Czartowska Skała, Geological monument near Lviv, Ukraine.

Czartowska Skała is a group of sandstone cliffs up to 20 m high on a forested hill reaching 414 m above sea level, on the northern slopes above the village of Lysynychi. The central rock at the summit is low and has a small grotto at its base, probably man-made. The sandstone shows clear slanting bedding, and the rocks were once higher before stone was quarried here for building and road paving.

Archaeological digs in 1973 at the Lviv VII site beneath the rocks uncovered a late Palaeolithic hunting camp dated to 27,200 years ago, with mammoth, reindeer and primitive horse bones and flint tools. Higher layers held early Iron Age pottery and remains from the time of King Danylo and his son Lev. In the 19th century Ludwik Zieliński wrote of ruins of an 8th-century pagan castle here, and during Austrian rule the rock was turned into a quarry.

Locals usually call the rocks Chortovi (Devil's) rather than Chotovi, and a legend tells of the devil carrying a rock to destroy a church in Lviv. Historians link the name Chotovi to the word choty (watchmen), as the rocks served as a lookout post on the eastern approaches to Lviv. One of the highest rocks is called Orlyne Hnizdo (Eagle's Nest).

The dense forest provides cover and shade for climbing to the summit along natural paths. Wear sturdy shoes for the terrain and allow time to examine the geological formations at the top.

The name Chotovi Skeli likely derives from 'choty' (watch posts), as the cliffs served as a lookout on the eastern approaches to Lviv. Many locals instead call them Chortovi (Devil's) Cliffs, after a legend that the devil carried the rock here to destroy a Christian church in Lviv.