The Zhiguli reserve covers the northern middle section of the Samara Bend peninsula. It is bordered on the north by the Kuybyshev Reservoir of the Volga River, and on the west, south and east by Samarskaya Luka National Park. The entirety of the terrain is mountains, with small sections of lowland forest and coast on the reservoir. The ridge within the reserve gradually increases from 250 m in height in the west, to 371 m in the center, then decreases to 250 meters on the eastern border. The ridge is cut by two valleys: the Bakhilova Polyana, and a ravine.