Lapland Biosphere Reserve, Natural reserve in Murmansk Oblast, Russia
Lapland Biosphere Reserve is a protected area in Murmansk Oblast covering 278,435 hectares of northern taiga, mountain tundra, lakes, and rivers. The territory safeguards old-growth coniferous forests and a range of arctic ecosystems that stretch from central highlands to forested valleys.
The Leningrad regional government created the reserve on January 17, 1930, to protect wild reindeer from hunting and forest clearing. Over the decades, authorities expanded the boundaries several times to include more threatened habitats.
The reserve holds displays about the Sami, who have herded reindeer across the peninsula for centuries and whose way of life shaped the region. Visitors can see reconstructed camps where everyday tools and clothing show how closely Sami life followed the seasons.
Visitors need prior permission and a ticket from the administration office, with adults paying 600 rubles and children 400 rubles. Guided hikes on marked trails are the best way to explore the terrain, as free roaming is allowed only in certain zones.
Some pines in the reserve are over 600 years old and grew long before Russian settlement of the peninsula. Their twisted trunks carry lichens that serve as bioindicators of clean arctic air.
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