Wildlife needs protection. Our country has its own reserves and protected areas. In such a unique place as the Crimean peninsula, for a long time there is a nature reserve. The Crimean peninsula is rich in flora and fauna, minerals, mineral springs - there is nothing to list. In addition, it is a large historical area that attracts poachers and black diggers.
Creating a reserve
Surrounded by almost all sides by the sea, connected with the large land only by the relatively narrow isthmus of Crimea, it is a welcome vacation spot for thousands and thousands of tourists who also pose a threat to a unique nature with relic plants. In order to protect the unique gifts of nature in 1923, the decree of the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR created the first nature reserve. The Crimean Reserve of Imperial Hunts (year of creation - 1913) with small tracts on the Bolshaya Chuchel Mountain was expanded to 16,000 ha and in the same year - to 23,000.
Not only shot, but also cultivated
It should be noted that in the tsarist wildlife sanctuary they mainly showed guests animals brought here, including foreign ones. By the personal order of the tsar, a beautiful road was laid to the reserve, which now exists under the name Romanovskoye Shosse.
Here, a specially created royal jaeger service looked after deer and tours, Pyrenees goats, mouflons and bison brought from Corsica. The reserve and the reserve are not synonymous words, they differ from each other in that the first is under protection of individual species, most often rare or endangered plants and animals.
Soviet times
When the whole territory and everything that exists on it is under the tutelage of the state, it is a nature reserve. The Crimean ward area immediately acquired a weather station, a laboratory and a museum. Here began an active research work.
But the war didn’t spare anything: the protected forests burned down on a plot of 1,500 hectares, the bison, most of the roe and deer were completely exterminated, the museum and the laboratory were destroyed. But immediately after the liberation of Crimea from the invaders, in 1944,
the Crimean nature
reserve began to be restored and its territory expanded to 30,300 ha. In 1949, his Swan Islands branch was founded. It consists of the northwestern part of the peninsula and 6 islands, on which there are a lot of birds - up to 265 species. Of these, 25 species constantly live on the islands, including swans. During the reign of N.S. Khrushchev and L.I. Brezhnev, the reserve was turned into government hunting grounds, visited not only by domestic political bonzes, but also by foreign ones. The status of the reserve was restored in 1991.
Geographic data
What is this territory now and what are its sizes? The total area of 44,175 ha is divided into two parts. The Swan Islands branch occupies 9612 hectares in the northwestern part of the steppe zone of the peninsula and a share of the Karkinitsky Gulf, a part of the Black Sea located between the coast of the peninsula and the mainland. The remaining 34 563 hectares are mountain forest and the main part of the reserve. It includes sections of the Main Ridge of the Crimean Mountains, the slopes of the Inner Mountain and the hollow between them. On the reserved part are the Yalta Yaila and the Gurzuf Yaila, Babugay-Yayla and Chatyr-Dag-Yayla. Crimean Yail (summer pasture) is a hilly plateau with peaks. The highest mountains are located on Chatyr-Dag-yayl - Roman-Kosh (1545 m) and Bolshoi Chuchel (1387). In this part there are more than 300 mountain keys, the Alma, Kacha rivers and a dozen others.
Flora and fauna of the reserve
It is necessary to stipulate the fact that in Crimea there is more than one reserve. There are similar structures at Opuk and Martyan capes, there are Yalta, Kazantip, Karadag reserves, there are “Astana Plains” and Crimea sanctuaries. On the peninsula, in addition to the above objects, there are 30 natural parks and 73 protected natural monuments. Flora and fauna is so rich that it deserves a separate article. It can only be noted that 1200 species of plants grow here, 29 of which are listed in the Red Book of Europe. The fauna is represented by 200 species (160 - birds, 37 - mammals) of vertebrates, 30 of which are also in the Red Book. Invertebrates - 8000 species. The distribution of flora and fauna depends on high altitude zones. Here, half of the species of the whole flora and fauna of Crimea are concentrated.
The dimensions are impressive
The borders of the Crimean nature reserve, or rather its mountain-forest part without the “Swan Islands” located in the north-west of the peninsula, can be seen on the attached map. It can be seen that it is the largest in the Crimea.
In addition, he is the oldest. Naturally, after the return of Crimea to the Russian Federation, the borders of all reserves will change: they will face more ambitious tasks.
Long-awaited and worthy memory
The anniversary of the Great Victory in Crimea was met with dignity. Among the many events held in honor of the 70th anniversary, I want to note one thing - the opening of the monument in the Crimean nature reserve. The Museum of Partisan Glory was the first object of cultural and historical heritage built over the past year, which the peninsula spent as part of the Russian Federation. The museum is located at an altitude of 1300 meters above sea level, on the territory of the Red Stone cordon. It is a tribute to the partisans, whose number was quite significant. 500 of them gave their lives for the liberation of Crimea.
Part provided to tourists
The reserve occupies part of the mountains between Yalta and Alushta. Here is the famous "Arbor of the Winds", from which you can see Ayu-Dag, Gurzuf and Partenid. Here is the Kosmo-Damian Monastery, from which Savlukh-Su originates - one of the famous healing sources of the reserve. There is a fairly large trout farm. For several reasons, tourists are not allowed to visit the reserve on their own; admission is only by passes, by appointment and accompanied by a guide.
The Crimean nature reserve is experiencing a new life. Alushta, which is a kind of capital of the forest part of the reserve, occupies a special place in it - here is the management of the reserve, a nature museum and a dendrozoo. 1600 museum exhibits tell about the flora and fauna of the reserve, about the history of its creation.
Famous routes
From Alushta two ecological and educational routes begin for an organized visit. Crimean nature reserve tours provides only from this resort city. The first route takes 2 hours. A visit to the Kosmo-Damianov Monastery and trout farming is planned. The monastery is about 160 years old. It is located 22 km from Alushta at an altitude of 750 meters above sea level. This is a working monastery, the main courtyard of which is in the urban type Partenit. The trout farm was built in 1958. Tourists are offered to explore the open-air science lab.
Reserve Crimea
Route number 2 with a length of 60 km is called "Crimea reserved." Within 5 hours, tourists will get to know and admire the unique charm of this part of the Crimea. The tour begins in Alushta and ends on the Pear cordon, the road to which is rather difficult, because it is a serpentine. Part of it is the famous road built in 1913, laid by order of Nicholas II, the so-called Romanovskoye Highway, surrounded by stunning wildlife. There are many observation platforms on the route where stops are provided. In addition to two objects of the first route, visits to the Chuchelsky pass are included, from which the road leads to beech forests and the source of the largest local river Kachi. The next stop is the culmination of the route, "Arbor of the Winds", located at an altitude of 1424 m above sea level. Among the many attractions below you can see Artek. This is followed by the Nikitsky pass and the final stop - the cordon Red Stone.
Reviews
It is impossible to describe in words the delights of the proposed routes for choice, they must be seen. We can say that the Crimean nature reserve reviews has the most enthusiastic. Even if some flaws are stipulated, the remark still ends with exclamations of admiration for nature, the beauty of unique species, air, an amazing combination of sea and mountains.