Holy Mountains National Nature Park is located along the chalk cliffs and river terraces of the Donets River in Eastern Ukraine. The park's boundaries are a patchwork of forested areas stretching along the banks of the Donets. The Holy Mountains of Ukraine contain many archaeological, natural, historical, and recreational sites, including the Sviatohirsk Lavra monastery. The park is located in the administrative districts of Sloviansk, Lyman and Bakhmut; all are in the north of Donetsk Oblast.

The Seversky Donets or Siverskyi Donets, usually simply called the Donets, is a river on the south of the East European Plain. It originates in the Central Russian Upland, north of Belgorod, flows south-east through Ukraine and then again through Russia to join the river Don, about 100 km (62 mi) from the Sea of Azov. The Donets is the fourth-longest river in Ukraine, and the largest in eastern Ukraine, where it is an important source of fresh water. It gives its name to the Donets Basin, known commonly as the Donbas, an important coal-mining and industrial region in Ukraine.