Belarus’ Natural Wealth: Naliboki Landscape Reserve

The reserve boasts a unique natural landscape, including primeval forests and impassible marshes, a circuitous course of the Isloch River and sequestered Kroman Lake. The reserve is just 65km away from Minsk. It is located on the territory of the ancient Naliboki Forest, one of the biggest forests in Eastern Europe. It covers an area of about 86,000 hectares and spreads across Volozhin District, Stolbtsy District, Ivye District and Novogrudok District. Due to its special status, all economic activities are limited there, but entry is open to tourists traveling by bike or car.

Most of the territory (89.9%) of the Naliboki Landscape Reserve is occupied by forests. Another 10% is agricultural land, with the rest being anthropogenic, urbanized and industrial areas (about 0.1%). The Western Berezina, the Usa, the Isloch and their main tributaries (the Volma, the Volka, the Sivichanka, the Izled) flow there. Kroman Lake (the area is 0.92km2) is a popular destination for tourists and fishing enthusiasts. The lake is home to perch, roach, bream and other fish species.

Thanks to its biodiversity, the Naliboki Landscape Reserve has gained an international status of a key botanical area. The forest is home to 917 species of plants, a quarter of which are medicinal herbs. Many of them are included in Belarus’ Red Book of Endangered Species. Visitors will be surprised to see the abundance of mushrooms, berries, and flowering plants – martagon lily, Siberian iris, globeflower. For example, Allium ursinum, known as wild garlic or beer leek, covers the ground like a white carpet in May.

The reserve is home to 51 rare animal species that are included in the Red Book of Endangered Species of Belarus as well as a lot of birds that have a conservation status all over Europe. The territory has been given the status of an important bird area. Such species as great bittern, black stork, common crane, great grey owl, Eurasian eagle-owl, common kingfisher, great snipe, and others live in the reserve. Here one can also see such animals from the Red Book as bison, badger, lynx, bear, and hazel dormouse.

Discover the stunning world of the Naliboki Landscape Reserve with our photo album!

On photo: Syabrynskoye Water Reservoir from up high