Caucasian State Biosphere Reserve
What is it famous for?
It’s a beautiful area and is a place for exploring rare speciments both flora and fauna. A place for eco tourism, summer camping, mountain horse-riding, and some extremal activities – like mountain climbing. If you are visiting Sochi during summer time and already tired of beaches – come to the mountains. As an editor of this article, I personally advice you to visit mountain Achishcho, get up to 2200 height, there is a famous valley with waterfall, good for camping, there are always many tourists and many places to explore, you can go higher to 2300 every day and watch at Krasnaya Polyana from there, watch at exceptionally clean night sky, enjoy warm mountain lakes for swimming, eat various berries. Few other places offer routes on horses and beatuiful valleys. Besides, there is a theme park in Esto-Sadok with wild animals and rope-park for children to visit.
What is essential for visiting?
You will need a permission for any route. It’s easily obtained in Adler office of Reserve, or in the theme park in Esto-Sadok. You can just buy it. Also you will need a local guide, you can hire it in office of reserve or just meet some local person, most locals (if they are young) go there often and know few popular routes. They might not even charge you if you pay for transport to 1800 height, so you don’t have to go up all the way from Krasnaya Polyana.
Of course you will need a tent and sleeping bag, there some for rent in Krasnaya Polyana. Get some food (we recommend going on a route for 2-3 days for the first time). Have waterproof clothes and boxes for your items. Have matches and/or gas ballon for cooking and warming. Warm clothes and extra clothes.
Things to know:
There is only one place where cellphones work – highest place near meteostation. You can ask any tourist where is it, everyone knows it in mountains.
Do not take too much with you – even if you take transport you will have to walk 4 exhausting hours up the mountain (If you go for waterfall). You will be completly wet and tired. Routes are more like sport, not like walking on a horizontal terrain.
You can have something for trade – it’s popular to trade food up the mountain. Some tourists stay there for months and if you bring them food or cigarettes you might get something interesting in return.
Caucasian State Biosphere Reserve
Role in recreational activities
The existence of the Caucasian Nature Reserve promotes normal functioning of the largest and best Russian national resort – Sochi. Woodlands of the reserve are giving healthful mountain air and clean mountain rivers, the origins of which are in the protected area – the basis of water not only for Sochi, but also the set of settlements of the Krasnodar Region, the Republic of Adygea and Karachay-Cherkessia.
P.S. There is a meteostation area on both pictures.
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