Kerzhensky Reserve

The Kerzhensky reserve was founded on 23 April 1993 in the left-bank Zavolzhye, on the Kerzhenets river — the river that gave its name to the Old Believer 'kerzhaks' who fled into the forests from persecution. Its area is 46,856 hectares of forest and about four thousand hectares of bogs; the reserve is part of the 'Nizhegorodskoye Zavolzhye' biosphere reserve. The landscape is taiga Zavolzhye: pine forests on sands, sphagnum bogs, river oxbows. Moose, lynx, bear, capercaillie and black stork live here; the Kerzhenets winds among sandy banks, and woodpecker drumming carries through the forest more often than birdsong. For visitors the reserve runs ecological routes and a visitor centre: eco-trails with towers over the bogs, wildlife watching, winter ski routes. The Kerzhenets is a quiet alternative to the noisy spots: people come here for real northern forest a step away from the metropolis.