside a large swan colony.
  • Canals link it to Svitiaz and Ostrivianske and a channel to Peremut; the two are often treated as the single “Luky-Peremut” system.
  • The Kopaivka river, a tributary of the Western Bug, rises from the lake.
  • Known for a vast carpet of white water lilies stretching hundreds of metres.
  • The shores are low, boggy and ringed by quagmire, so walking the shoreline is effectively impossible.
  • Highly productive for fish: in the 2010–2018 catches across the Luky-Peremut complex, brown bullhead (50.3%), tench (21.9%) and roach (14.5%) dominated.

History

Chronology

  1. 1887

    After a catastrophic flood, the Svitiaz — Luky canal was cut; the difference in levels moves the water by gravity, and a sluice regulates the flow.

  2. 1937

    The American brown bullhead was introduced to Luky and Liutsymyr, and later spread to the other lakes of the group.

  3. 1983

    Shatsk National Nature Park is created, with the Luky — Peremut system among its protected complexes.

State and recreation

The lake today

Recreation

Recreational fishing from bank and boat under the rules of Shatsk National Nature Park; a closure applies during spawning. Taking eel, a Red Book species, is prohibited.

Hydrology

Documented connections

outflow

Kopaivka river

Geography and access

Places nearby

All places →

Language note

Editorial scope

This English profile carries the full narrative, chronology and local traditions. Source titles stay in their original language, and the Ukrainian page remains the reference version.

Read the Ukrainian profile →

Sources

Source titles are retained in their original language.

Photo «Луки - 1.jpg» — Бондар ВолодимирCC BY-SA 4.0cropped