Landscape and floristic reserve, located on the Abrau Peninsula, is called Big Utrish. Formed in 1994, it occupied an area of 5112 hectares and stretched along the sea for 12 kilometers, up to the Navagir ridge in the north. And oddly enough, this wild place belongs to the resort city of Anapa. It is not strange because all coastal municipalities are stretched for kilometers along the coast.
Legendary places
Many legends are associated with these beautiful places. The peninsula is named after Lake Abrau, which, in turn, was named after the beauty who once lived here and, thanks to a date with her loved one, who escaped the flood and the reservoir formed on the site of her village. The flood was sent by the gods as a punishment for the cynical rich who tease the hungry poor with cakes.
Big Utrish, or rather, the second part of its name, translated from the Adyghe language means "split mountain". It also has a lot to do with it.legends. Bolshoi Utrish is located in the west of the Krasnodar Territory, at the foot of the Caucasus Mountains. According to one version, it was here that Zeus, angry with the theft of fire from Olympus, cut a rock with lightning, and chained Prometheus to one of the sheer walls of the resulting gorge. According to the same legend, the waters of the Black Sea, which washed the place of suffering of the Greek titan, were so healing that after the release of the wounds of Prometheus, they instantly disappeared as soon as he plunged into the coastal waves. They are famous for their healing properties to this day, and one of the mountains is called the Rock of Prometheus. Local legends say that Jason also came here for the Golden Fleece and Medea.
Reserved area
Big Utrish, its entire territory and water area are unique in terms of quantity, properties and age of vegetation and algae (there are 227 species of them here). Some trees are thousands of years old. Pitsunda pine, pistachio and skumpia, pack and high junipers - these are representatives of the relict flora, which is so rich in the Bolshoi Utrish reserve, and which makes it unique even against the backdrop of the extraordinary flora and fauna of the entire Black Sea coast. There are 107 species of shrubs and trees and 75 different herbaceous plants.
60 representatives of the local flora are included in the Red Book. The fauna is also unique. Of all its representatives living on land and in the sea, it is worth highlighting the Mediterranean tortoise, striped empusa (a kind of praying mantis), which was considered extinct. Steppe Dybka (the largestgrasshopper of Russia), Aesculapian snake, (a rather rare representative of already-shaped snakes) also live on the territory of the reserve. There are a lot of birds here, including rare ones, such as the mute swan, wintering on estuary lakes. Rare species of Mediterranean butterflies living in the reserve deserve special words.
Problems of the reserve
The Red Book may be replenished with endangered species, since in 2011 it was decided to significantly reduce the area of the reserve and form the Utrish reserve on its territory. The lands between the second and third lagoons, where a unique juniper-pistachio forest has been growing for a long time, turned out to be torn away. All this is planned to be given for the construction of the next he alth complex and its infrastructure with access roads. Therefore, an action called "Let's save Big Utrish" is being held on the Internet.
Undeniable benefits
In clear sunny weather, from Anapa located 20 kilometers away, a picturesque strip of land is clearly visible, crashing into the sea. Big Utrish, named so in contrast to the village of Small Utrish, is located in this uniquely beautiful place.
Rocks and lakes, mountains and estuaries, beautiful lagoons with clean, clear sea water attract many tourists.
Partly the need for accommodation is met by the private sector. Bolshoy Utrish is a relatively small village, but it has the best service for tourists.
It offers apartments for rent, mini-hotels, rentrental of houses and cottages. Apartments here are cheaper than in Anapa, and getting here, thanks to a large number of minibuses, is not difficult: 15, maybe 20 minutes - and here it is, the village. And in the month of September they run on the specified route until 9 pm. We can say that civilization is near. In summer, tent camps and campsites are scattered along the coast. For lovers of silence and wildlife, this is a paradise. Rooms in the private sector can be ordered by phone and booked.
Wild vacation means no urban amenities
However, you need to have a clear idea of what kind of service you are counting on, and what is wild nature, which does not mean the presence of paved paths, gas and clean drinking water. The village of Bolshoy Utrish, as already noted, is quite small, only three streets. But, as with any coast, there is housing for every taste.
Comfortable rooms are rented in guest houses "Arina", "On Chernomorskaya", "On Lesnaya, 1". In addition to the extraordinary beauty of nature, the undoubted advantages of this place of rest include its healing properties. Mountain air, saturated with the aromas of relic forests, clear sea water and, which is especially appreciated now, in the age of the heyday of the popularity of stone therapy (treatment with stones and minerals), wild beautiful hot pebbles. Big Utrish possesses all this in excess. Reviews, however, are very different - from unconditionally enthusiastic panegyrics to grumbling. There are very few places or objects on earth that cause only positive feelings and reviews. Before traveling here, you need to decide what kind of vacation you need - this will help you choose the right place to stay.
Beach abundance
Everything is attracted to the area of the reserve - air, mountains, lakes, sea and, of course, the beach. Big Utrish has 6 large places for swimming and sunbathing. The largest - Central Beach - meets all modern requirements. It is fully equipped and can provide any service for cultural recreation, it is one of the best pebble beaches on the coast.
The four lagoons of the reserve have their own beaches, each of which has its own zest and attractiveness. Near the first bay there is a beautiful waterfall "Pearl", the coast of the second bay is not included in the reserve, and this attracts lovers of wild recreation. The beach of the third lagoon has a very convenient access to the sea, and part of the coast of the fourth bay is covered with very small pebbles. Since the times of the USSR, the nudist beach of Bolshoi Utrish has been known throughout the country. It is not equipped, but popular. The passage to it is indicated by the inscriptions on the barrels, which also refers to the sights of this place. And although the beach is often subject to police checks, the folk trail to it is not overgrown.
One of the oldest dolphinariums in the country
In addition to interesting beaches, the Big Utrish Dolphinarium, which is also a research base, is incredibly popular. If there is a dolphinarium in your city, then the local one will not really surprise you, because the programs of training and performances of marine animals are similar, because specialistsexchange experience. The local institution is famous precisely as a scientific base, but also as entertainment in a wild corner, it also brings joy to vacationers, especially children. Located on the S alt Lake and opened in 1984 (it is 10 years older than the reserve), the Utrish dolphinarium is good because the animals in it are almost in natural conditions, because in the immediate vicinity is the Black Sea coast, where their wild counterparts frolic.
The base is headquartered in Moscow and has many branches in different Russian cities. In addition to serious scientific and technical activities, the dolphinarium is engaged in popularization of knowledge about marine mammals - seals, fur seals, dolphins.
