Tusheti Protected Areas

Tusheti Protected Areas, established in 2003. It unites the Tusheti State Nature Reserve, the National Park, and the Protected Landscape. The area of the Tusheti National Park is 83,453 hectares. It encompasses the southern slopes of the lateral northern (Pirikita) range of the Greater Caucasus, the northern slopes of the main Caucasus range, the Tusheti depression situated between them, and the Speroza range.

The 10,694 hectares of the Tusheti State Nature Reserve encompass the gorges of the Pirikita Alazani, Gometsari Alazani, and Chanchakhovani. It also includes the massifs adjacent to the villages of Omalo, Diklo, Shenako, Kumelaurta, and Khiso, alongside the forests on both slopes of the river from the confluence of the Pirikita Alazani to the border with Dagestan.

The area of the Tusheti Protected Landscape is 27,903 hectares. It includes all the villages of Tusheti, as well as the summer dwellings of shepherds and their adjacent territories located in the gorges of Kvakhidistskali, Larovnistskali, the headwaters of the Gometsari Alazani, and Tsovatistskali.

Two hundred and thirty representatives of the flora within the Tusheti Protected Areas are endemic to the Caucasus, and eleven plant species are found exclusively in Georgia. Endemics of Georgia distributed in the Tusheti Nature Reserve and National Park include Tush monkshood, barberry, bellflower, bear hazelnut, lily, Tush rosehip, Tebulo buttercup, and Ana's Sempervivum, among others. Pine forests are frequent here, while broad-leaved forests are almost non-existent. The pine forests ascend the mountain slopes from the banks of the Alazani River flowing on the floor of the Tusheti depression, reaching 2000 to 2200 meters above sea level, where the pine forest is replaced by birch groves. Above 2300 meters, there are dense thickets of Caucasian rhododendron. Linnaea, a plant more characteristic of the northern latitudes, is found in the lower tier of the forests. The forest zone terminates at 2600 meters, at the boundary of the alpine and subalpine zones.

The peaks of Tusheti, namely Danosmta, Mount Komito, and Diklosmta, are higher than 4000 meters and are covered with eternal snow. Above 3000 meters, the Caucasian tur is found. Another endemic species, the Caucasian snowcock, inhabits the mountain slopes. The chamois dwells at the boundary of the subalpine and alpine zones, within the rhododendron thickets. The Tusheti Protected Areas serve as the last refuge for the wild goat (Capra aegagrus). Among large ungulates, the roe deer is frequent, while the red deer is rarer. Predatory animals inhabiting the area include the rock and pine marten, brown bear, fox, wolf, and lynx.

The Tusheti Protected Areas are exceptionally rich in avifauna. The endemic Caucasian black grouse is found at the boundary of the subalpine and alpine zones, within the rhododendron thickets. Other avian inhabitants include the water ouzel, crossbill, red-fronted serin, Alpine accentor, wallcreeper, chukar partridge, several species of owls, common kestrel, buzzard, and falcon. On inaccessible cliffs, the griffon vulture, golden eagle, and bearded vulture make their homes.

 

Literature: საქართველოს ბუნება, თბ., 2013.