Visitors to the Pribaikalsky National Park lay out numerous tours made of stones of various sizes: from small pyramids to impressive “monuments” of various shapes.

On September 23, researchers from the “Reserved Baikal Region” and volunteers began to disassemble the stone turks on Olkhon in order to restore the natural habitats of the Olkhon vole. Volunteers dismantled the pyramids on the tops of six hills of the Kobylya Golova peninsula.

It is here, on rocky, stony areas, that the Red Book Olkhon vole.

The animal is very conservative in choosing a place of residence, he needs strictly defined conditions, and once choosing appropriate place, vole settles there for many years. Human activity in these areas can cause irreparable damage to the population, up to the complete disappearance of this vulnerable species.

Most visitors to the national park are unaware of the damage done to nature by constructing various stone "structures".

Lifting and dragging the stones found around, people destroy the natural microrelief and deprive many species of animals of their usual shelters - from small beetles to large animals. The Olkhon vole, which is already vulnerable and rare, suffers especially, the National Park notes.

Some guides, in order to entertain tourists, call for making a pyramid “for good luck”. Others claim that what larger stone a person brought up the mountain, the greater the sin he removed from the soul. However, the indigenous people of Olkhon never had a tradition of building stone pyramids.

When collecting a pyramid, you are unlikely to be able to remove a sin or achieve the fulfillment of desires, but it’s quite possible to get a sin for the death of a rare animal ... The destruction of shelters noticeably weakens the colonies of voles and often leads to the death of animals, - says the leader of the action, head of the science department of the Reserve Baikal » Oleg Berlov.

The places that will be discussed are incredibly beautiful, mysterious and unique, but not spoiled by the attention of tourists. All of them are located on the territory of Russia. However, getting to them is very difficult. The absence of at least some kind of transport and the presence of state structures with which one must coordinate one's “invasion” of these territories is the main, but not the only, obstacle. However, if you are one of those who are only attracted by difficulties, we will show you the way to seven amazing sites in Russia that few people know about. Only a few have seen them with their own eyes.

Naukan - the ancient capital of the Eskimos

The ruins of the largest settlement of eksimos, liquidated during the "aggregation of villages" in 1958

Where: Cape Dezhnev, Chukotka Peninsula

The discovery of Okvik, Birnirk and other Paleo-Asiatic cultures, which succeeded each other in this place for three millennia, belongs to permafrost, which pushes any foreign body to the surface. All that today reminds of the capital of the last of these cultures - the Eskimo - are whale ribs sticking out of the coastal grass, as well as numerous bone artifacts of unknown age and purpose, which are not difficult to find among what remains of the 1930s barracks. To call the capital of the Eskimos dead does not turn the tongue. First, unlike the militant Eskimo islanders from Ratmanov Island, who perished in the mainland collective farms in one generation, Naukan's sea hunters retain their identity even in exile. Secondly, whales still enter the coastal waters every summer. Experts in Eskimo folklore will confirm: whales are looking for their earthly mistresses-sciences who have left these places.

How to get there: from Anadyr to the village of Lavrentiya by a regular flight of the Chukotavia airline, then to the village of Uelen (departure is carried out according to the weather). Alternatively, you can take a whaleboat that sails along the Bering Strait from June to August.

Sindor Lake - part of the prehistoric sea, controlled by the Federal Penitentiary Service

The only natural monument in Russia, access to which is controlled by the penitentiary service

Where: Knyazhpogostsky district of the Komi Republic

The taiga lake of unprecedented beauty, left over from the prehistoric sea, is comparable in area to the island of Valaam. It was on its banks at the beginning of the 20th century that many sites of primitive man were discovered, and some time later a corrective labor institution M-222 was built here, which ceased to exist quite recently. First of all, M-222 is known as the place of detention of most of the doctors convicted in the famous case, as well as the fact that Sergey Dovlatov served as a warder here. Not far from here, according to numerous folklore sources, Yirkapa, the cultural hero of Komi, died. Having lost his magical power, after he did not spare the daughter of a sorceress during the hunt, who turned into a deer (according to another version - a magpie), Yirkap banally drowned in Sindor. Finally, Sindor Lake is the habitat of Nikolai Prokushev. This is how a neat 50-year-old bearded man appears - a forest hermit, a lone hunter and an original thinker.

How to get there: from Yaroslavsky railway station by Moscow-Vorkuta train to Sindor station, then on a passing railcar along the Sindor narrow-gauge railway to the camp site of the M-222 institution. The so-called camp site consists of several houses on the territory of the former camp, adapted for the overnight stay of fishermen on the banks of the Ugyum River, two to three kilometers from the lake. Attention: all the personnel of the Sindorskaya narrow-gauge railway, once built for the needs of Ust-Vymsklag and still operating (including diesel locomotive drivers), are prisoners, and the railway is still under the jurisdiction of the Federal Penitentiary Service.

Tsoi-pede - Chechen City of the Dead

Medieval Chechen fortress-necropolis, which can be visited only with the permission of the FSB

Where: Itum-Kalinsky district of the Republic of Chechnya

The cape at the confluence of the Argun with the mountain river Meshi-Khi is surrounded on three sides by icy water and is connected to the rocky ridge only by a narrow isthmus. In fact, Tsoi-pede is an impregnable cemetery. The earliest of the 42 crypts date back to the 14th century, and according to a popular but unproven version, they founded it during a devastating epidemic, and the sick came here to die on their own - there was no time and no one to bury the dead. However, this romantic hypothesis is easily refuted by the fact that the neighboring village, located somewhat to the south of the burials, fought too often with its neighbors and could not do without a capacious necropolis for the burial of dead soldiers. They say that the ancient weapons that rested in the crypts of Tsoi-pede, like other valuables, disappeared from here immediately after the deportation of the Chechens in 1944. Today, one who comes to Tsoi-pede is greeted by two pagan altar-pillars, protective swastikas, crosses and solar spirals on the walls, and on the watchtower one can still discern the image of a human figure. It is believed that this is the Christian Saint George - baptized Georgia is nearby, and the proximity of this border, in fact, explains the need to obtain permission from the FSB to visit the City of the Dead.

How to get there: from Grozny to the regional center of Itum-Kali - by fixed-route taxi, then by hitchhike and on foot. FSB permission is required to enter the border zone.

Uchar waterfall - the youngest waterfall in the world

160-meter waterfall, which was discovered only 35 years ago

Where: Ulagansky district of the Republic of Altai

The youngest waterfall known to science - Uchar on the Chulcha River - was unknown to official science until the 1970s. However, science did not live in ignorance for very long, since, as is commonly believed, the waterfall was formed as a result of a powerful earthquake only about 200 years ago. The water has not yet had time to crush the fragments of rocks that form its cascades, and the black stones measure their height with neighboring pines. All this is overwhelming in its scale and makes the difference between a man and an ant almost insignificant. The path to Uchar passes over a cliff and crosses numerous mountain streams, which are not recommended to be crossed without insurance. An important note of a practical nature: moving away from settlements and carriageways, a tourist who finds himself in this part of Altai should not forget about his ranks. It is precisely by the malevolence and treachery of these animals that the local population usually explains to the newcomers the sudden disappearance of their provisions, as well as tires, cigarettes, cash, etc. Something in between a gopher and a jerboa, the imanka (which Dahl’s dictionary characterizes as an “earth hare”) is really not afraid of a person and able to come very close. However, he still does not eat money and cigarettes.

How to get there: by car from Biysk to the village of Artybash (the route ends a few kilometers before the final destination), then by boat along Lake Teletskoye. You can also get from Gornoaltaysk: first on a ride to the head estate of the Altai Reserve in the village of Yailyu, then on foot (a guide is needed). Permission is required to visit the Federal State Institution "Altai Reserve".

Porzhensky churchyard - a wooden castle on the site of a pagan temple

A well-preserved wooden pre-Petrine skete, which is possibly the center of the Universe

Where: Kargopolsky district of the Arkhangelsk region

The forest guards an abandoned pre-Petrine skete with a well-preserved painting of the 18th century more reliable than the Ministry of Culture: the roads from the nearest villages are difficult and not known to every local. An empty church, surrounded by a chopped fence with numerous towers, peeks out from behind gloomy gray logs, and around - only Karelian boulders and lakes. Like most ancient Christian buildings, the skete, built in the 80s of the 18th century, most likely took the place of a pagan temple - its main chapel, as well as three surrounding churches of the same time, lie on a geometrically ideal straight line stretched by who knows who and when from the south to north. In some forums, without any irony, the idea is discussed that it is in one of the towers of the Porzhensky churchyard that the so-called Aleph from the story of the same name by Borges is located, which Borges describes as the keyhole of the world - the place where all the points of the universe converge.

How to get there: by train Moscow-Arkhangelsk (departs from the Yaroslavsky railway station) to Nyandoma station, then by bus to Kargopol, from Kargopol by bus to the village of Maselga, the last 15 km on foot

Averkina pit - a cave hiding Pugachev's treasure

Unexplored cave equipped for housing by unknown persons

Where: Satkinsky district of the Chelyabinsk region

The entrance to the cave is an almost vertical 20-meter gap in a rock overgrown with forests above the left bank of the Ai River and is almost invisible from the outside. Inside - two grottoes with an area of ​​10 and 20 square meters. m, an underground lake with potable water and positive temperature at any time of the year. The total length of the surveyed underground passages is about 100 m. Back in the 1920s, the inhabitants of the cave were known to local residents under the collective name of Averkiy. Rumor painted the caveman as a runaway convict, a Tartar with nostrils torn out, then a holy elder, then a Kerzhak-Old Believer, invariably attributing to him superhuman lust and countless connections with the inhabitants of the convent. Also, according to popular belief, it was here that the gold stolen by Emelyan Pugachev was hidden at one time. In order to eradicate all superstitions, in 1924 the local women's council sent a Komsomol expedition to the cave. During the investigation, a wooden door, a wooden machine of unknown purpose, a bed and many bones, including human ones, were found. It should be noted that subsequent expeditions invariably found gutters hollowed out of wood in the Averkina Pit - the remains of an ancient pipeline, the purpose of which is still unknown.

How to get there: from Chelyabinsk to the Satka district center by bus number 517, from Satka by bus (route without a number) to the village of Ailino, then on foot.

Cape Ryty - shamanic pyramids on the shore of Lake Baikal

An unexplored monument of primitive architecture on a sacred place for shamanists

Where: northwestern shore of Lake Baikal

Formally, disembarkation of passengers on the cape, pitted with dry riverbeds and streams, is prohibited: this is the territory of the Baikal-Lena Reserve. It is also forbidden informally: according to the beliefs of the Buryats, the access of strangers to the shamanic place of power should be strictly limited. Shamans, apparently, have something to hide: science still does not know who, when and why built a stone wall exactly 333 m long on Rytoy and tightly forced it with stone cones and pyramids oriented to the cardinal points. In 2002, in the vicinity of the nearby village of Onguryon, the biologist Alexei Turuta was hacked to death for disrespect for the spirits, expressed in refusing to tie a sacrificial ribbon on a sacred tree, by which the scientist passed. By the way, in addition to pagan piety, the Ongurens are also known for their technical ingenuity: in the village there is the only steam locomotive in Russia from the time of the Second World War, converted into a power plant.

How to get there: from Irkutsk by bus to the tourist center "Zama", then on foot to the village of Onguryon (travel trips are possible, but regular transport links

Decorative structures made of stones can be found in any corner of the world. The more tourists visit this place, the more such pyramids are built. This stone town is located on the way to Teriberka. It is difficult not to notice it, so many guests of the village do not pass by, but stop to complete the composition with their work.

Vladimir Isaev: “It has a magical meaning, yes. The most important - good wishes to all the people who live, lived, and, God forbid, that our lives continue. To us, relatives, friends and children.

Such structures are called tours. In ancient times, they were monuments, used for astronomical purposes. Such a pyramid could contain some kind of message or indicate the way through mountain glaciers. In North America, tours were laid out on bison trails, in the Arctic they marked the length of the path or indicated the direction, and in the coastal provinces of Canada they served as a guide for boaters. Tourist tours are usually not large sizes and have no practical use. But many believe in their magical properties.

Irina Tretyakova: “I was told that if you build this pyramid, then when you build it, you need to make a wish. Well, at the moment my husband is in the hospital and I wished that he would recover quickly. I think it should come true. I climbed, as I think, climbed to the very top. Here, I made myself a pyramid.

Similar constructions, only of larger sizes, were built by the Sami. They are called seids. Murmansk resident Iraida Glebova is convinced that these structures can also be called seids.

Iraida Glebova: « The word "seid" comes from the Finnish language. No one knows for sure why they put pebble on pebble and so on the hills there is, for example, seid - big Stone for two small ones. And it doesn't fall. Here, for some reason, the laws of physics do not work.

For someone - a memorial sign, but for someone - a big creative work. Stone balancing is developing as an art form. And very difficult. This is not to say that the laws of physics do not apply to these structures. Accurate calculation, selection of stones and long painstaking work - just like that, such a masterpiece cannot be built. Yes, and it will most likely not last long - a fragile structure can be broken by a bird or even the wind.

For tourists, simplicity and reliability of the design is more important. Is it really that easy to build a tour? Curiosity makes you go in search of free stones.

Even a simple pyramid is not very easy to build. There are no ideally even stones here, and stone polygons do not always want to coexist. Without patience, even three stones cannot be made. Therefore, you have to exhale and take up work on a new one.

I already wrote that the Buryats profess Tengeri, an ancient shamanic religion, and now I want to tell you more about the shamanic practices of Baikal. Those Buryats who live on the western side of Lake Baikal seem to me to be more active in professing shamanism. Along the road from Olkhon, which has now become extraordinarily popular because of shamans, every now and then there were barys - places of power. Only in Buryatia they are marked with a serge - a special hitching post - a landmark.

And only in Buryatia places designate road sign"Resting-place". I used to think that it had a picture of a Christmas tree falling on a bench. And now I know that this is a serge - a hitching post, by the sacred larch. We called these sites until the end of the trip. The first serge met on way back from Olkhon near Ust-Orda. Apparently some kind of spirit in the form of a puppy, like Castaneda, accompanied us all the way.

Serge meant that the land has an owner. And serge pillars are marked, but not only the ground. The upper part of the pillar is for heavenly spirits, the middle one is for earthly horses, the lower one is for the horses of the underworld. Serge was placed during the initiation of the shaman. When he died, a very large stone serge was placed. Shamans, by the way, were not buried in the ground, but were tied to high sacred larches. On the 49th day, his remains were burned, the ashes were put in a bag and immured in a pine or other evergreen tree. Because the black shaman (the elder could also be white) was engaged in defense from the chthonic spirits of the earth. He couldn't be on the ground.

Burial of a shaman on a tree. Photo from an article about Yakut shamans

On Serge, they communicate with the spirits of the place, negotiate. They bring gifts in the form of cereals, sweets, buttons, cookies, copper coins and ... cigarettes. And spirits are not averse to drinking. There was a whole bunch of vodka corks on this serge. Apparently they were brought to the spirits, and the contents were drunk. Previously, they drank tarasun, a dairy alcoholic product with a strength of 15-20, but now they have found a stronger drink - vodka. By the way, I found a couple of dozen empty vodka bottles behind the door in one of the temples of the Ivolginsky datsan. Apparently, they also brought the spirits to sniff.

The Russians were sympathetic to this ceremony, and they drink with pleasure. Yes, and the authorities are not averse to joining the rituals. Our bosses go to churches and hold a candle at prayer services with their right hand, like a glass. And the local authorities are having a hard time. He and the shamans to communicate, and then hold the candles. Here, for example, as the deputy governor of the Irkutsk region Anatoly Dyachenko, who arrived at Tengriin Yuhen noedto - a ceremony of honoring the spirits of the blue sky, which took place on June 26, 2009.

Now there is a revival of ancient traditions, - says Anatoly Mikhailovich. - This is for the benefit of the people. I take part in tailagan for the second time, the first time I attended a prayer service in front of the "Altargan" on the island of Olkhon. Today I stood in line, submitted a note to pray for my family, my friend's family. I tried to follow all the rules, here I am not as an official, but as a simple citizen, a resident of this land. A prayer service lasted until late in the evening, during which a sacrifice was made to the gods in the form of a horse and nine sheep. Despite the fact that rain was promised that day and the sky was gloomy in the morning, nature favorably reacted to people, which was regarded by those present as a good sign.

And surely Anatoly Mikhailovich considers himself Orthodox. I wonder if he goes to church afterwards?

The sculpture of the Buryat horsewoman (?) on the Yakutsk tract near Irkutsk is tied with a hall

Even the Russians quickly adopted from the pagans the custom of tying a zalaa - a colorful ribbon - on anything. This is actually a common pagan custom. Ribbons are tied by pagan Finno-Ugric peoples. Now in Kolomenskoye, pagan stones have a lot of ribbons attached to them (by the way, now there is a serge in Kolomenskoye too). And in Buryatia, the hall is tied with everything that only relates to places of power.

Trees near the main shamanic place of Mount Shaman on Olkhon (Khuzhir) are all tied with a zalaa

The ribbon is a cost-effective way to remind the spirit that you asked for it. The wind sways it, and as if reading the desire. On the tape, by the way, the text can be written, as on a prayer drum.

Khurde - a prayer drum in the Ivolginsky datsan in Buryatia tied with a hall

I must say that the Russian population has adapted not only to celebrate places of power with the Buryats. Since the busy Buryats often do not stop at baris and simply honk and throw a handful of coins out the window, Russian grandmothers have adapted to collect coins near especially popular places. I wonder if this is not an insult to the religious feelings of the spirits?

I found another manifestation of shamanic practices on a mountain near the Olkhon Gates strait. This cairn is obo. Obo is an ancient sanctuary, the seat of the master spirits of the area, a place where spirits should be worshipped. Usually it is built in special places where spirits have manifested themselves or where they act. When we left Olkhon, a Buryat girl working in a local cafe said that they have a belief that you need to bring as many stones to the mountain as you want to atone for sins.

The influence of man on the nature of Baikal is increasing every year. It is hard to imagine, but even such seemingly harmless things as stone slides, which tourists love to lay out from Baikal stones, can seriously harm the animals of the region. Last weekend, the researchers of the "Reserved Pribaikalye" and volunteers began to dismantle such tours of stones on Olkhon in order to restore natural habitats for Baikal animals. Volunteers dismantled the pyramids on the tops of six hills.

“Many visitors to Pribaikalsky climb higher, to the tops of the Olkhon hills, to take pictures against the backdrop of breathtaking views of Lake Baikal. At the same time, tourists unconsciously change the appearance of rocky and stony biotopes - they lay out numerous turiks from stones of different sizes: from small pyramids to an impressive size of “monuments” of various shapes, ”says an employee of the Reserve Baikal Region.

Tourists were dismantled on Olkhon

Meanwhile, it is here, on rocky, stony areas, that the Red Book Olkhon vole lives. The animal is very conservative in choosing a place of residence, it needs strictly defined conditions, and once choosing a suitable place, the vole settles there for many years. Human activities in these areas can cause irreparable damage to the population, up to the complete disappearance of this vulnerable species.

Most tourists do not even suspect what damage is done to nature by constructing various stone "structures".

“Some guides, in order to entertain tourists, call for making a pyramid “for good luck”. Others argue that the larger the stone a person brought to the mountain, the greater the sin he removed from the soul. However, the indigenous inhabitants of Olkhon (from Kurykans to Buryats and Russians) never had a tradition of building stone pyramids. Therefore, when collecting a pyramid, you are unlikely to be able to remove a sin or achieve the fulfillment of desires, but it’s quite possible to get a sin for the death of a rare animal ... The destruction of shelters noticeably weakens the colonies of voles and often leads to death,” says the leader of the action, head of the science department of the Reserve Baikal Region” Oleg Berlov.

The administration of the "Reserved Pribaikalye" thanks the volunteers of the "Give the Planet Life" charity foundation for their help and plans to continue holding actions to dismantle artificial structures made of stones.