Nature in the 21st century needs to be protected and protected, especially within large megacities. How many natural sites and territories are protected within the Russian capital? What parks and reserves in Moscow are worth visiting in the first place? This will be discussed in this article.
National parks and reserves of Moscow
Nature needs to be protected. It is for these purposes that national parks, reserves, landscape reserves and natural monuments are created.
A national park means a special territory with limited human economic activity. However, tourists are allowed into it. But in the reserves any human activity is prohibited, including hunting, fishing, picking berries or hiking.
The oldest national park in the world is Yellowstone, which was established in 1872. But the largest on the planet can be called the Northeast Greenland Park, the area of which exceeds the size of such European states as Germany, Ukraine or France.
What national reserves of Moscow are worth visiting in the first place?
In the capital of Russia today there are 119 specially protected natural territories (abbreviated as protected areas). Reserves of Moscow are often popular holiday destinations for residents of the city and the Moscow region. The largest of these is Elk Island.
Parks and Reserves in Moscow: Elk Island
This is the first largest national forest park in Moscow. Its total area reaches 116 square kilometers. The lands of the forest park were popular with Russian tsars and princes in the 15-18 centuries. It is known that even Ivan the Terrible went to this park for a bear hunt.
In 1912, Sergey Dyakov came up with the idea of creating a forest park, since 80% of this territory was occupied by coniferous and birch forests. In the "green belt" surrounding Moscow, Elk Island, included already in 1934. This reserve is famous not only for fresh air and real Russian nature, but also for its amazing opportunity to photograph live deer or moose in their natural habitat. The fauna of this park is striking in its diversity. Here you can admire not only moose and deer, but also see wild boars, minks, squirrels, muskrats and beavers. Any person will instantly forget about the noisy metropolis, being in a beautiful corner of nature.
Izmailovsky park
Moscow parks and reserves are excellent facilities for recreation and eco-tourism. One of these is Izmailovsky Park. It consists of two parts. The first is the densely planted thickets of the forest park, the second is a cheerful park with a Ferris wheel, a shooting gallery, attractions and even a race track. There is where to walk, dance, play tennis or street chess.
Taking sports equipment at the box office, you can spend time in the cable town "Panda Park" or at the climbing wall. In summer, you can ride a boat or catamaran around the island on which the town of Bauman is located, admire the views of the Silver Grape Pond or the Pokrovsky Cathedral, built in the 17th century, or the Izmaylovskaya Almshouse in 1839, which are still preserved in this town.
The history of Izmailovsky Park began in 1930. Later it was renamed the Stalin Recreation Park, but the monument to V.I. Until today, Lenin occupies a central platform. In 1956, after debunking the cult of personality, he again became Izmailovsky.
Bitsevsky forest
In the southern part of Moscow this natural park is located. Its area is more than two thousand hectares. In size, it takes second place among the green areas of the capital.
Initially, the Finno-Ugric forests chose this forest, and in the 11th century they were replaced by Vyatichi. Thanks to the latter, we can see here the mounds, which are already more than a thousand years old. There are other equally famous objects, such as the Boundary Pillars. In 1909, in honor of the reforms of Stolypin, they were installed in this forest. The forest is also famous for its old estates. Among them are Yasenevo, Znamenskoye-Sadki and Uzkoye. People constantly come to the local spring. The fame of healing water with a unique taste is known far beyond Moscow.
Reserve "Sparrow Hills"
The reserve in the south-west of Moscow is located above the cliff. This is a beautiful place from which the most amazing panorama of Moscow opens . The steep slope is dotted with deep ravines and permanent landslides. The territory of the park is famous for its three ponds and broad-leaved forest, whose flora is rich and diverse. Anyone can walk along three ecological paths or admire the plants that are listed in the Moscow Red Book.
The forest is mainly maple, but there are also oaks, birch, linden and ash.
Voices Gully
This famous ravine originates from the Moskva River and has a fairly large length. It is located in the Kolomenskoye reserve. Legends are still circulating about this ravine, allegedly confirmed by documents from the archives.
As early as 1832, a note about two missing peasants was published in the Moscow Gazette. Presumably, they went from the village of Dyakovo to Sadovniki. Their path ran through Kolomenskoye. All this happened before the war with Napoleon. Once in an unusual green fog, they sat down to rest on the famous Devin stone, and disappeared for 21 years.
Finally...
119 protected areas are today within Moscow. These are national parks, nature reserves and reserves.
Moscow nature reserves are not only a great place for ecological tourism, but also a reservation for preserving the natural landscapes of the capital.