Shulgan-Tash

Shulgan-Tash Nature Reserve is a Russian 'zapovednik' in the western foothills of the Southern Ural Mountains. The terrain is one of heavy forest and karst topography; the site contains some of the oldest caves of human habitation. The reserve has 13 full-time "bortniks" - practitioners of the ancient apiculture of tree-hollow cultivation of wild honeybees. The reserve is situated in the Burzyansky District of Bashkortostan. It is about 40 km southeast of the District town of Starosubkhangulovo. In 2012, the reserve was added to the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve "Bashkir Ural", in particular for protection of the Burzyuan bee, which has been cultivated since ancient times by the local Bashkir people.