The Shulgan-Tash Reserve terrain consists of low-lying foothills (100 - 300 meter ridges, dissected by river and stream valleys); the overall altitude range in the reserve is 240 - 700 meters.
The most famous of the limestone caves in the reserve is "Shulgan-Tash (Kapova)", which is known for cave exploration (over 3 km of halls and galleries), over 200 ancient cave paintings (dated to 14-17 century BCE), and as an ethnographic site of importance to the local Bashkiris.