Stenki Izgoriya Reserve

Stenki Izgoriya State Nature Reserve lies in Borisovsky and Krasnogvardeysky districts of Belgorod Oblast. Established in 1995 to protect rare chalk landscapes; since 1999 it has been a cluster site of the federal Belogorye Reserve. About 750 ha combine upland oak woods with chalk pine, feather-grass steppe, chalk outcrops and floodplain forest. Chalk pine and Altai spirea are Red Book species; large-flowered centaury and chalk thyme also occur. Access is regulated: eco-trails and plant-picking bans apply. Not a theme park but a field route for botanists and steppe landscape lovers. Combine with Belgorod chalk hills and Kholkov caves — three facets of the region's chalk landscape. The Belogorye Reserve headquarters is in Borisovka; book tours to the Stenki Izgoriya sector ahead. Stenki Izgoriya is a rare chance to see chalk pine in habitat — do not break branches or leave trails. Book via Belogorye headquarters in Borisovka; unauthorised access to outcrops may be fined.