When is the best time to visit Belovezhskaya Pushcha? Reserve Belovezhskaya Pushcha: information, what to see, how to get there, where to stay, photo. Walking tour of Belovezhskaya Pushcha

After Mir Castle we went to Belovezhskaya Pushcha. Somewhere at borders of the Brest region, right in the middle of the field we met thishuge bison. But the Pushcha was still far away.

2. Traffic in Kobrin is weak and very slow, there are many traffic lights andsigns are hanging everywhere - the limit is 40 km / h.Then we drove through several villages, in one of which we decided to stop by a shop.We were struck by the friendliness of the local people, everyone greeted us and each other, smiling. Although the people in the store were decent, butno one climbed out of line, no one was rude. We decided to buy an ax and a lighter,which, to their shame, have been forgotten in the city. The wallet was left in the car, andthe money we took was not enough. But the saleswoman with a smileallowed to pick up the goods and go to the car, bring the shortage. That's it there is trust.

3. We left the village with warm feelings for its inhabitants, and together withvillage, the normal road ended. The next few dozenkilometers we were shaking and tossing, and the trucks passing byraised columns of dust. Abandoning the thought of taking a shortcut, we turned to the track.

4. And finally, she is. Pushcha.

5. Two deer stand as if guarding their possessions. Well, the companyroad workers to boot.

6. Main gate. After several hours of travel, having passed through half the country, we finally reached our goal!To the right of the gate there is a parking lot and ticket offices where you can buy tickets to the museum, enclosures or pay for a hiking route. Also, here you can rent a bike and go on a trip on it.In the house on the left, we were politely explained that it was impossible to drive a car without a pass to the territory of the reserve. The pass is given only to employees and those who stop by the lake with a tent, like us. All others are closed. To get a pass, you need to go to hotel number 4, pay, and then return to the watchman and show the receipt. Only after that, we will issue a coveted pass, and will be allowed to go inside.

7. Immediately outside the gates are information boards.

8. The purpose of our train, point number 3, lake Plyanta-1. This is where our camp will be.

9. Everything inside is very nice and well maintained. It seems that this place was built for tourists.

10. We turn left and go along the road, in search of the hotel we need.

11. And here she is. At first we planned to rent a place for two nights, but the weather began to deteriorate, so we did not take risks and took one. We paid 160 thousand (about $ 17) per day, which is much cheaper than a single room for the same time.

12. Having received a pass, we asked the watchman in detail how and where to go. Then we went to the cashier, where we talked to a very polite and friendly cashier, who explained and told us a lot of things. Bought tickets to the museum and enclosures.

Having passed through the territory, we stopped at the first cafe. However, here we were disappointed. This establishment did not have any service or assortment. The choice was only skewers of wild boar or pork. Taken from pork, it is softer. A vegetable salad was still listed on the menu, but exactly what was listed, because it was not available. The meat was tender, juicy and very tasty. Although, maybe it just seemed so from hunger? One way or another, we ate him on both cheeks.

Enclosures began next to the cafe. The entry here is purely symbolic. No fence, no strict control. The woman in the booth didn't even look at our tickets, and no one asked for them afterwards. At least go for free.

13. Aviaries, this is not a zoo. At least there is something similar. Also animals, also cells, but the size of these cells is incommensurable. Here the animals were given a huge space with meadows, trees and even a swamp.

Lattices, it's just hell for a photographer! The thick lens did not want to crawl between the bars, and I had to work hard to get normal pictures.

The first people we met were deer. They stood, sat and just wandered around. Singly or in groups. Some were merrily running among the trees.

17. The next enclosure, and again deer. Here the individuals are older, they no longer frolic, but importantly lie in the mud. I thought only pigs liked it...

18. A beetle flew right in front of my nose and settled on the nearest bush. Never seen anything like it before, big and fast. Macro failed.

19. Next ostriches. I don't even know what they're doing here. Do they really live in Belovezhskaya Pushcha? There are very few of them, only two or three. Seeing us, a beautiful male immediately ran up and began to beg for a treat. I had to move away so as not to peck the camera.

20. And finally, the main inhabitants of the forest, bison. Bison is not in vain considered the king of Belarusian animals. Their whole appearance speaks of hidden power. These are not cows or even bulls! Although they look slow and lazy, but in reality this is not at all the case!

21. For example, to shoot this male, I had to run after him along the cage, but he was just walking!

22. Bison are more courageous and trusting. They approach people, give themselves a stroke and wait for their pay. Just try not to feed them, they can butt! At such moments, you begin to appreciate the fence.

23. A strange look, does it ask for vodka?

24.

25. And this looks like a newborn. He is very small and barely got up. Just a sweetheart.

26.

27. The weather favored us. The clouds saved from the sun, the rain had not yet fallen, and the moisture in the air repelled mosquitoes and gadflies. People, probably, too, because they were not here at all.

28. Interesting things can be seen not only inside the enclosures, this small, gray bird - a nuthatch, quickly flew between the trees, collecting seeds.

29.

30. Wild boar. Now he is full and resting quietly, buried in the mud, but God forbid to meet him in the forest! In weight and size, this "mumps" is not much inferior to the largest predator of Belarus, the brown bear, and it does not hold ferocity.

31. And here is the bear. More specifically, a bear. They are kept separately from each other, in small cages and behind double bars. I feel sorry for them, compared to other inhabitants of the enclosures, they are just in prison.

32.

33. The wolf looks at everyone indifferently, and attempts to draw him closer have failed miserably.

34. Raccoons are also locked in a cage, but unlike bears, they are kept in pairs.

35.

36. Fox. Either sleeping or dead.

37. But the lynx is active. He walks around the cage, as if considering how to get out of it. Sometimes she freezes and looks longingly at people.

38.

39. Incredible! According to the sign, this is a raccoon dog!

40.

41. The buzzard tears apart the meat and throws unkind glances at the witnesses of his meal.

42. Golden owl. He is hated by other birds and is always attacked. This is successfully used when hunting falcon, hawk and other predators. An eagle owl, tied by the leg near the hunter's shelter, attracts the attention of birds of prey, which descend to him and fall under the shot.

43. This ended the visit to the enclosures. Before driving to the parking lot, we decided to drive a little along the road to take a picture of the forest. However, we did not manage to go far, a security guard immediately drove up to us, demanded a pass and said that it was only possible to travel on it from the gate to the lake. And a step to the right and to the left already pulls on the article. It was unpleasant, because the watchman who wrote out the pass said that you can go anywhere.I had to obey. However, I managed to take a couple of pictures.

44.


45.

46. We arrived at the lake without incident. No one stopped us and no one asked for a pass.
Near the shore there is a wonderful oak, looking at which the lines involuntarily climbed into my head:
"By the seaside, a green oak,

Golden chain on an oak tree

And day and night the scientist cat keeps walking around the chain.

Goes to the right - the song starts,

47. The atmosphere here is completely different. There are no roads, no houses, no people. Virgin, untouched nature. Words are out of place here, you can just enjoy the peace and quiet. Only here, we felt ourselves truly in the forest.

48. The resting place is surrounded by a decorative fence, and its area is very large! There are two tables with a roof, several sites for setting up tents, a place for a fire and a barbecue. Firewood was piled up nearby. As luck would have it, they were damp, and it was strictly forbidden to cut trees in the forest.

A light rain began to fall. We hurriedly unloaded, set up a tent, and lit a fire with difficulty. All this time, lizards constantly ran under their feet, and from the direction of the lake came the croaking of frogs.

An already familiar security guard drove up to us and ordered us to drive the car to a specially designated parking lot, which was a couple of hundred meters from the tent. And, after all, they promised on the phone that the car can be parked directly near the camp!

49. The brazier, unfortunately, was impossible to use. The bottom was rusted and half missing, and what was left consisted of a bunch of small holes. The coals just fell to the ground.

50. Leaving my husband to look after the fire, I went on a photo hunt. The sun came out for a moment, flooding everything around with bright colors, it turned out to be a good shot.

51. The lake mirrors the forest and the sky.

53.

54. And this stupid one, several times tried to crawl into the fire. He must have been drawn to the warmth. The husband, each time, pulled him out of the fire and carried him aside.

55.

56. Evening. The firewood is almost burned out, and I start preparing dinner.

57. While we were having dinner, it got completely dark. The moon came out, and in its ghostly light every bush looked like a lurking predator. Grasshoppers chirped, frogs croaked. After admiring this beauty, we went to bed. Tomorrow we will have a trip along the lake ring, but this is the next post.

2. Belovezhskaya Pushcha. Day 1st.

we went to Moldova to the cellars of Milesti Michi, huge wine cellars listed in the Guinness Book of Records. In Transnistria, they wanted to arrest us for arms smuggling (unrecognized territories are evil). I was going to write about our adventures, but the Maidan began, and everyone abandoned travel reports for a long time.

Last year we were in Turkey - Cappadocia, Cyprus and Istanbul. The trip turned out to be gorgeous, but it was lazy to write a report. Therefore, as we traveled, you can read from Katya. She writes very well.

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This year we went to neighboring Belarus, to Belovezhskaya Pushcha. It's not far, inexpensive, and there is a good road. In our country, it turns out, there are other good roads, except for the Kyiv-Borispol highway. Varshavka is beautiful - why have I never traveled through it before? There are few villages, transport is almost non-existent. A speed of 130 km / h or more is a lot of pleasure, although at such a speed my Avdey is already eating gasoline like crazy.

They entered Belarus through the Mokrany border crossing. Belarusian customs is not difficult, but tedious and long, even if there are no queues. You fill out declarations for yourself and for the temporary import of a car, they are checked - they show where you need to deliver ticks and say that your handwriting is not as good as they would like. Do not find fault, do not shake the nerves. The whole process just takes time.

After Mokran, about ten kilometers later, at a gas station (in a separate booth from a friendly girl), they took a device for driving on toll roads. I didn’t think to take a picture, but this is a small thing that is attached behind the mirror.
The security deposit is 20 euros and another 25 must be deposited into the account. Having found out where we were going, the girl tried to dissuade the controller and even tried to draw on the map how we could get there, bypassing the toll road. I said, “No way! You have such fines that it is better to let it be. I know myself, I’ll turn somewhere in the wrong place, and I’ll definitely pass through your framework.

Somehow it happened. Indeed, toll roads could easily be bypassed, but we were already wondering how this garbage would beep when driving through the frames. Normally, it beeps loudly.

On the way back at the same point, we handed over the money, the money was returned to the card minus 20-something UAH. Otherwise, I would be nervous, because just leaving without this device on a toll road costs 100 euros. Is it necessary?
The roads in Belarus are beautiful, and you don’t feel sorry for a single gram of money to travel on them.

About a hundred kilometers from the border of Belarus to Pushcha.
First we stopped in Kamenets. The city was founded by order of the Volyn prince Vladimir Vasilkovich.
The main attraction of Kamenets is the tower (vezha) built in 1276 (1278?) years.

The tower was built as the central part of a wooden fortification. Inside the museum.
Such towers in Belarus were also called vezhas. Once it was whitewashed, hence one of the versions of the origin of the name of Belovezhskaya Pushcha - in honor of this pillar. The version is considered insolvent, but I did not remember more reasonable versions.

From Kamenets to the village of Kamenyuki, the administrative center of Belovezhskaya Pushcha, is already very close.

Parking for cars near the main entrance to the reserve. There are hotels in the village and in the reserve itself. We stopped at the reserve.
All hotels are called unpretentiously - ours was Hotel Complex No. 4. The room is slightly Soviet-style and with carpets, but very clean and civilized. Everything is well-groomed and licked to a shine - both the hotel, and the area around, and even the reserved forest itself. Pushcha is under the personal patronage of Lukashenka, the order is monitored very strictly. In fact, everything in Belarus is clean, even where Lukashenka does not follow. We would like to learn.

You can eat in the restaurant at the neighboring hotel or in the cafe "Under the Pines" - on the net they praise their pancakes with blueberry jam. The cafe is more like a canteen - not chic and not very tasty, but fast, edible and inexpensive.
But the herbal tea advertised on the net is not in the cafe. Only in the residence of Santa Claus.

You can pay with cards everywhere. And in our hotel there was a bank branch where you can change money.

The weather is not particularly happy, but at least it does not pour like a bucket. We leave the hotel, Katya immediately gets acquainted with the local fauna.

I like cats. Everyone. I love taking pictures and petting them. But this cat does not love me, he despises me and ignores me. The cat loves only Katya. He runs after her and looks into her eyes. Katya doesn't like cats. Everyone. This is the love triangle we have.

The animal escorts us to the enclosures.

It is better to go to the enclosures early in the morning or late in the evening when the animals are active. It is forbidden to feed animals, but judging by the way they beg for food, no one listens to these prohibitions.

It is immediately clear who is the boss in the house. The moose on the cat does not even react.

If you live on the territory of the reserve, tickets to the enclosures and the museum are valid for all days of your stay, you do not need to throw them away right away. You can approach the enclosures even without tickets - they are a kilometer long, you can’t put guards everywhere. But I do not call for this - animals need to be fed for some money.

Bison are the beauty and pride of Belovezhskaya Pushcha.
The last wild bison in Belovezhskaya Pushcha was shot dead in 1921. Fortunately, there were still 12 individuals left in various zoos around the world, and they gave rise to a restored herd. Low genetic variability is one of the main threats to the long-term survival of the bison.

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But so far everything is fine - the number of animals has increased to almost 500 heads, each new bison is entered in a special stud book. In winter, wild bison in the Forest can almost always be seen at the estate of Father Frost, they are fed there.
Bison have matriarchy - the herd is led by the most experienced female.
And this cheerful little bison was running around the aviary like a joyful puppy. The appearance is adult, even with horns, and the habits of children - all children love to play.

November is by no means the worst time to visit the reserve. The territory of Pushcha is mostly swampy. Mosquitoes are understandable and expected, and there are methods of dealing with them. But there are also gadflies the size of a finger, it is not clear whether they are afraid of at least something, and whether it is possible to somehow fight them off.

After the enclosures we go to the museum of nature.
They write that this is the best local history museum in Europe. Well, I don’t know, the Museum of Nature in Kyiv is clearly cooler. I don't believe that in Pushcha animals are not specially killed for stuffed animals, because hunting is prohibited in the reserve. Of course they kill - how can you make a quality stuffed animal out of someone who died a natural death? And hunting in Pushcha is carried out for everyone, except for bison. The number of animals has to be controlled, otherwise wild boars are already destroying vegetable gardens in neighboring villages.

The history of Belovezhskaya Pushcha is told in several halls of the museum.
This is the largest area of ​​relic primeval forest that covered all of Europe in ancient times. Everywhere this forest was cut down, and only in the territory of Belovezhskaya Pushcha it has been preserved in a relatively untouched form. This area has been protected since 1409, when King Jagiello issued an order forbidding the hunting of large game here.

The border between Belarus and Poland runs along Belovezhskaya Pushcha.
The Pushcha has been included in the UNESCO List since 1979, it is the only transnational object from the List, about 2/3 of the Pushcha is located in Belarus, 1/3 in Poland.
In the Polish Belavezha there was once a royal hunting palace, destroyed during the Great Patriotic War.

Route "Lake ring".

Morning. In vain Belarus lives according to Moscow time - at 8 in the morning it does not begin to dawn yet. I ask the duty officer where a tourist can go for a walk before breakfast. She very much asks not to go anywhere further than the enclosures. And then nidaiboh - animals regularly come out on the road: foxes, deer, wild boars.
I vividly presented an article in the local newspaper "A tourist from Ukraine was bitten by deer", but I reasoned that I was old and had so much cholesterol in me that a self-respecting deer would disdain me.

Katya, as an accomplished, self-sufficient, adult woman, wanted to visit Santa Claus.

And Vika and I decided to walk along the Dokudovo hiking trail. The trail turned out to be paid - it was written on a poster that stood at its beginning. The cost is 15,000 Belarusian rubles, something like 20 our hryvnias, but I didn’t want to return one and a half kilometers to the ticket office. So we walked to Dokudovo for free, without meeting a single person along the way.

Rain. A beautiful road through the forest, and then through the swamp along a narrow dam. There is water on both sides, and on the dam there are the freshest traces of wild boars - it is clear that they just passed, a couple of minutes before us. It became somehow uncomfortable: well, how will a hefty boar come up now and sternly ask "Ladies, where are your tickets for 15,000 Belarusian rubles for the Dokudovo ecological trail?" And at least jump into the swamp.

But it worked out. Here, in fact, is the only animal encountered on the trail.

On the territory of Pushcha there is a pedestrian border crossing to Poland - if you have a bicycle and a passport with a Schengen, it is quite possible to ride on the territory of two states.

Sightseeing tour ,
The site promises two sightseeing tours a day, at 11.00 and 14.00, but there are not so many people who want to see Pushcha in the rain. Therefore, the group is recruited only at 14.00. Katya just managed to return, and we are all going to the survey together.
Our bus is a little visible in the photo, Katya and the quality of roads in Pushcha are clearly visible

Royal road.
Once it led to the hunting palace. Bridges from those times have been preserved on it. The eagles on the railing have recently been restored.

The Museum of Folk Life and Ancient Technologies is included in the sightseeing tour.
It's brand new, only a year and a half old. Therefore, there are few exhibits, and ancient technologies are represented exclusively by moonshining (we started with the main thing). But here is an excellent guide, and at the end of the tour they offer to taste the local moonshine of some special double haul. I'm driving, and the girls approved and bought with them for the gifts.
The local moonshine is one of four licensed in Belarus. To me, a "moonshine license" sounds like a refrigerator or microwave license. A common household item. But this, apparently, is either a difference in mentalities or is somehow connected with the permission to sell products.

The famous oak giant. He is about 400 years old, it takes six people to hug him.
Katya suggested checking this statement and hugging the tree, and everyone very happily agreed,
Probably, we all miss Santa Claus and round dances at the Christmas tree.

And then we returned home without incident.

The habit occurs 21 times. We do not yet have the habit of going abroad for Katya's birthday, but I hope that it will appear in time. After 18 years, Katya will call me in November (I will be 70 by then, I will be mischievous and deaf) and scream into the phone: "How are you, old purse? Guess where we are going this year?" It will be awesome. Yes, Katya?

Posted on Dec. 2nd, 2015 at 11:50 am | | | |

Belovezhskaya Pushcha is a protected area of ​​relic forest that once sprouted throughout Europe. The untouched forests are home to a huge number of animals and birds.

The first mention of Belovezhskaya Pushcha dates back to 983 - it was mentioned in the Ipatiev Chronicle. This forest was declared a protected area back in the 14th century by the prince of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania - Prince Jagiello. Then he forbade anyone to hunt in these places, leaving the right to hunt only for himself and his brother.

In 1795, Belovezhskaya Pushcha became part of the Russian Empire, and in 1802, Alexander I banned bison hunting in the Pushcha.

Since 1939, Belovezhskaya Pushcha, as part of Belarus and on its territory, was organized by the Belarusian State Reserve "Belovezhskaya Pushcha". Since 1992, the reserve has been included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. Two sights of Belarus are also included in UNESCO: and.

At the entrance to Belovezhskaya Pushcha. Zero kilometer sign 🙂

Relic forests grow on the territory of the reserve, the average age of the forest is 100 years. But there are really old oaks here, which are 400-600 years old, as well as 250-350-year-old ash trees, 200-250-year-old firs.

59 species of mammals and 227 species of birds inhabit the territory of Belovezhskaya Pushcha.

Animals living in the Pushcha suffered during the First World War. Bison were almost on the verge of extinction. Then, in 1923, a bison nursery was organized on the territory of Belovezhskaya Pushcha, to which 6 bison were brought for breeding. By the way, there is a bison nursery not far from Moscow, near Serpukhov. You can read about him.

Nature Reserve Belovezhskaya Pushcha: what to do, what to see and what to visit

Museum of Nature in Belovezhskaya Pushcha

On the territory of the Belovezhskaya Pushcha Reserve, not far from the entrance to the territory, there is Museum of Nature.

The museum was founded in 1963, now the museum of nature has five well-decorated halls. At the entrance to the museum, we are met by the Bison - the owner of these places 😎

The halls display models of animals and birds living in the Pushcha.

There is also a huge collection of mushrooms.

There is also a historical hall, which displays photographs of the Royal Hunt in Belovezhskaya Pushcha.

Museum of Nature work from 9:00 to 18:00, visit cost 20 000 Belarusian rubles(approximately $2) for adults and 10 000 Belarusian rubles($1) for children.

Enclosures with animals in Belovezhskaya Pushcha

There are enclosures with animals near the Museum of Nature on the territory of Belovezhskaya Pushcha. The territory with open-air cages occupies the area of ​​20 hectares. Here you can see a raccoon dog, lynx, wild boar, roe deer, deer and of course bison 😎

You can visit from 9:00 to 20:00, visit cost 16 000 Belarusian rubles($1.6) for adults and 8 000 Belarusian rubles($0.8) for children.

Father Frost's estate in Belovezhskaya Pushcha

On the territory of Belovezhskaya Pushcha in 2003 was built the estate of the Belarusian Father Frost. The estate occupies an area of ​​15 hectares, here is the house of Santa Claus and the tower of the Snow Maiden and, of course, a large New Year tree! Visiting the estate of the Belarusian Santa Claus will be interesting not only for children, but also for adults. By the way, in Russia, in, you can visit the tower of the Snow Maiden.

The estate of the Belarusian Father Frost open to visitors all year round: both in winter and summer 😎 from 9:00 to 17:00. If you came to Belovezhskaya Pushcha on your own (without an excursion), then you need to take a sightseeing bus (right at the entrance to the forest), which will take you to the estate to Santa Claus. The bus leaves from the main entrance at 11:00, 13:30 and 16:00.

Cost of visiting estates of the Belarusian Father Frost 75 000 Belarusian rubles($7.5) for adults and 60 000 Belarusian rubles(6 dollars) for children.

Sightseeing tour of Belovezhskaya Pushcha

If you come to Belovezhskaya Pushcha, I definitely advise you to take a bus sightseeing tour of Belovezhskaya Pushcha. The tour lasts about 2 hours, during which time the guide will tell you a lot of interesting information about the forest, you will visit protected places, see various types of relic forest.

Visit Lake Lyadsoke - a large artificial reservoir in Belovezhskaya Pushcha. By the way, there are no natural lakes on the territory of Belovezhskaya Pushcha, but there are 10 artificial reservoirs formed on the site of lowland swamps.

See the bridges of the royal road with eagles on the railing, which were cast in 1902 under Alexander III.

Oak-patriarch, which is over 600 years old. The diameter of the oak trunk is 2 m, and the height is 28.5 m.

The cost of a sightseeing tour of Belovezhskaya Pushcha 60 000 Belarusian rubles($6) for adults and 35 000 Belarusian rubles($3.5) for children. Departure of buses for a sightseeing tour of Belovezhskaya Pushcha from the main entrance at 11:00, 13:30 and 16:00.

What else to do in Belovezhskaya Pushcha?

You can rent bikes and go on bike trails. Routes are designed for 1.5 - 4 hours. Bicycle rental price 20 000 Belarusian rubles per hour, the cost of visiting bicycle routes 10,000 - 15,000 Belarusian rubles

You can go to ecological tour "Wildlife World": the tour is held at dawn or at sunset, tourists are taken to a place where you can watch deer, roe deer. bison and other animals in the natural environment. tour cost 20 euro from a person.

In Belovezhskaya Pushcha it is pleasant just to walk and breathe fresh air. I have never felt such crystal-clear air anywhere else!

You can collect strawberries, blueberries 😎

Good asphalt roads are laid along Belovezhskaya Pushcha - we regretted that we did not take our videos. In winter, all conditions for skiing are created.

In the territory of Belovezhskaya Pushcha, the hotel has a swimming pool and a sauna. The cost of visiting the pool (1 hour) 25 000 Belarusian rubles($2.5) for adults and 15 000 Belarusian rubles for children($1.5). The cost of visiting the sauna - 40 000 Belarusian rubles for 2 hours.

Reserve Belovezhskaya Pushcha, how to get there

The entrance to the Belovezhskaya Pushcha reserve is located in the village. Kamenyuki, 380 km from Minsk and 60 km from Brest.

You can get to Belovezhskaya Pushcha

1. By car from Minsk along the M1 highway to the turn to the city of Slonim, and then to the city of Kamenets, then to the village of Kamenyuki or along the M1 highway to the turn to Zhabinka, and then to Kamenets and Kamenyuki
2. Buy an organized tour in Minsk or Brest to Belovezhskaya Pushcha
3. Take the train to Brest, and then by taxi to the village of Kamenyuki
4. Get to Brest, and from Brest by bus or minibus to Belovezhskaya Pushcha (v. Kamenyuki). The bus leaves 2 times a day: at 8:00 and 14:30, minibus at 7:00, 12:30, 17:00.

Where to stay in Belovezhskaya Pushcha

In Belovezhskaya Pushcha is located (), where I advise you to stay. The hotel consists of 4 buildings. Buildings 1,3,4 are located on the very territory of the protected forest in the national park, and building 2 is in the village of Kamenyuki.

I advise you to choose buildings 1,3 or 4, although living in them will cost a little more. Yet it is an incomparable pleasure to live in the forest! In the evening, when we went for a walk, we saw a roe deer right next to our building!

We lived in building 4 - this is a new building, which houses a swimming pool, sauna and gym. There is WiFi in the lobby.

The cost of rooms in the hotel Kamenyuki is growing every year! Now (summer 2014) the cheapest double room in building 2 will cost you $45(but I do not recommend building 2), in buildings 1 and 3 a double room will cost about $65, and in building 4 - from $85. These are prices with breakfast, but when we were at the hotel, breakfast was very poor - buckwheat porridge and a park of sausage pieces 😎

You should definitely visit Belovezhskaya Pushcha, it is good there at any time of the year. I hope we will visit there again. How much I am indifferent to outdoor recreation, but I really liked this national park of Belarus!

July 14th, 2016 03:08 pm

As part of our short trip around Belarus, we could not help but visit Belovezhskaya Pushcha - a legendary place, the center of restoration of the bison population in Europe.

The road from Minsk to Belovezhskaya Pushcha turned out to be confusing for us, we got a little lost, and part of the way we did on dirt roads. And even in small villages far from the main roads, I was struck by clean, tidy houses, broken gardens, and the absence of abandoned dwellings. And an incredible number of storks! :)

Belovezhskaya Pushcha is known to most people as a reserve where bison live. But few people know that Belovezhskaya Pushcha is a unique area of ​​relic primeval lowland forest that grew in Europe in prehistoric times. Besides, Pushcha is the oldest nature reserve in Europe. The forests of this area are mentioned already in 983 in the Ipatiev Chronicle, in the 12th century Vladimir Monomakh hunted turs, bison and deer here, and in 1409 the Polish king Jagiello issued a decree prohibiting the hunting of large animals in the Forest, except for the king and his cousin Vitovt.

Hermit oak. Once this oak grew on the outskirts of the swamp, the swamp dried up long ago, but the oak has retained a squat, spreading shape, characteristic of trees growing in open space, and not in the forest. The age of the oak is 300 years, and the diameter of its trunk is 1.5 meters. Once upon a time, the oak had 3 main branches, but one of them was broken by a hurricane in the 20th century. Later, a huge hollow was formed in the oak, in which families of carpenter ants now live, they process dead oak tissues without touching the living ones.

Our tour takes place on beautiful asphalt roads. They appeared on the site of narrow-gauge railways, which were laid during the First World War by the forces of Russian and French soldiers captured by the Germans. In just 18 months, 325 km of railways were laid.

Royal path. The cast-iron railing with the double-headed eagle and the monogram of Alexander III was cast in 1902. After the revolution, the eagles were destroyed

And they tried to blow up the bridge

Lake Lyadskoye is the largest reservoir in Belovezhskaya Pushcha.

Here you can see the white-tailed eagle and the white heron

Seven aspens growing from one root

Patriarch oak, over 600 years old, with a trunk diameter of 2 meters

During the First World War, they tried to cut down the oak, but the mighty trunk did not succumb. Now he can see the healed scars from the saw.

In the wilds of Belovezhskaya Pushcha there are oaks that are older, taller and thicker than the Oak Patriarch, but they are all located in places inaccessible to tourists, in forest thickets

350 year old Giant Pine

We got to the excursion enclosures, but the weather turned bad, it began to rain, and many animals hid and did not show themselves to us.

Sociable boars are happy to approach, even run, to the grate, stretch out their snouts and grunt cutely.

Despite the friendly appearance, the wild boar is a very dangerous animal armed with sharp fangs.

We were lucky to see little striped boars

Few deer like to walk in the rain

Horse with foal

And of course, the owners of Belovezhskaya Pushcha are bison. For 70 years, the reserve has been working to restore the population of these beautiful animals. In the Middle Ages, bison inhabited almost all of Europe, but due to uncontrolled hunting, poaching, breeding of other wild and domestic ungulates - food competitors of bison - their numbers were constantly declining, until the last free-living bison was killed in 1919. By 1926, only 52 purebred bison remained in the world in the zoos of Poland, Sweden, Germany and England. After long political upheavals, in 1946, the first 5 bison (2 females and 3 males) were released in the Belarusian part of Belovezhskaya Pushcha, from which the restoration of the population began.

Now more than 450 bison live in Belovezhskaya Pushcha.

The cutest little brat. He was the only one in the enclosure to whom the rain brought joy - he jumped, galloped, butted a stump and enjoyed life in every possible way :)

If in the wild I tried to get so close to a bison, I would pay for it. The mother bison was on the alert, and when I came close to the grid (to fit the lens between the wires) and enthusiastically photographed, looking only into the viewfinder, I rushed to the attack. A powerful blow with his forehead and horns hit a green metal beam installed inside the enclosure. It was scary, because only this beam separated me from the angry bison weighing half a ton (and the bison jump well and high) and the net (it doesn’t look very strong), so I preferred not to anger the caring mother anymore and move away

There is a very interesting museum of nature on the territory of Belovezhskaya Pushcha. In it you can get acquainted with one of the first five bison who settled in Pushcha, Puginal

Back in the 18th century, there were many bears in Belovezhskaya Pushcha. But gradually their population was completely destroyed due to conflicts with humans. Several attempts were made to return the brown bears to the Pushcha, but they all ended in failure. Bears can kill not only humans, but also bison.

The exposition of the museum is represented not by individual exhibits, but by dioramas, which show scenes from the life of animals, their interaction with the environment and the seasons

Very rare and shy black stork

In 1889, Emperor Alexander III decided to build a hunting palace in Belovezha. Construction was completed under Nicholas II. The palace became a favorite vacation spot for the royal family, the autumn residence of the Russian emperor. Having lost its interior decoration, the palace nevertheless survived the hard times of the change of power, World War I, it housed the Pushcha museum, a library, and even carried out repair and restoration work. In 1941, the headquarters of one of the Abwehr units was located in the palace, and in 1944, during the liberation from the German occupation, the retreating Germans set fire to the palace. Unique collections and museum collections suffered. Soviet soldiers extinguished the fire, but only ruins remained of the palace. In 1961 the ruins were blown up and cleared

This is how the bronze monument looked in memory of the royal hunt of Alexander II in Belovezhskaya Pushcha on October 6-7, 1860

The Belovezhskaya Pushcha Reserve is the main natural attraction of Belarus, where rare bison animals live. What to see in Belovezhskaya Pushcha, how to get from Minsk, prices for excursions, food and hotels in Belovezhskaya Pushcha. Holiday reviews with photos.

Now I am in my homeland, so on weekends I visit the sights of Belarus, which I will be happy to write about in my blog. I'll start with a story about Belovezhskaya Pushcha. Pesnyary also sang about her.

The National Park "Belovezhskaya Pushcha" is a biosphere reserve, part of which is located in the west of Belarus, the other part is in Poland.

It consists of 500 thousand square meters of forest, the average age of trees in which is 100 years. There are oaks on the territory of the Pushcha, living there for 500-600 years.

This is one of the oldest nature reserves in the world, founded over 600 years ago. Since 1992, the national park has been included in the UNESCO World Heritage Fund. This is one of the main attractions of Belarus. Recreation in Belovezhskaya Pushcha is popular among animal lovers and ecotourism.

Belovezhskaya Pushcha occupies a vast territory. You can only move around the reserve on foot, by bike or by sightseeing bus. We leave our car in the parking lot.

In fact, Pushcha is a big forest with several lakes, a small zoo and some entertainment. The main objects that are usually seen in the forest are enclosures with animals (bison, horses, wild boars), the Estate of the Belarusian Father Frost (open all year round, not only in winter), the Museum of Natural History.

Cash desk opening hours: 9.00 – 18.00

Bicycle rental hours: 9.00 – 18.00

Opening hours of the Museum of Nature: 9.00 – 18.00

Working hours of the Residence of Santa Claus: 9.00 - 18.00

Departure time of buses from the entrance to the Pushcha to the Estate of Father Frost: 11:00; 13:30; 16:00 daily (if there is a group of at least 10 people)

Hotels in Belovezhskaya Pushcha

There is one in Belovezhskaya Pushcha hotel "Kamenyuki". One building is located on the territory of the reserve, the other is in the neighboring village of Kamenyuki, 900 meters from the main entrance to the forest.

Prices in the village are lower than in the forest itself. Link to Kamenyuki No. 2 in the village (numbers from 17$ )

The Kamenyuki Hotel is now on Booking.com. Now it has become much easier to book rooms in Belovezhskaya Pushcha (earlier you had to call a landline phone on weekdays, but now you can rent a number on the Internet)

Houses in Belovezhskaya Pushcha

If you do not want to live in a hotel, then in the village of Kamenyuki you can rent a room in a house, a cottage or live in an agroestate.

If you come by car, it makes sense to live not near Pushcha, but rent an apartment in Brest, Kobrin or any other city nearby - it will be many times cheaper than living in Belovezhskaya Pushcha or Kamenyuki.

Apartments and houses in Belarus can be rented at the links:

• Apartments for a day in Brest - from $19 per apartment

Farmsteads and houses in Belovezhskaya Pushcha

Belovezhskoe estate, from $25

Price - 25$ for a room with a shared bathroom, 45$ per room with private bathroom

You can rent a separate house of the 19th century entirely for 50-60$

Homestead in the village of Kamenyuki, decorated in a traditional style. There is free wifi and free parking, garden, barbecue area and terrace. It takes 20-25 minutes to walk to the forest.

House 10 km from Pushcha, from $75

Price for a one bedroom house - 75$
House with 4 bedrooms - from 100$

The price depends on the number of guests and the size of the cottage.

Cottage complex. There are 1 bedroom, 4 bedroom and 5 bedroom cabins. All houses have a fireplace, private bath, terrace, barbecue, free wifi and parking.

Suitable for those who have a car. The estate is located 10 km from the forest in the village of Makovishte

House in Kamenyuki, from $30

Price for two 30$ , for three 40$ , for 4 - $ 50, maximum 5 people.

House with 2 bedrooms in the village of Kamenyuki. There is a garden with a terrace and barbecue facilities, a kitchen with an oven, TV, free wifi. To the forest 1 km.

Excursions in Belovezhskaya Pushcha:

• On foot– you can visit the enclosures with animals, the Museum of Local Lore and lakes

• By bike— there are five routes on the territory of the Pushcha, the longest route, 27 km long, runs along centuries-old oaks, captures several lakes, partly runs along an asphalt road, and 70% along a dirt road.

• On the tour bus(2 excursions)

Prices for excursions in Belovezhskaya Pushcha.

Tickets for excursions can be bought at the central ticket office at the main entrance. They accept only Belarusian rubles or bank cards.

Russian rubles, dollars and euros are not accepted. If you plan to go to the enclosures and the Museum of Nature, it is better to buy tickets right away.

All prices are in Belarusian rubles. To understand how much is dollars, share the price on 2.

To get a price in Russian rubles, multiply the price in "proteins" at 30.

Below are the prices for adult and child tickets. Visiting the estate of Santa Claus, enclosures with animals, a museum of nature - child ticket up to 14 years, sightseeing tour with a visit to the museum of folk life - child ticket up to 18 years.

Walking tour of Belovezhskaya Pushcha

Price: 1 white ruble(31 Russian rubles / 0.5$ ) lasts 2 hours

You pay money, you get a map with sights indicated on it. You can walk without a map, but since the border with Poland is very close, it’s better to get a map so that you don’t accidentally go where you don’t need to.

If you just want to walk around the forest without a map, then no need to pay.

Bicycle tour of Belovezhskaya Pushcha

Bicycle rental works from 9.00 to 18.00.

Bicycle routes prices:

There are several cycling routes of different lengths, designed for one and a half, two, four hours. The price includes bike rental and a map with routes. The path runs along asphalt and dirt paths.

I've read mixed reviews about bikes. Many write that they got an old bike for rent and advise, if possible, to choose an aluminum one with speeds. It is recommended to take your bike from home. I didn’t rent a bike myself, so I don’t know how things are going with the equipment.

Sightseeing tour of Belovezhskaya Pushcha by bus

Winter equipment rental

Excursion around the Estate of the Belarusian Grandfather Frost

Price: adults 8.5 byn ( 260 rub/ 4.4$), children 7 byn ( 215 rub / 3.6$)

The price includes a performance and gifts for about 3 bel. ruble.

Lasts about 2 hours. The bus leaves from the main entrance at 11.00, 13.30 and 16.00

The residence is located 12 km from the main entrance to the reserve, so it can be reached on foot or by bicycle, but it will take a long time.

Excursion to the Residence of Santa Claus

Sights of Belovezhskaya Pushcha

Regional Museum of Nature

Price: adults 3 byn (90 rubles / 1.5$ ), children — 2 byn (60 rubles / 1$ ).

You can take an audio guide for 3.5 byn(110 rubles) or book a group tour for 5 byn(150 rubles) for groups up to 10 people.

This is the best local history museum in Europe (although it will be cooler in Moscow). The exposition was collected for 70 years.

Only wild boars are specially shot in the forest, because there are a lot of them. All other animals died a natural death and were found by rangers or local residents.

Residence of Belarusian Father Frost

A fun show is put on at the Residence. We danced, ran around the Christmas tree, chatted with Santa Claus and Baba Yaga's sister Korgota, guessed riddles, after which we could write our wishes to Santa Claus. I liked the show. I think the kids will like it too.

At the end, they gave sets of very tasty Belarusian sweets for 30 thousand ( 1.5$ ), which is especially nice. Different groups get different gifts: chocolates, drawing sets for children, etc.

You can also make up to 100 wishes in the residence. Grandfather promised that all of them would come true within a year. We'll see.

Animals of Belovezhskaya Pushcha

Price: adults 2.5 byn ( 80 rub), children 1.5 byn ( 45 rub).

It is better to buy tickets to the enclosures in advance at the central ticket office.

Wild animals constantly live on the territory of the forest, but it is far from always possible to see them, so it is best to look at the famous Belarusian bison in enclosures. Bison, deer, raccoon dogs, foxes, elks, bears, wolves, horses, wild boars live in enclosures.

From 15.20 to 16.00 the animals slept in houses, large animals were far from the fence. When we were near the enclosures again around 6 pm, the animals woke up.

They approached the fences, allowed themselves to be stroked. It turned out that it is better to look at the animals in the morning or in the evening. During the day they are busy or sleeping.

!!! I ask you to pay attention to the fact that animals cannot be fed. There are signs on the fences of the enclosure asking them not to feed the animals, but for some reason people continue to throw loaves and whole loaves of bread into the enclosures. If you want a bison or a deer to come closer to the fence, it is better to show him a blade of grass.

In my presence, not very smart giggling people threw a stone at the boar. The boar ate a stone out of habit, but why do this?

Other attractions

Also on the territory of Belovezhskaya Pushcha there are several artificial lakes, centuries-old oaks, about 300 species of rare birds and about 900 varieties of plants. All this can be seen while walking or cycling.

Food prices in Belovezhskaya Pushcha

Our one-day trip to Belovezhskaya Pushcha by car from Minsk cost 120 Bel. rubles (3700 Russian rubles) for two people.

We drove 760 km, so the main part of the expenses is gasoline (1.19 byr (42 rubles) per liter of the 95th). We ate at the cafe twice. Once in the forest itself, the second time on the highway. The rest of the expenses are entrance tickets to the enclosures, the museum and the tour.

Prices in the restaurant on the territory of Pushcha are the same as in Minsk establishments. Also to the right of the entrance to the territory of the reserve there is a cafe "Sosny", where you can cheaply eat pancakes with blueberries or honey, order barbecue with salad and drink tea.

Herbal tea with pancakes

How to get to Belovezhskaya Pushcha from Minsk and Brest

1. By car- 360 km from Minsk along the M1 highway to Zhabinka, then through the city of Kamenets to the village of Kamenyuki - this is the administrative center of Belovezhskaya Pushcha. We reach the end of the village of Kamenyuki and run into the parking lot and the entrance to the reserve.

The movement of vehicles without a special permit on the territory of Belovezhskaya Pushcha is prohibited, so we put the car in the parking lot and go for a walk.

2. By public transport

By train to Brest. A ticket for the Minsk-Brest train can be bought in advance on the website www.rw.by

From the railway station in Brest, you need to get to the Central Bus Station. Walk 15 minutes.

At the bus station we buy a ticket to the village of Kamenyuki.

From Kamenyuki station we walk about 1 km to the main entrance to Belovezhskaya Pushcha.

Main entrance to Belovezhskaya Pushcha

My reviews about Belovezhskaya Pushcha

It so happened that we left Minsk late and arrived in Pushcha by 2.30 pm, so not everyone had time to see it.

What I especially liked:

• Museum of Nature. I don't like museums, but here everything is decorated at the highest level. Made with soul. For me, the main thing is that animals are not killed for the sake of the museum.

• Herb tea- poured in the cafe "Sosny" and in a cafe in the residence of Father Frost. To my greatest sadness, the collection itself, on which tea is brewed, is not sold on the territory of Belovezhskaya Pushcha.

• Excursion to the Residence of Father Frost. Delicious gifts were given there, and the performance itself was fun. Guys are great. They try!

• Bison and gray horse. The conditions for keeping animals in enclosures are quite good. Previously, I did not like zoos, but now I understand that they still have a meaning. Most zoos have old or sick animals that find it difficult to find food in the wild. In the zoo animals are fed - this is a big plus. The only thing that seemed strange to me was that in the enclosures where bison live, all the trees have been cut down. In summer, the animals will have nowhere to hide from the sun. I hope that closer to June the bison will move from their clearing to the forest, like other animals.

What I did not like in Belovezhskaya Pushcha

• People who, despite the ban, feed animals with bread and stones.

• The condition of the bikes according to reviews leaves much to be desired.

• The bison are not combed out. In Chizhovsky Park in Minsk, the animals look more well-groomed.

Thus, while traveling to the sights of Belarus, I recommend that you visit Belovezhskaya Pushcha and spend at least one, two or three days there. Relax your soul, breathe in the fresh forest air, ride a bike or just take a walk.

Have a nice holiday in Belarus! Sincerely,

Belovezhskaya Pushcha in Belarus. Prices, photos, reviews, how to get to the reserve