Koupena, Nature reserve in Batashka planina, Bulgaria.

Koupena is a 1,759.2-hectare reserve on the northern slopes of the Batashka planina, from 600 to 1,400 m. Its steep, karst-rich terrain carries beech forests up to 1,400 m and mixed stands of black pine and European hop-hornbeam. The watershed ridge runs from Batashki Snezhnik peak northeast between the Vacha and Stara rivers.

The area was designated as a nature reserve in 1961 to protect its natural environment. It was later incorporated into international conservation programs that recognized its ecological value.

The reserve's name, Koupena, is the Bulgarian word for Solomon's seal (Polygonatum), a plant of the forest undergrowth. The area lies within the potential protected zone "Western Rhodopes" of the Natura 2000 network, and the cave Snezhanka sits in its buffer zone.

Access is limited to protect the environment, but visitors can explore parts of the area on designated paths. It is important to follow the rules and stick to marked routes to avoid disturbing the land.

The chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra) population here reached about 100 individuals in the 1980s, then fell to the edge of extinction through poaching in the early 1990s; only a small herd remains. The reserve also shelters the fire salamander (Salamandra salamandra) and the brown bear.