Famous nature reserves and national parks of Belarus
Belarus is rightly called one of the greeneststates of Europe. And this is not an exaggeration. In this territory there are unique reserves, sanctuaries, national parks. Belarus has a special concern for animals and plants. Under the protection of the state, currently more than 6% of the country's territory (1.2 million hectares). Below, we will present a list of Belarusian nature reserves and national parks.
- "Bialowieza Forest".
- "Braslav lakes".
The National Park "Belovezhskaya Pushcha"
The largest reserve of Belarus, occupying a huge area - 152 242 hectares.
In 1939, the famous reserve "Belovezhskaya Pushcha" was founded. It has been protected by UNESCO since 1979.
On this protected land, 70 species of rare animals live and 82 species of endangered plants grow.
- On a large beast, hunting in the territory of the present reserve was banned in 1409 by the Polish ruler Jagiello.
- Probably, not everyone knows that the Belovezhskaya PushchaIs the official residence of Father Frost of Belarus. Every year on New Year's Eve he must contact the border guards of the country and get permission to pass the New Year through the state border.
- The main symbol of not only Belovezhskaya Pushcha, but alsoBelarus as a whole is a bison - the only artiodactyl, listed in the Red Book of the state. Today the number of these animals in the reserve is about 415.
Virtually all reserves and national parksBelarus have a long history. But the oldest of them is Berezinsky. Its area is 85.2 thousand hectares. It was founded in January 1925. The status of the biosphere reserve was received in 1979. On its territory, officially registered 114 endangered and rare species of animals and 83 plant species.
It must be said that a reserve was created forprotection of beavers, but later in it appeared bears, which today there are slightly less than half of all individuals living in the country.
More than 60% of the territory of this reserve is occupied by marshes. Probably, therefore, the mythical hero, who attracts tourists to these places, is called Bolotnik.
Reserves, national parks in Belarusoften become pioneers in the protection of animals. For example, it was in the Berezinsky Reserve that underground transitions for amphibians first appeared. One of these facilities is located on the M3 highway (122 km).
Polessky Nature Reserve
Reserves and national parks of Belarus allreally different. They differ in size, relief, and landscape. For example, the Polesie Reserve is the territory of rivers, lakes and impenetrable marshes. Its area is not large - 20 thousand hectares. It is located in the interfluve of Bolotnitsa and Uborti.
This area is very similar to the taiga. It is covered by forests that are not found anywhere else in the country. There are many unique plants here. Animals are represented by forest species: lynx, elk, white hare, capercaillie, oraby, owl bearded etc.
Perhaps the main attraction of the reserve is the beekeeping - a special form of beekeeping, which has been preserved in its original form since ancient times.
Reserves of the Republic of Belarus, Polessky inParticularly, with prior approval for a visit, conduct excursions. In its vicinity there are a number of water, hiking and car tourist routes.
Reserves and national parks of Belarus: "Braslav Lakes"
This protected area occupies an area of 69 thousand 115 hectares. "Braslav Lakes" is a unique national park, founded in August 1995.
The park is famous for its amazing lakes,which are somewhat unusual for the Belarusians names - Snodes, Drivyaty, Vojso, Nedrovo and Nespish, Strusto. The reserve zone of the park is located on an area of 3 thousand 452 hectares.
Narochansky National Park
It occupies a much larger area than the Braslav Lakes. It reaches 97.3 thousand hectares. By decree of the President of the country the park was founded in late July 1999.
In this vast territory there are 40 lakes,accounting for 17% of its area. The largest of them is the magnificent lake Naroch. The area of the park is 80 square meters. km. In addition to it, the park includes the Blue Lakes. The most amazing of them are Glublya and the Dead. Due to the huge deposits of carbonate, the Water of Glubli has an unusual greenish tinge. The dead lake is of interest to specialists completely lacking fish in its waters. And on its swampy banks you can see sundew - a very interesting plant.
Today we present to you not only reserves. And the national parks of Belarus are of great interest not only for specialists, but also for tourists. Park Pripyatsky occupies a huge area - 188 thousand 841 hectares.
As a landscape and hydrological reserve Pripyatsky was founded in 1969. In 1996 it was transformed into a national park.
In this area, there are more than 40 species of rare plants and more than 72 species of mammals and birds. More than 500 hectares of the park are occupied by "plantations" of cranberries.
In conclusion, we represent the youngestreserved territory. It is the Dnieper-Sozh Reserve, created in 2005. It is located between the Sozh and Dnieper rivers in Loevsky district of the Gomel region. Its area is 1455 hectares.
The reserve can be called unique. Vegetation in this territory is represented by meadows, forests, bushes, forest swamps. Here, dry and floodplain oak forests are preserved.
The landscape is diversified by numerous channels, old people, and cracks. A wide variety of herbal, coastal-water, forest and aquatic ecosystems contribute to the richness of fauna and flora.
To rare and endangered plant species that aregrow in the reserve, are 15 species. The fauna of the reserve is represented by 140 species of birds, of which 131 species nest in this region, and 35 species of mammals.