First visitor center of Toratau Geopark is preparing to open in Bashkiria

Yesterday, the Head of Bashkortostan, Radiy Khabirov, as part of his working trip, was at a visitor center, which will soon open at the foot of the Shikhan Toratau. It will become the starting point of acquaintance with the Geopark.

Specially trained employees will meet the guests. They will tell them about the sights, places of accommodation and food, excursion routes of the Geopark, the head of the Ishimbaysky district administration, Azamat Abdrakhmanov informed. Radiy Khabirov ordered to allocate a land plot to entrepreneurs who would like to build a cafe here for tourists.

The space of the visitor center is designed for lectures for schoolchildren. Inside the visitor center, the children will be told about geology with researchers' participation from the Geopark institutes and geo-guides. The site can simultaneously accommodate about 30 people, equipped with the necessary multimedia equipment.

The visitor center will help promote handicraft or food products. The staff will provide information and contacts of local entrepreneurs and manufacturers.

Similar objects will appear in other municipalities. Visitor centers are one of the components of a convenient Geopark infrastructure, adopted in the general concept of the UNESCO Global Geoparks Network development. The Toratau Geopark submitted a corresponding application in the autumn of 2020. This year, the Toratau Geopark was pre-selected and included in the list of 16 candidate territories from around the world, whose applications will be considered by the headquarters of the UNESCO Global Geoparks Network in 2021.