5 natural sights of Russia that cannot be forgotten

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Real wonders of nature, located from Voronezh to Sakhalin.

1. Big Buruny

If you go by car in the Rostov region, then among ordinary Russian forests and fields you can find … a desert!

Bolshie Buruny is a not very massive, but impressive desert of glacial origin: the sand was brought here by water streams of melting glaciers. The maximum depth of the sands is 20 meters, and the bottom is ordinary land.

For so many years, the sand has been preserved here thanks to the small vegetation, which with its roots keeps the grains of sand from being blown away by the wind. Another factor is also important - human non-interference. Today, more and more jeeps come to the desert, damaging the delicate grass, which can lead to the loss of the Rostov miracle. Therefore, it is better to arrange a walk through this unique natural phenomenon on foot.

You can get to Bolshiye Buruny by car, leaving the Rostov region and heading to the Verkhnedonskaya district. The reference point will be the Morozovsky farm.

2. Don divas and cave monasteries

After acquaintance with the Rostov landmark, you can move to the neighboring Voronezh region to see real miracles, or divas, - high chalk outliers standing along the banks of the Don. Locals call them divushki because the shapes of these unique natural phenomena resemble female figures. Divas are also witnesses of ancient times - they are more than 130 million years old.

In addition to the unique chalk divas, here you can see ancient cave monasteries that Christian monks dug in the pliable chalk rock.

You can admire the unique chalk divas and cave temples in the Divnogorye Museum-Reserve and in the Spassky Women's Monastery in Kostomarovo.

3. Lena Pillars

From the Don divas to the Yakut warriors. This is the name of the Lena Pillars located on the banks of the Lena River.

Lena Pillars are older than divas, they are more than 500 million years old. Yakutia, too, once had an ocean, and when it went to the North Pole, it left behind fresh water. She washed out the soft rocks, keeping only the most resistant ones. This is how the "warriors of Yakutia" were born, who now protect the Lena River and the entire Republic of Sakha.

In the midst of this magnificent army, there are caves, castles, and also "places of power", in which northern shamans still perform rituals. The magical energy of the Lena warriors, according to rumors, is capable of causing rain and, for sure, conquering the hearts of tourists.

You can get to the Lena Pillars National Park from the capital of the Sakha Republic - Yakutsk. Pleasure boats and private boats leave from the city, and yachts are also rented there. Perhaps the most impressive view opens from the water to the Lena Pillars. It is possible to get to this unique natural phenomenon by car. But if you want to go up to the observation deck of the park, you will still need a boat to get to the opposite side of the river.

You can get acquainted with the “defenders of Yakutia” in any season, but it is worth remembering that the average winter temperature in the Republic of Sakha is –40 ° C. But you can rush to the pillars right along the frozen Lena on a snowmobile or ATV.

4. Kamchatka Valley of Geysers

Our next amazing natural attraction is the Kamchatka Valley of Geysers, one of the 7 wonders of Russia, protected by UNESCO.

Here, soft, like plasticine, the earth boils in boiling cauldrons most of the chemical elements of the periodic table. Columns of steam rise from grass, stones, from the water, and after them splashes from gurgling craters fly into the air. All this is cooled only by a narrow river flowing in the middle of the gorge.

An open chemistry lesson takes place in the valley of the Geysernaya River, in the Kronotsky State Reserve. There are many private companies in Kamchatka that conduct helicopter excursions to this only geyser field in Eurasia. A list of them can be viewed at the official reserve. Tourists are usually picked up directly from the hotel in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.

The best time to visit the Far East is summer and autumn. But in May and June, the management of the reserve limits visits to the Valley of Geysers (animals go through a mating season), and from October reduces the cost of excursions by 50%. So perhaps now is the best time to see the continent's largest natural chemistry laboratory.

5. Krenitsyn volcano

In the vicinity of Kamchatka, there is another natural wonder - the largest two-tiered volcano in the world. It is located on the Onekotan island in the Sakhalin region and is called the Krenitsyn volcano - after the explorer of Kamchatka and the Aleutian Islands, Peter Kuzmich Krenitsyn.

Seven thousand years ago, there was another volcano here - Tao-Rusyr, which after its super-eruption fell into the ground. Over time, a lake formed in its basin, and a new small volcano grew from the center. So it turned out to be a very Russian wonder of the world - the Matryoshka volcano.

There are no people on Onekotan Island, therefore, to see this natural landmark, you need to hire a boat or rent a yacht in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. You can also get to the island by helicopter.

The most beautiful volcano-matryoshka is in summer, but it is more profitable to use the Kamchatka infrastructure in autumn - at a time when prices for tourist services are noticeably decreasing.

Enjoy your travels!