Try the wild honey

Bashkortostan is called a honey country for a reason: airborne honey extracted here costs from 5,000 to 12,000 rubles per kg!

It has a unique taste, which is not to be confused with anything else, because bees collect pollen from wild meadows and forest shrubs.

The honey itself is extracted by hand. To get it, one should not only climb up to the height of 5 meters, but also to withstand the onslaught of wild bees. And a Bashkir bee is not an innocent thing. It can sting badly!😈

The ‘Shulgan-Tash’ reserve not only breeds bees “the old way” in hollow trees and teaches beekeepers around the world this forgotten art, but also conducts honey tours, where everyone can get acquainted with the traditions of beekeeping.

Apis mellifera mellifera - this is not a spell from Harry Potter, but the Latin name for the wild Bashkir airborne bee. Genetically speaking, it is unique. This subspecies of the honeybee has evolutionarily adapted to life in the continental climate of Eurasia. And unlike the gentle apiary bees with yellow abdomens (🐝), these look much more dangerous. Darker, larger and more aggressive, they look nothing like their fluffy brethren. But their honey is several times healthier!

How to find the real wild honey?

🍯 Getting to the ‘Shulgan-Tash’ reserve is possible only by car. From Ufa, it takes 379 km, which is about 5 hours of driving. Look for the R-316 highway in the direction of Beloretsk. Your endpoint should be the village of Starosubhangulovo.

🍯 There are guest houses in the reserve itself, but you can also camp out and stay in tents. Just do not forget about the rules of stay: do not leave any garbage behind and do not organize picnics outside special areas.

🍯 The best time for a trip is from May to September. Be cautious of ticks in the summertime - they never sleep!

🍯 Honey tours usually fall in August-September. The exact dates are always available on the reserve’s website.

🍯 In addition to honey tours, the administration of the reserve offers a dozen different excursions! You can just walk around the territory and get acquainted with the epic Bashkiria or you can go river rafting, for example!