The Caucasian State Reserve occupies the central part of the main Caucasian ridge. The northern borders of the reserve pass along the line of wild rocky mountains, descend along the Kishe River and the Belaya River, which originate in glacial mountains. On the southern slope, facing the Black Sea, the border of the reserve passes near the village of Krasnaya Polyana, where - in the past - for the imperial hunting was built a palace and laid in the mountains a large road. This road was built by hand, breaking through rocks with crowbars. The road, which cost many millions of dollars, was built exclusively for the travel of noble guests who came to enjoy mountain hunting.
The deafest, inaccessible places are located on the northern slope of the mountains. Here, in the mountains and deep gorges overgrown with virgin forest, on the vast alpine pastures - in early spring, especially beautiful are the flowering meadows! On impregnable bare heights graze herds of rare animals protected in the reserve.
It is not a wonderful thing to meet a herd of deer in the reserve. Having raised their heads, animals will be looking at a traveler who has violated the wild inaccessibility of the mountain desert for a long time. Everything in them is easy and charming: proud head supply, thin legs, graceful lines of back and chest. If you slam your hands, the deer will rush off without touching the ground, and it is difficult to track their flickering light flight...
Much can be seen by the traveler, nature lover, who got into the protected areas of these lands. It takes a strong, multiple binoculars to reveal the secrets of the surrounding mountains. Having established himself on the rock, he slowly views the mountains that have opened up in front of him from the top of the rock. Here he feels as if in an extraordinary theater. Vaguely blue in the field of binoculars edge of the distant forest. A herd of chamois grazing on the slopes of the mountains. From afar the animals seem to be light shadows. Here, illuminated by the morning sun, a bear slowly climbs the rocky steep slope. With incomprehensible dexterity, the bear grasps the stones. Where, on what affairs does he make his way?
Blackbirds are hovering over the gorge, blue in its depth. They can be seen through binoculars as small dust particles. That's how vultures and griffins hover over the black abyss. What did they see in the depths of the dark veins? Maybe there is a mountain goat that has crashed to death or a careless horse has fallen into the abyss... Accidents are not uncommon in the mountains. And, looking at the vultures, the hunter remembers with a shudder how his horse slipped on the way. It is terrible to imagine a torn corpse falling into the abyss and, having looked at it, descending to share the prey of gloomy birds.
But it is more interesting for the hunter to follow the tours. At the very border of the snows, it is seen their sensitive herd. Tours graze on steep slopes of the mountain. Dizzying, impregnable surrounds their height. You need to be able to walk the mountains, hide and fall to the ground. Careful tours watch out for danger. If you push the stone, the herd will disappear inadvertently, as if it hadn't happened at all.
But there are happy days when the traveler manages to approach the tours. Sitting behind the stone, he can admire the herd scattered over the mountain pasture for a long time. The hunter's memory will be forever hit by a rare picture. Clearly drawn on the crest of the cliffs, there is a steep bearded goat with heavy, abruptly curled horns. A stone sculpture is like this one as if frozen in immobility alpine guard. Exactly from the unattainable antiquity, from the forgotten, the hunter faces a wonderful spectacle, which he has to watch, perhaps, for the only time in his life...
In the very places where the Soviet power founded the Caucasian reserve, once was the famous Grand Ducal hunting. The treasury gave a lot of money for the maintenance of security. Kuban hunting was guarded by gamekeepers. Apart from deer, tours, chamois, bears, which inhabited the wild slopes of the mountains, there was a large herd of Caucasian bison in those times. According to the old-timers who remember the past, the prince came to hunt with a large and lush retinue. The princely guests were hunting for tours and chamois, shooting deer. Special trails were built for noble hunters in the mountains. These trails were used for riding to the most remote places.
Hunting trails were preserved. Many of them are forested and almost impassable, and the preserved trails are used by the watchdogs guarding the reserve.
