Barefoot on "Batskava skies": in Orsha district created an ecotrope, which has no analogues

“Batskava schiazhynki” is rapidly turning into a new tourist brand of Orsha district

Ecotrope "Batskava szzyazhynky" lay at the junction of Vitebsk and Mogilev regions - in the forest area near the village of Khima Orsha district, at the very border with Alexandria Shklovsky district, the small homeland of the President. More than a thousand people came here in the first month alone. What is unusual about this forest path, why it attracts tourists? Correspondent "SG" went to "Batskava szzyazhynky".

The forest was met with a thick pine aroma and many-voiced bird chirps. At the entrance to the ecotrope there is a carved sign with the name and a map of the route. This is where the kilometer journey begins.

- Why “Batskava schiazhynki”? is the first question that breaks from the tongue. Is this a marketing ploy or did our father actually walk here?

- As a child, our president walked along these paths with his mother. That gave the route its name. And this year, on the eve of the festival “Alexandria gathers friends”, the Head of State managed to walk along the trail, says Marina Leonidovna.

Ecotourism is one of the priorities of the Ministry of Forestry. On his behalf, each forestry had to have its own ecotrope, so that people had somewhere to go, so that the forest became closer and more understandable. In Orsha forestry, this approached informally. We wanted to do not like everyone, says the assistant of the forester Bolbasovsky forestry Vyacheslav Kryshtakhovich:

- We decided to move away from the classical concept of a “quiet” forest path and create the first interactive cognitive and entertainment route in the Vitebsk region, which is equally interesting for both children and adults. This is not just a forest with signs, but a place where you can learn new things through play and communication with nature.

- We actually lived on this path for a month and a half, Marina Novakovic admits. - Put a soul, a piece of yourself. Ideas were born every day, sometimes at night in general chat rooms. Someone invented, someone drank, someone edited. No one counted with time or personal means. And to be honest, I didn’t expect it to shoot like that. Forest growers admit: hints were drawn even from artificial intelligence - the experiment was successful.

Here everything is made of natural wood by the hands of workers of the Bolbasov forestry and Orsha forestry. And done with the soul.

Today, Batskava Szyazhynky is a truly interactive entertainment and educational park where trees sound, feet receive massage, and every step turns into adventure and learning. There are no analogues in the Vitebsk region.

We're on the trail. On the right is the stand "Trees of our forest": samples of trees in the section.

And then there's a real forest xylophone. You hit a hammer and you hear a unique sound. Spruce, oak, pine "sing" in different ways. Write down your forest music.

A little aside - the happy scream of children and the laughter of adults. They're circling the forest merry-go-round. Sit down, spin, fly in circles, spring - and back. It's breathtaking!

A special pride of the creators is the “Forest Court” with a reconciliation bench. Here, in a playful form, children are introduced to the Forest Code. After all, the task of the creators is not only to entertain, but also to teach: the forest is a living organism, it must be protected. And all along the trail, there are instructive tablets.

The route at the "Cuckoo Mail" ends. Here everyone can leave a review – on paper or through a QR code. And, judging by the reviews of guests, part with the trail with warm words and a desire to return.

The creators themselves, with all their efforts, did not expect such a hype: for the first month - more than a thousand guests. They go with families from Orsha, Vitebsk, Minsk and even from Moscow. "Batskava schiazhynky" is rapidly turning into a new tourist brand of Orsha district.

On the trail - people of all ages: teenagers, grandmothers with dogs, mothers with babies ... But most families with children.

- I liked the carousel, the drums, the trail where you need to walk barefoot, and the forest bowling, she blurted out.

Next is a large family from Barani and Moscow. One of the women in the arms of a month and a half baby, beside running blond Athena six years.

- There is no such forest in Moscow, the girl notes. When I come to Belarus, I like to climb everywhere.

Other guests are coming. A man from Orsha brought relatives from Kirovsk and Minsk. Everyone is delighted and genuinely surprised:

- Why is everything free? People worked, they did, we have to take care of it. We could put a piggy bank.

Back to the beginning. There are new tourists at the entrance. The flow is increasing. The means to preserve the trail are really needed. Orsha forestry has concluded an agreement with the tourist center for paid excursions.

- I want the trail to live for many years, - says Marina Novakovic. - Therefore, the only request to the guests: treat everything with care, so that "Batskava schiazhynki" remained a place of strength and joy for many generations.