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Central Sikhote-Alin Area. Tigerland.

PRIMORSKY KRAY

SIGHTSEEING

Central Sikhote-Alin Area. Tigerland

In 1787, a renowned French navigator, Jean-Francois Laperouse discovered a bay on the east Asian coast and named it Terney, after his mentor who had taught him navigation. Two French ships "Astrolabia" and "Boussol" anchored near the shore to get fresh water for the expedition's members. It was early July and the larch forests with blossoming wild flowers and bushes reminded the French explorers of their country's flora. But they were amazed by the deer herds and bear families feeding in the coastal meadows. The sea was abundant with salmon, trout, flat fish and herring. The mighty mountains on the far horizon (later named Sikhote-Alin Mountains) served as the backdrop an unforgettably charming and gorgeous scene.

Over a hundred years later Vladimir Arsenyev, a Russian explorer, made his expeditions throughout the mainland of Primorye, then called Ussuriland, reaching its northernmost areas. A naturalist, writer and military topographer Arsenyev explored the remotest areas of the Russian Empire and admired their beauty and riches. His novels "Dersu Uzala" and "In the wilderness of Ussuriland" presented the Central Sikhote-Alin as a mighty biologically diverse wilderness area, which he advised the Tsar to settle and protect. Some people might have seen Akura Kurosawa's (a well-known Japanese producer) "Dersu Uzala" film version based on these novels.

In 1998, Terney celebrated its 90th year. This northern village has experienced numerous economic and political changes, but its residents' business has always been hunting, fishing, logging and protecting the wilderness. Today Terney is a small town of about 4,000 people. Its remote location and northern beauty, pure river water and clean air make it a special place. Life is quiet here and the people are very hospitable. Their activities include keeping livestock, tend gardens and singing in the local chorus. While gathering mushrooms, berries and cedar cones out in the woods they might encounter Amur tigers. Many drivers, riding along the main road, tell their own stories of how they "saw a tiger".

We invite you to TIGERLAND NATURE EXPEDITION. You'll explore Northern Primorye, studying the Central Sikhote-Alin Mountains' flora and fauna and admiring the region's unusual beauty... The unique area, one of the few places on Earth where Nature is kept in its pristine form - your unforgettable experience!

The untamed wilderness covers all this area. Over 1,000 plant species grow there, 20 of which are considered rare. Northern coniferous and temperate forests merge in a monsoon climate to form a unique environment characteristic only to this region of Earth. Marked displacement of altitudinal zones can be observed here. Mixed broad-leaf and Korean pine forests grow in the valleys and on the mountain slopes over 600 meters above sea level. Large areas along the coast are dominated by Mongolian Oak and Silver Fir, interspersed with Stone Birch formations and mountain tundra. Sikhote-Alin Nature Reserve, which is included in the World System of Protected Nature Territories is situated here, comprising the area of under a half a million hectares in three administrative districts. Formed in 1935, it was given Biosphere Reserve status forty years later. The Pearl of the Reserve is the Amur (Siberian) tiger. Scientists from Hornocker Wildlife Institute (Idaho, USA) work here with Russian colleagues on the Siberian Tiger Project.

In and around the Reserve our guides will show you rare and unique plant and animal species. Mountain goat and various species of deer, including Musk and Sika, inhabit the area. You will see tropical lemon-berry lianas, Eleutherococcus and the tracks of the main predators, Amur tiger, Black and Brown bear, underscoring the wildness and diversity of this remote area.