Great Utrish. Anapa, Big Utrish: reviews of tourists

The landscape-flora reserve, located on the Abrau peninsula, is called the Great Utrish. Formed in 1994, it occupied an area of 5,112 hectares and stretched along the sea for 12 kilometers, down to the Navagir ridge in the north. And it's not strange, this wild place belongs to the resort city of Anapa. It is not strange because all the coastal municipal formations are stretched for kilometers along the sea shore.

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 meeting with a loved one who escaped the flood and the pond formed on the site of her village. The flood was sent by the gods in punishment to cynical rich men, teasing hungry poor cakes.

Big Utrish, or rather, the second part of its name, in translation from Adyghe language means "split mountain". A lot of legends are connected with him too. Big Utrish is in the west of the Krasnodar Territory, at the foot of the Caucasus Mountains. According to one of the versions, it was here that Zeus, who was angry with the theft of fire from Olympus, cut the rock with lightning, and chained Prometheus to one of the steep walls of the formed 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 liberation of the wound Prometheus instantly disappeared as soon as he plunged into coastal waves. They are famous for their healing properties and still, 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.

Protected Area

Big Utrish, its entire territory and water area are unique in the number, properties and age of vegetation and algae (there are 227 species of them). Some trees have reached a thousand years of age. Pitsunda pine, pistachio and scumia, pack and tall junipers are representatives of the relic flora, which is so rich in the reserve of Great Utrish, and which makes it unique even against the background of the unusual flora and fauna of the entire Black Sea coast. There are 107 species of shrubs and trees and 75 different herbaceous plants.

The Red Book included 60 representatives of the local flora. Fauna is also unique. Of all its representatives living on land and in the sea, it is worth highlighting the Mediterranean tortoise, the empuza striped (a kind of mantis), which was considered extinct. Steppe steppe (the largest grasshopper in Russia), the Aesculapius skid, (a fairly rare representative of the monotonous snakes) also live in the reserve. There are a lot of birds here, including rare ones, such as the mute swan, which hibernates on the estuarine lakes. Special words deserve the rare species of Mediterranean butterflies that live in the reserve.

Problems of the reserve

The Red Book can be replenished with endangered species, as in 2011 it was decided to significantly reduce the area of the reserve and the formation of the Utrish reserve on its territory. The lands between the second and third lagoons, on which the unique juniper-pistachio forest has long been found, were torn away. All this is planned to be given for the construction of another health complex and its infrastructure with access roads. Therefore, the Internet is an action called "Save Big Utrish".

Undoubted advantages

In clear sunny weather, a picturesque belt of land slicing into the sea is clearly visible from the Anapa, located 20 kilometers away. Big Utrish, called so unlike the village of Maly Utrish, is located in this most unique place in beauty.

Rocks and lakes, mountains and estuaries, beauties of the lagoon with clear, transparent sea water attract a lot of tourists.

Partly the need for accommodation is met by the private sector. Big Utrish is a relatively small village, but it provides the maximum service for tourists.

Here apartments are offered for rent, mini-hotels, rent houses and cottages. Apartments here are cheaper than in Anapa, and getting here thanks to the large number of minibuses is not difficult: 15, from the strength of 20 minutes - and here it is, the village. And in September they ply on the specified route until 9 o'clock in the evening. You can say that civilization is close. In summer, tent camps and camping sites are scattered on the shore. For lovers of peace and wildlife here is a paradise. Rooms in the private sector can be booked by phone and booked.

Wild rest means lack of city amenities

However, you need to have a clear idea of what service you are counting on, and what is wildlife that does not imply the presence of asphalted paths, gas and clean drinking water. The village of Bolshoy Utrish, as already noted, is quite small, only three streets. But, as well as on any coast, the living space here is available for every taste. Comfortable rooms are rented in the guest houses "Arina", "On the Black Sea", "On the Forest, 1". In addition to the extraordinary beauty of nature, the undoubted merits of this place of rest include its healing properties. Mountain air saturated with the scents of the relict forests, clean sea water and, what is especially appreciated now, in the heyday of the popularity of stone therapy (treatment of stones and minerals), wild fine hot pebbles. All this in abundance is possessed by Big Utrish. Reviews, however, are very different - from unconditionally enthusiastic panegyrics to grumbling. On the ground there are very few places or objects that cause only positive feelings and responses. Before a trip here you need to decide what kind of vacation you need - this will help you choose the right place of residence.

Beach abundance

In the area of the reserve attracts everything - air, mountains, lakes, the sea and, of course, the beach. Big Utrish has 6 large places for bathing and sunbathing. The largest - Central beach - meets all modern requirements. It is fully equipped and can provide any services for cultural recreation, this is one of the best pebbly beaches of the coast.

The four lagoons of the reserve have their own beaches, each of which has its own highlight and attractiveness. Near the first bay there is a beautiful waterfall "Zhemchuzhny", the coast of the second gulf is not included in the reserve, and it attracts lovers of wild rest. The beach of the third lagoon has a very convenient exit to the sea, and part of the shore of the fourth bay is covered with very small pebbles. Since the times of the USSR, the naturist beach of the Great Utrish is known all over the country. It is not equipped, but popular. Passage to it is indicated by inscriptions on barrels, which also refers to the sights of this place. And although the beach is often subjected to police checks, the people's path to it does not grow.

One of the oldest dolphinariums in the country

In addition to interesting beaches, the Great Utrish Dolphinarium is incredibly popular , which is also a research base. If your city has a dolphinarium, the local one will not surprise you, because the training programs and performances of sea animals are similar, because experts exchange experience. The local institution is famous precisely as a scientific base, but also as entertainment in the wild, it also delights holidaymakers, especially children. Located on the Salt 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 there is the Black Sea coast, on which their wild brethren are frolicking. The central office of the base is in Moscow, and it has many branches in different cities of Russia. In addition to serious scientific and technical activities, the Dolphinarium is engaged in popularizing knowledge of marine mammals - seals, fur seals, dolphins.