Nature Park "Lena Pillars", Yakutia: description, tours and photos

High cliffs, stretching a continuous wall onforty kilometers along the coast of the Lena River, resemble the walls of a medieval castle or frozen stone giants. It is nothing but the famous Lena Pillars (Yakutia). For the Yakuts they are a symbol of courage, love and loyalty. After all, the Lena Pillars are the fossilized figures of two lovers, who were bewitched by a terrible dragon. The serpent wanted to marry a girl, but her fiancé won him in a duel. And yet it was not destined to fall in love together, the dragon was able to take revenge in the end, turning them into stone. So the ancient legend says ...

What is the Lena Pillar?

Lena Pillars (Yakutia) are high sheerRock of unusual shape, stretching along one of the banks of the river Lena. Seeing them for the first time, you marvel at their harsh and majestic beauty. It is a miracle of nature in the eponymous nature park of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). Stunning cliffs in height from forty to one hundred meters are becoming more mysterious and beautiful every year thanks to the peculiarities of the local climate.

Creating a park

The nature park "Lena Pillars" was created afterDecree of the President of the Republic of August 16, 1994. The main activity of the park was the development of ecological tourism, which is becoming more popular. The reserve hosts guests on its territory throughout the year, offering to overcome specially designed tourist routes.

Interesting Facts

Lena Pillars (Yakutia) is a real miraclenature. The mountain system stretches for tens of kilometers along the coast of the river. It represents vertical steep rocks, as if growing out of the bowels of the earth. The river Lena is as if protected by a mountain range from the surrounding world.

A unique park is located in Olekminsky andKhangalassky districts of Yakutia, 200 kilometers from Yakutsk. It is divided into four zones: Buotama, Sinsky, Lena pillars and sands-tukulans. The park is located on the banks of the rivers Sinai, Buotama and Lena, where the pillars and got their names. Currently, these wild places are very popular in ecological tourism.

Stone Forest

Unusual Lena Pillars (Yakutia) as uniquegeological formations are included in the list of wonders of Russia. In addition, they are a natural monument of world significance. A couple of years ago, the Lena Pillars (Russia) and the adjacent territories were taken by UNESCO under protection.

Why is the mountain range so unusual? In fact, the pillars are made of limestone, which, under the influence of the harsh climatic conditions of the region, disintegrating into parts, formed vertical rocks of stunning form. The Lena River is protected by a stone forest, stretching for many kilometers, and the rocks are located close to each other.

History of the Stone Forest

The mountain range, from which eventually emergedpillars, began to form 550 million years ago. Once upon a time in these lands the sea was splashing, at the bottom of which limestone was accumulating. It disappeared from the face of the earth during the period when the Siberian Platform was raised. From limestone formed rock formations, river valleys and faults. The bizarre shape of the mountains was influenced by such factors as weathering and erosion. The process lasted for a long time, and already 400 thousand years ago there was a stone forest, which still for centuries fascinates the human imagination.

Eyewitnesses say: the Lena Pillars are especially beautiful at dawn, when they are lit by the rays of the sun and resemble a medieval castle. The river Lena, flowing at the foot of the mountains, gives this picture an even more majestic view. The ridge at sunset looks quite different. In the evening hours the rocks acquire an ominous appearance, resembling the abode of the evil sorcerer.

On the slopes of the rocks, many caves have been found, onwalls of which are painted with yellow paint drawings of ancient people who lived in these places. In addition, their tools were found. Therefore, the natural park "Lena Pillars" is of interest from the point of view of archeology. Here, the remains of rhinoceroses, mammoths, bison are found, and in the rocks there are fossils of trilobites that lived on the earth more than 200 million years ago. It is thanks to unique finds on the territory of the reserve and unique natural attractions that the park has become a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Protected Lands

A natural park in the territory of whichthere are Lena Pillars, has a fairly large territory. Its area is 81 thousand hectares, and the length of land along the Lena River is 220 kilometers.

In the park, except for the Lena Pillars,there are other equally interesting natural objects. Buotamskie rocks - mountain formations, which are below the mouth of the Buotama River. Their feature is the multi-colored texture, which appeared due to the combination of limestone and dolomite.

Sinsky poles are not very high, they are seldomexceed the 100-meter threshold. In addition, in the territory of the reserve there are sandy Tukulans. Such large sandy massifs are more characteristic of deserts. Their uniqueness lies in the fact that they are located in the middle of the taiga and occupy a rather large territory. So, for example, one of the dunes has a length of about 5 kilometers and a width of almost 900 meters.

The entire reserve is an undeveloped land, thereforeany work on its territory is prohibited. Through the park there are such rivers as Lena, Buotama and Sinyaya. Quite a lot on the reserved lands and lakes. Natural water bodies have a shallow depth (from two to three meters) and are filled with rainwater. Their shores are usually shallow and swampy.

In the park there is a wide varietyfauna and flora. There are 500 varieties of plants, 20 of which are listed in the Red Book, 42 ​​species of mammals, a large number of fish, more than a hundred bird species.

Local legends

Lena Pillars and the nearest land since ancient timesenveloped in an incredible number of secrets and legends, which only the Yakuts do not tell them. For many centuries, mysterious pillars were something inexplicable and terrible for people. They instilled genuine horror in any person who saw them for the first time.

Local residents say that in the localplaces his snowman lives. The Yakuts call him Ulmesh. His height reaches ten meters, he wears a pointed hat and sometimes attacks hunters, and sometimes, on the contrary, helps them. Local peoples generally gave these mysterious places special power. The Lena pillars were a sacred place for them, inspiring horror and fear. People were terribly afraid to anger the spirits that dwell in the rocks. Many believed that the pillars - are frozen forever people, punished for something supernatural forces. Ordinary mortals were afraid to even approach these places. And only shamans and elders had the right to approach the pillars, thereby proving their connection with the spirits.

Climate of the protected area

The territory of the park is in sharp conditionscontinental climate. The reserve "Lena Pillars" plunges into the cold in winter, which lasts almost six months. The temperature sometimes drops to -36 degrees. But in the summer, the temperature is in the range of 20-40 degrees.

Do not forget that for the reserve, as forall Yakutia, is characterized by many years of frost. For this reason, the soil freezes at great depths (from 100 to 700 meters). This situation is due to the remoteness of the Atlantic Ocean. The mountain ranges of Siberia block the way of air masses moving from the Indian and Pacific oceans. But the cold masses of the Arctic get here very quickly. For this reason, this region is characterized by extreme weather conditions.

Lena Pillars (Yakutia): how to reach

As we have already mentioned, the Lena Pillars are inYakutia. The nearest village is the town of Pokrovsk - 104 km away, and Yakutsk - 200 km. Despite the climatic and weather conditions, it is not difficult to get to the reserve. For example, from Moscow to Yakutsk you can fly by plane, and then make a five-hour voyage on a comfortable boat to the reserve "Lena Pillars" (Yakutia). Tours are best to buy in one of the agencies, then you can ride comfortably on one of the ships. It is also possible to rent a private motor boat. However, the trip on this type of transport is not very convenient, but its cost is lower than the ticket for the ship.

Local travel companies organizealso winter tours to the Lena Pillars. A trip on the prepared off-road cars is a pleasure for people who love extreme sports. Directly to the mountain ridge through the river bed of the Lena tourists are brought on a snowmobile.

Lena Pillars can be reached in summer, andin winter. In the park there are specially designed routes that allow tourists to get acquainted with natural objects. One of the most popular is the climb to the rocks at the mouth of Labuea. The road runs along a path lined with log steps with wooden rails. The climb takes about 50 minutes. There is a shorter but forbidden path. You can get to the tops in 25 minutes. Tourists tend to climb upstairs to see stunning beauty views and to photograph them on cameras.