The Baikal Nature Reserve is at the forefront of the Ecotourism in Russia

The Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation has recently announced the rating of the most ecological places of Russia. Among 123 sites have been selected several with the best practices in this field.

Among the places with the best eco-practices are Nature reserve "Zapovednoe Pribaikalye", the Nature reserve "Stolby", "Ergaki" Nature Park and the National Park "Kenozersky". The leader of ecotourism in Russia became the Siberian Federal District, where 14 areas have received the highest evaluation marks. This list includes the "Big Baikal Trail" and Altai Natural Biosphere Reserve and others.

The major criteria have been the congruence with the safety and quality standards, the availability of the tour guides, rescuers, medical personnel and translators; the congruence of the quality and the cost of the services. The availability of the guest houses, campings, the campgrounds and other types of accommodation; the accessibility of the ecotourism sites for the people with disabilities.

Among the evaluation criteria also have been the possibility for recreation, excursions, possibility to visit a museum, the availability of the Information or the Visitor centers, the availability of the picnic areas, Ethno-villages, the pedestrian and horse trails etc. By all these criteria the Baikal Nature Reserve has been marked as the site with the best practice.