Samarskaya Luka National Park

Samarskaya Luka is a national park and the largest bend of the Volga River. It is located in the lower reaches between the village of Usolye and the city of Syzran. The Samarskaya Luka is washed by the waters of the Usa River, the Kuibyshev and Saratov reservoirs.

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In the northern part of the park are the Zhigulev Mountains. They are part of the Volga Uplands and are located on the right bank of the Volga River. The highest point of the Zhigulev Mountains is Mount Bezymyannaya, which is 381.2 meters high. It should be noted that it is also the highest point of the middle zone of the European part of Russia. Here there are characteristic rocky, almost vertical precipices, large dissection of slopes, but still most of the “Samarskaya Luka” – is a plain with a general slope to the south. Along the territory of the park passes the southern border of the forest-steppe.

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General Information

  • Full name: Samarskaya Luka National Park
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  • IUCN Category: Ia (strict nature reserve).
  • Date of foundation: April 28, 1984.
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  • Region: Samara Region, Zhigulevsky District.
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  • Area: 127186 hectares
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  • Relief: plain, mountainous.
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  • Climate: sharply continental.
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  • Official website: http://www.npsamluka.ru/.
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  • E-mail: parkluka@samtel.ru.
‘ Landscapes in the Samarskaya Luka National Park are really very picturesque: winding turns of the river, steep slopes of the banks and exquisite silhouettes of trees (Author of the photo: Lyapin Vladimir).

History of creation

About 90 years ago, the most famous Russian scientist, academician Vladimir Nikolaevich Sukachev actively supported the movement to protect the unique nature of the region, which was formed on Samarskaya Luka.

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In 1927, the first nature reserves appeared on Samarskaya Luka, which later became part of the Srednevolzhsky Reserve.

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Between 1951 and 1966 the park was closed twice due to active industrial development of the region, but in the early 1960s a powerful movement was formed in defense of Samarskaya Luka. In 1966, the large nature reserve was finally restored and renamed Zhigulevsky. About 20 more years passed until the national park was organized.

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Today on the territory of the “Samarskaya Luka” there are about 200 natural-historical monuments. There are a lot of very interesting archaeological finds here: the Murom town – one of the largest settlements of Volga Bulgaria at the turn of the IX-XIII centuries – and burial mounds near the village of Novinki.

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‘ Zhigulev Mountains

Plant life

The flora of “Samarskaya Luka” counts 1044 species of vascular plants. The most common are Artemisia salsoloides, Valeriana tuberosa, Kochia scoparia, Arctostaphylos uvaursi, Circaea alpina, Maianthemum bifolium, Linum tenue, Poligala sibirica and others. Many relict endemic plant species grow in the Zhigulev Mountains: Elytrigia geniculata, Koeleria sclerophylla, Astragalus zingeri. Higher and lower mushrooms are represented here by 750 species: mushrooms, opiats, oyster mushrooms, fly agaric…. A characteristic mushroom of the area is the cheeseberry (Russula), which can be found almost everywhere.

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‘ The park is located in a unique area formed by the bend of the Volga River and the Usinskiy Bay of the Kuibyshev Reservoir (Author of the photo: Lyapin Vladimir).

Animal life

The fauna of Samarskaya Luka includes 54 species of mammals, 200 species of birds and 46 species of fish. The most common are lynx (Lynx lynx), wild boars (Sus scrofa), common squirrels (Sciurus vulgaris), ermine (Mustela erminea), weasels (Mus-tela nivalis), badgers (Meles meles). There are a lot of typically forest species, among which there is a dormouse (Glis glis), forest dormouse (Dryomys nit-edula), yellow-necked mouse (Apodemus flavicollis), red-headed vole (Myodes glareolus). There are also representatives of steppes, semi-deserts and deserts: common gadfly (Spalax microphthalmus), common blind (Ellobius talpinus) and small gopher (Spermophilus pygmaeus).

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‘ Mount Camel (Photo author: Lyapin Vladimir)

Park mode

The territory of the park is open to the public. Three excursion-tourist routes are constantly operating here: “Shiryaevo village” (with a visit to the mountains Verblyud, Popova and Monastyrskaya), “To the cave of Stepan Razin”, “Usinsky barrow”. Visiting the routes is carried out by individual or group vouchers.

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How to get there

You can get to Samara by train or airplane, and from there take a suburban bus or car to Zhigulevsk. Travel schemes and convenient transportation routes are available on the park’s official website.

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Where to stay

You can stay overnight in a village house in the villages of Askuly or Bolshaya Ryazan.

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