95 years on guard Zhiguli!

"...It is unlikely that in all of Central Russia there is a more interesting area for a naturalist than Zhiguli. In this respect, only such mountainous outlying areas as the Crimea and the Caucasus can compete with them..."

© V.N. Sukachev

The reserve is located in the middle reaches of the Volga, where the river forms a bend - the Samara Luka. The territory is represented by the Zhiguli Mountains ending to the Volga, cut by a ravine network, and the island of Seredysh. Due to its geographical location, the variety of microclimatic conditions caused by the sharply crossed "mountain" relief, and the peculiarities of the geological past, natural communities and representatives of the taiga zone, the Mediterranean and semi-deserts are preserved in Zhiguli. The most unique communities are relict mountain pine forests and rocky steppes on limestone slopes of Zhiguli, plant communities of the Volga floodplain and ecosystems of tunnels.