National park of Russia

There are more than 60 national nature parks in Russia.. The nature protection regime in these parks is not as strict as in nature reserves, where access is closed without permission. Many tourists visit national parks to see the beauty of nature in different regions.

In this review on the Geomerida online travel guide, you can read about the most famous national parks in Russia.

1.    Sochi National Park
2.    Elbrus National Park
3.    Ladoga Skerries National Park
4.    Krasnoyarsk Pillars National Park
5.    Taganay National Park
6.    Curonian Spit National Park
7.    Samarskaya Luka National Park
8.    Valdai Nationa Park
9.    Meschera National Park
10.   Ugra National Park
11.    Kislovodsk National Park
12.    Samursky National Park

Sochi National Park

Sochi National Park occupies a large area south of the Caucasian Ridge from the city of Tuapse to Krasnaya Polyana. On the territory to the north of the Main Caucasian Ridge there is a Caucasian Nature Reserve, there is a very strict nature protection regime, and you need to get a permit to enter the territory. The sights of the Sochi National Park are open for access. 

Sochi National Park was established in 1983. It became one of the first national parks in Russia. This is not yet a nature reserve, but the main natural attractions are monitored for visits and nature protection. Considering that the city of Sochi is the most popular resort in Russia, Sochi National Park is the most visited park in Russia. In the summer season, hundreds and even thousands of people come to go to all the most interesting sights.  

There are about 50 attractions on the territory of the Sochi National Park. These are mountain ranges and separate mounts, waterfalls, gorges and canyons, caves, lakes and rivers. There are also several archaeological sites: dolmens, ruins of fortresses and temples, caves where ancient people lived. Some attractions of the park are difficult to access, for example, the Fisht or Oshten mountains. However, most of the interesting places of the Sochi National Park are located near the roads, and you can even come to them by public transport. 

Elbrus National Park

The Elbrus National Park is located in a vast area around Mount Elbrus in the Caucasus Mountains. The double-headed Elbrus is the highest peak of the Caucasus mountain range. Mount Elbrus is located on the Side Ridge of the Caucasus mountains, which goes 10 km north of the Greater Caucasus range. Since the border between Europe and Asia in the Caucasus runs along the Great Caucasus Range, mount Elbrus belongs to the European part of Russia.

Elbrus is the highest peak in Europe (5642 m). The height of Mont Blanc, the second highest in Europe, reaches 4810 m. This volcano is one of the centers of tourism in Transcaucasia. Many people come here in winter for skiing, and trekking enthusiasts come here in summer to admire the beauty of the Caucasus mountains.

Ladoga Skerries National Park

The Ladoga Skerries National Park occupies the entire northern shore of Lake Ladoga in the Landepohsky and Pitkyarantsky districts. The word "skerries" comes from the Old Norse word "sker", which means "rock in the sea". The entire coast in the north of Ladoga is cut by numerous rocky islands, bays and channels. 

The archipelago of 650 islands that makes up the Ladoga Skerries Nature Reserve begins near the village of Berezovo, on the border of the Leningradsky region and Karelia. Then it stretches for 170 kilometers north to Pitkyaranta. The total area of the reserve is 120 thousand hectares. 

Krasnoyarsk Pillars National Park

If you want to see the spaces of Siberia, there is a most interesting Krasnoyarsk Pillars National Park. You can see there a wonderful mix of taiga forest and scenic rock formations. The national reserve Krasnoyarsk Pillars is located on the southern outskirts of Krasnoyarsk. It is a protected environmental zone, but you can easily get there by urban transport.

Pillars or rocks are beats of syenites among taiga forest. They are composed of spar (pink), mica (lustre) and hornblende (black inclusions). Some rocks reach the height of 90 meters. The reserve takes the area of about 47 000 hectares. But the ‘Aesthetic’ Region is the most visited section of the reserve, and you should go there in the first place. There located, on a small territory, a bit more than 1 square kilometer, the most beautiful and famous pillars.

Taganay National Park

The Taganai National Park may be considered the most beautiful in the Urals and one of the most beautiful in Russia. The entrance to the park is within the city of Zlatoust. It will be easier to get to it from Chelyabinsk. Zlatoust is 350 km from Yekaterinburg.

The main sights of the Taganai are: the Big Stone River, the Glade of Fairy Tales, the Otkliknoy (Respond) Crest, the Two-Headed Hill and the Kruglitsa. The Big Stone River is the most impressive. It is a «river» of big rocks of 3-4 tonnes with the length of 6 kilometers and the width of 400 meters. You can find no such stone rivers nowhere in the world, excepting India, but it is smaller there.

Curonian Spit National Park

In the northernmost part of Kaliningrad Region one can visit the Curonian Spit National Park, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site – . Its southern part belongs to Russia, while its northern part – to Lithuania. You can see large spaces of sand dunes in three places of Curonian Spit. All of them are on the territory of Russia. And only some part of the third zone with dunes is located on the territory of Lithuania near the village of Nida.

The length of Russian Curonian Spit from Zelenogradsk to the border of Lithuania is 48 kilometers. Totally, there are three settlements on the Russian side of Curonian Spit: Morskoye, Lesnoy and Rybachiy. Morskoye is considered to have the most developed tourist infrastructure.

Samara Luka National Park

Samara Luka National Park is in the immediate vicinity of the city of Samara. It acquired its name from a big bend of the river Volga, which it makes near Samara. This river bend begins near the city of Togliatti and ends at the village Perevoloki, where the neck between the two riverbeds is only 2 kilometers.

Within the bend of the river Volga is the territory of 150 thousand hectares. In the 80th of the past century all this territory was declared a reserve. Most part of the Samarskaya Luka is wooded steppe with low hills, which may be interesting only for specialists in ornithology and zoology. The most interesting places of Samarskaya Luka are the Zhigulevsk Mountains. It is there that one can see the abandoned tunnels, where limestone was mined in the 19 century, and the most picturesque landscapes.

Ugra National Park

The Ugra National Park was founded in 1997 to preserve the ecosystems of the Ugra, Zhizdra and Oka rivers in the Kaluga Region. The Park stretches in a narrow strip along the rivers and occupies an area of 100 thousand hectares. There are many villages on the territory of the national park, as well as historical and natural attractions. 

The most interesting place of the Ugra National Park, both for a short excursion and for a long trip, is the Nikola-Lenivets Art Park. It is located 70 km north of Kaluga and 220 km southwest of Moscow. Here you will see beautiful natural landscapes on the banks of the Ugra River, as well as more than a hundred interesting art objects. They are installed by Russian and foreign architects at the annual Arkhstanding festivals. 

The main protected areas of the National Park are located along the Ugra riverbed in the Kaluga region. The source of the river is located in the Smolensk region, and it flows into the Oka River. On the territory of the Ugra National Park there are not only natural attractions and hiking routes. Here, outdoor recreation can be combined with a visit to historical attractions. There are also two monasteries on the territory of the Ugra Park: Optina Deserts and St. Tikhon`s Deserts.

Meshchera National Park

Meshchera National Park is located east of the city of Gus-Khrustalny, 90 km south of Vladimir. This is a world of impenetrable swamps, forests, lakes and rivers, where several ecological trails have been created. The nature protection in the park allows to preserve the ecosystem of the swampy lowlands. 

The Meshchera National Park in the Vladimir region was established in 1992. Its area reaches more than 120 thousand hectares. In the same year, another National Park, Meshchersky, was created in the north of the Ryazan region. However, the ecosystem of these two parks is a single whole, so in 2016 they were united, and now it is called "Meshchera".

The Meshchera lowland is an extensive wooded lowland on the territory of the Vladimir, Ryazan and Moscow regions. Its total area is 210 by 190 kilometers. Since ancient times, the Meshchera people, who belonged to the Fino-Ugor tribe, lived here. During the Middle Ages, roads were only between the largest cities. By the 14th century, an extensive network of roads had been created. They were laid even in hard-to-reach places. The old Ryazan road connecting Vladimir and Ryazan passed through the Meshchra lands. The length of this road was 75 kilometers, and 30 kilometers between the Pol and Buzha rivers passed in an absolutely desolated area among swamps and forests.

Valdai National Park

Valdai National Park is located on the territory of the Novgorod region. It stretches in a narrow strip from north to south, and its territory is 1.5 thousand square kilometers. There is a very beautiful nature of the Russian central strip, many places for fishing and hiking.

Valdai National Park was established in 1990 to preserve the unique lake and forest ecosystem of the Valdai upland. Its relief was formed during the Last Glacial Epoch, which ended 20 thousand years ago. All glaciers of that era completely melted about 10 thousand years ago. The depressions left in place of their moraines were flooded and lakes appeared. This is how the ecosystem of this region was formed. Three large lakes were formed on the Valdai Upland: Seliger, Valdai and Velye, as well as more than 200 small lakes. 

Valdai Lake can be called one of the most beautiful, but it is not the largest in the national park. It is located in the central part of the park. The city of Valdai is located on its shore. Tourists coming to Valdai National Park usually stay in Valdai or its surroundings. This is most convenient for traveling along the ecological trails of the park and its lakes. One of the longest hiking trails in Russia has been created in the Valdai National Park: The Great Valdai Trail. The length of the trail is 59 kilometers, and it is estimated for a 5-day hiking trip with overnight stays in tents at equipped camp places. 

Kislovodsky National Park

Kislovodsky National Park occupies an area of 950 hectares in the center of Kislovodsk. Previously, this territory was called "Kislovodsk Resort Park". It is the largest urban park in Russia and the second largest park in Europe. In 2016, it was decided to transform it into a National Park with a stricter environmental regime. The territory of the National Park "Kislovodsky" is divided into three parts: Lower (Old) Park, Middle Park and Mountain (Upper) Park. 

Kislovodsk is one of the most popular balneological resorts in Russia. Every year about 400 thousand people come here for treatment and vacation. There are many special routes in the Kislovodsk National Park, which are called terrainkurs. Terrainkur is a route for therapeutic walking, which doctors prescribe to people who are treated in Mineral Water sanatoriums. There are poles on the terrainkurs indicating the distance covered. There are 6 terrainkurs of varying difficulty in the Kislovodsky National Park.

Samursky National Park

In 2018, the Samursky National Park was created. It includes an area of 10 thousand hectares in the Samur River delta, as well as 38 thousand hectares of high-altitude area around the sacred mountain Shalbuzdag. A strict environmental regime is necessary to preserve the Samur forest, since the construction of canals and the diversion of water from the Samur River for the needs of surrounding cities reduces the humidity of the forest. 

Only deciduous trees grow in the Samur forest: hornbeams, beeches, poplars, oaks and others. Due to the moisture, very dense undergrowth grows under the trees, with vines hanging from the branches above it. In total, scientists have registered 1,073 plant species in the territory of the Samur National Park, and more than 50 of them are listed in the Red Book of Russia. There are also endemic plants that grow only in the Samur forest.

However, the main asset of the Samursky forest, unique to Russian forests, are tropical lianas. In total, 15 types of lianas grow here, but four types are most common: wild grapes, grape-leaved Clematis, Pastukhov ivy and prickly sassaparilla. Some creepers entwine the trees like a spider web to the top, but there are also large creepers here.