Unfortunately, admiring the untouched beauty of nature in the modern world is a great success. There are fewer and fewer corners on our planet where nature is taken care of, and not used for their own purposes, where they treat it with care, and do not suck out all possible resources, where they seek to preserve it, and do not predatory rob its riches. For the most part, such places are reserves - that is, nature protection zones in which trained people monitor the state of the environment, protect it from harmful human impact, and prevent environmental problems. In Russia at the moment there are more than a hundred such reserves. One of the most amazing is the picturesque reserve "Erzi", which is located in the south of our country - in the Republic of Ingushetia.
Geographic information
The Erzi State Nature Reserve is located in two districts of the Republic of Ingushetia - Dzheyrakhsky and Sunzhensky - in the basin and on the northern slope of the Greater Caucasus(the average height of the landscape in Erzi is about one and a half thousand meters above sea level). Several mountain rivers flow through the territory of the reserve, the largest of which are Assa and Armkhi - tributaries of the majestic Terek. "Erzi" is part of the large federal nature reserve "Ingush", only the area of the reserve "Erzi" is over 35 thousand hectares.
History
The Erzi nature reserve is named so not by chance, because it is located on the site of the settlement of the same name, founded in the sixteenth century. The protected area has existed here for a long time. But the status of the reserve "Erzi" and its surroundings acquired in 2000, in accordance with the decree of the Government of the Russian Federation. However, at that time the area of the reserve was almost seven times smaller than now. Thanks to the intensive work of biologists, geologists and ecologists, their research and scientific work, the Erzi Reserve included more and more territories.
Plant world
The nature reserve "Erzi" attracts scientists and just nature lovers with the richness of its flora. It is very diverse, as is typical for mountainous regions.
Approximately one third of the territory of the reserve is forested: on the slopes of the mountains there are centuries-old oak forests, in the basin thickets of willow, mixed forest. Higher up in the mountains there is a unique array of hook pine, which is endemic - that is, it grows only here and nowhere else. Another unique object is the sea buckthorn forest, which is also located in the reserve. And very highthe forest gives way to meadows with lush herbs.
Despite such we alth, as in any reserve, the collection of medicinal plants, fruits of trees is strictly prohibited here at any time of the year.
On the territory of "Erzi" more than fifty species of plants are registered, which are listed in the Red Book of the Republic of Ingushetia (some of them are included in the Red Book of Russia).
Animal World
There are also many rare animals in the reserve - 114 species are considered "Red Book" in Ingushetia. The general diversity of the fauna is amazing: about six hundred species of invertebrates and about four hundred species of vertebrates have been registered in Erzi. Moreover, research in this area is ongoing, scientists are constantly working to discover new species of representatives of the flora and fauna that live and grow on the territory of the Erzi Reserve (for example, several new species of helminths were discovered here not so long ago).
But back to more familiar animals. Artiodactyls such as aurochs and chamois gallop along the rocky slopes, forest cats and lynxes hide in the trees in the forests, and peregrine falcons and golden eagles soar in the clear mountain air.
Man-made beauty
Besides natural beauties, the Erzi State Reserve is also famous for its human creations. On the territory there are ancient architectural structures, which are a tower complex. It consists of eight combat, two semi-combat and as many as forty-seven residential towers. All of them are connected by powerful stone walls,intended, judging by the loopholes, for the defense of the settlement. The height of the combat towers reaches thirty meters - just imagine: this is about the same as a modern nine-story building, and the artifacts found here by archaeologists date back to the eighth century AD.
How to get there?
Of course, it is better to see once than hear a hundred times. And, perhaps, having learned about the splendor of the Erzi reserve, you will want to visit it and personally admire all its beauties, enjoy the views, plunge into the world of the untouched nature of Ingushetia.
In "Erzi" you can really get an ordinary tourist. To do this, you need to book a tour of the reserve. This can be done by contacting the address: Nazran city, Pobedy street, 3. Reserve workers have developed routes for tourists. Such walks are popular with nature lovers and tired city dwellers.
