“Lepel region, a unique blue-eyed land, a wonderful pearl in the beautiful necklace of the Vitebsk region,” – many tourists admire the beauty of our region, and this is not surprising. Literally from all sides, our region is surrounded by beautiful lakes and coniferous forests, which attract numerous guests. Special attention is paid to the development of tourism business in the state forestry institution “Lepel Leskhoz”. 

 - The forestry enterprise manages 93 thousand and 19 hectares of land, including 53 thousand and 738 hectares in the Lepel district, - says Andrey Starinskiy, Head of the Forestry Department of the State Forestry Institution “Lepel Leskhoz”. - 36 thousand and 215 hectares are occupied by first-group forests, namely, forest-park areas of green zones, strips along roads, rivers and lakes, local and republican roads, railway tracks, etc. The “Ecological Trail” route is very popular among tourists. The first point of the route is the Hunter’s Lodge, located on the shore of Lake Dolgoe, within the territory of Zaezerskoye Forestry. The second point of the route is a 100-hectare enclosure for keeping wild animals in the territory of Stayskoye Forestry, which houses 80 fallow deer and ten red deer. The Berezina Water System also attracts considerable tourist interest. The pride of our district is the Tsar Oak, growing in the village of Tadulina. Tourism activities bring considerable income to the State Forestry Institution “Lepel Leskhoz”. Last year, 85 million rubles were earned from accommodation in the Hunter’s Lodge, and 50 million rubles were earned in the first five months of the current year.

 - I believe that not only foreign tourists but also local residents will be able to relax with pleasure in the arboretum…

 - The arboretum was established in 2001, and its area is 6.5 hectares. Once, this was a worked-out clay quarry, and then for some time, it was used as pasture. The park features four ponds, two gazebos, ten benches, and over 70 species of decorative plants and more than two thousand plants. Primarily, plants native to Belarus are planted here, as well as those that are promising for green construction.

Svetlana SILVANOVICH