Жилой Балаган с огородом
The place
Inhabited balagan with a vegetable garden at 752 m altitude in the Sochi hinterland (Krasnodar Krai, Russia), on the edge of the Caucasus Khristofor Shaposhnikov State Biosphere Reserve — one of the largest mountain and forest reserves in Europe, spanning the territories of Krasnodar Krai, the Republic of Adygea, and Karachay-Cherkessia. The balagan is a construction characteristic of the Caucasian highlands: a double-pitched roof of wood shingles (cherem), a log structure typical of shepherds, hunters, and reserve wardens. The main building has no vestibule, with the door opening directly into the living space beneath the roof. The area is home to a genuine colony of balagans, locally called "Armenian balagans", which in summer hosts many families coming to live outdoors. An exceptional mountain setting: high-altitude beech and fir forests, wildlife of the western Caucasus (bears, lynx, reintroduced aurochs, chamois).
Getting there
Sochi hinterland, on the edge of the Caucasus Biosphere Reserve. Access via the Mzymta or Shakhe valleys.
The setting
Shaposhnikov Caucasus Biosphere Reserve, beech and fir forests, Caucasian wildlife.
