A journey by kibitka and horseback can be made for the first time in the "Osvyeysky" reserve

April 14, Vitebsk / Diana Kurilo - BELTA /. For the first time this tourist season, it will be possible to travel by kibitka (horse-drawn carriage) and horseback through the republican landscape reserve "Osvyeysky" (Verkhnedvinsk district, Vitebsk region), Igor Romanyuk, director of the protected area, told a BELTA correspondent. The tour runs through the most beautiful places of the reserve along Lake Osvyeyskoye and through the territory of the Verkhnedvinsk district. From the highest point of the district, located at an altitude of 192 m above sea level, one can see the adjacent territories of the Sebezhsky district of Russia. Specially trained horses and kibitkas will be provided to tourists by the local equestrian school. The horseback route is the third in the list of tours offered by the reserve. The first two – the water route "Osvyeysky Cruise" to the ghost island and the hiking route to the uninhabited and largest island in Belarus – were tested by tourists last year, and Bulgarian and Dutch tour operators offer them to their clients. According to Igor Romanyuk, the tourism infrastructure in the region has been actively developing recently. A European cuisine cafe has appeared in Osvyea, two agro-estates will open at the end of April, and an Israeli investor has begun preparations for the construction of a hotel complex near the reserve. Guests of the protected area are attracted not only by the unique natural landscapes but also by the opportunity to see the rarest birds, including the short-toed snake eagle and the white-tailed eagle. 164 species of nesting birds are registered within the boundaries of the reserve (36 species are listed in the Red Book of Belarus). The lake and surrounding areas are a place of constant concentration of wetland bird species during spring-autumn migration. The reserve is also home to three species of mammals (brown bear, badger, lynx) and 16 species of plants listed in the Red Book of the Republic. Among rare plants, botanists highlight hybrid forms of common alder and grey alder, tall forms of Karelian birch, a large population of small yellow pond lily, and the rare relict carnivorous plant Aldrovanda vesiculosa. Lake Osvyeyskoye has important hydrological and climate-forming significance for the vast region of northern Belarus. In addition, it is the core of the reserve, which is a large complex of lakes, forests, transitional and raised bogs. The area of the reserve is more than 27.7 thousand hectares. Since 2002, the reserve has been granted the status of a wetland of international importance (Ramsar site). -0-