The article presents the historiography of research on mountain cultural landscapes and describes the main scientific approaches and concepts in this direction. It is noted that the issue of studying the cultural landscapes of mountain territories came from two directions. The first was developed within the framework of "montology" and meant the study of mountain territories from the point of view of their natural and cultural heritage and sustainable mountain nature management. An important issue in this area was the study of traditional and innovative ways to adapt mountain communities to their natural environment. The second area of research developed within cultural geography and includes theoretical and methodological issues of the research of cultural landscapes. The intersection of these two directions allows us to obtain remarkable results: identify ing patterns of development and transformation of cultural landscapes in mountain regions, planning their sustainable development while preserving cultural and natural heritage.