Chalk mountains and steppes in Divnogorie

In the vicinity of the village Divnogorie the chalk mountains and steppes create national park Divnogorie. It is there that one can enjoy the beauties of the Central Russia. The patches of the protected feather-grass steppes and the ravines of the chalk mountains make the local landscapes especially beautiful.

From the village Divnogorie the tourist path goes through the Bolshiye Divy and the Church of the Sicilian Icon of the Mother of God to the upper plateau. The height of local mountains isn’t very big – averagely about 180 meters.

The best time to visit these places would be May or June, as there are many flowers there about that time. The employees of the Divnogorie museum call these places the «mecca for botanists and mere lovers of nature». The chernozem (black) soil on the chalk rock is very fertile, so on a small space of land one can find over 450 species of plants and flowers.

Apart from various flowers, feather-grass is of the utmost interest. It is a perennial plant making the steppe very picturesque. For that reason the workers of the museum are engaged in the selection of feather-grass in several areas of the reserve.