Национальный парк "Смоленское Поозерье", National park and biosphere reserve in Smolensk Oblast, Russia
Smolenskoye Poozerye National Park covers a diamond-shaped area about 55 km east-west and 50 km north-south in the Demidovsky and Dukhovshchinsky Districts of Smolensk Oblast. Its terrain runs from 167 m to 248 m and holds more than 35 glacial lakes, including Lake Sapsho (304 ha, 18.6 m deep, six islands) and Lake Baklanovskoye, the deepest in the oblast at 33 m. Forest covers roughly 75% of the park, mostly birch, spruce and pine.
The park was created on 15 April 1992 to protect old-growth broadleaf and dark conifer forests and to study the region's flora and fauna. Its territory forms a rhombus about 50 km north to south and 55 km east to west. In 1998 it joined the Europapark federation, and in 2002 it became a UNESCO biosphere reserve. The administration moved from Podosinki to Przhevalskoye in 2000.
The park's name means "Smolensk Lakes," after the more than 35 glacial lakes within its borders. Near Lake Sapsho lies the ancient settlement of Verzhavska, and a children's trail called "Fairy tales of a Russian forest" features defense outposts and homes of Baba-Yaga and Leshy. The spa "Holy Well" is a popular local stop.
The park maintains nature trails, bike routes, horse trails and water routes, plus a children's trail called "Fairy tales of a Russian forest" with defence outposts and figures of Baba-Yaga and Leshy. Guided bird-watching and historical-cultural tours are available, and the park administers 32 tourist shelters and 30 guest houses. The administration is in Przhevalskoye on Lake Sapsho.
The park's name means "Smolensk Lakes", and it counts more than 35 lakes, most of them carved by glaciers. Lake Sapsho, the largest at 304 hectares with six islands, lies beside the resort settlement of Przhevalskoye, where the park administration has been based since 2000.
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