Armenia's largest intact southern forest reserve, sheltering rare Caucasian flora and fauna.
Shikahogh State Reserve
Shikahogh State Reserve is a strict nature reserve in southern Armenia's Syunik Province and stands as the country's second largest forest reserve, covering roughly 10,330 hectares of mountain forest, river valleys, and rugged terrain. Established in 1958, it protects one of the last remnants of largely intact woodland in Armenia that has escaped the widespread post-Soviet deforestation affecting so much of the country's landscape. The reserve lies on the southern and eastern flanks of Mount Khustup and the northern slopes of the Meghri mountain range, spanning the upper basins of the Tsav and Shikahogh rivers between elevations of roughly 700 and 2,800 meters.
The reserve is recognized for its rich plant diversity, with around 1,100 plant species registered, including about 70 listed in Armenia's Red Book and 18 in the former Soviet Union Red Book, along with numerous Caucasian-type forest species and locally endemic Zangezur varieties. Its fauna includes brown bears, wolves, lynx, wild boar, bezoar goats, Caucasian tur, roe deer, grey hares, and rare raptors such as the Egyptian vulture, with occasional records of Persian leopard. Shikahogh is widely regarded as a critical refuge for southern Caucasus biodiversity and has been at the center of conservation debates over infrastructure development through its core forest zone.
