Caucasian Biosphere Reserve
Understand
This natural reserve has the second-largest protected area in Europe and the largest one in Caucasus mountains of Russia. It occupies the mountain ridges of Krasnodar Krai, Adygea and Karachay-Cherkessia, including part of Greater Sochi metropolitan area (Khosta district and Krasnaya Polyana), bordering Sochi National Park.
Caucasian Biosphere Reserve is the richest biodiversity treasury, having no equivalents in Russia and an international value as a piece of untouched nature with primeval habitats. This unique area is included into the UNESCO World Heritage List. The official site of the reserve is available in Russian only.
History
Landscape
Flora and fauna
Climate
Get in
Two exclaved parts of the reserve, those are located inside Greater Sochi, are easy to visit: yew & boxtree wood at Khosta and the wild animals nursery at Krasnaya Polyana.
Fees and permits
To visit other parts of the reserve, you need to get special permit, requiring the following:
- list of participants,
- passport details and passport copies of each participant,
- name of the group's leader,
- planned route/itinerary,
- period of stay (number of days),
- entrance fee.
In Sochi you can get the permit at the reserve's headquarter: Karl Marx street, 8, room 10, Adler district, Sochi.