Where are the Lena pillars located? Natural Park Lena Pillars: photos, excursion, facts

Do you want to see a monument created by nature itself in unimaginably ancient times, and which still evokes primitive awe and delight? Then be sure to visit Lena Pillars Natural Park.

Natural Park Lena Pillars (Russia)

This miracle of nature is located in the Republic of Sakha (or Yakutia), just 180 kilometers from the capital - the city of Yakutsk. It is here, on the territory of the Olekminsky and Khangalassky uluses, that amazing geological formations are located, which are called.


The Lena Pillars Natural Park in Yakutia is divided into 2 isolated sections - the stone pillars themselves, stretching along the right bank of the Lena River and the Buotama River basin, as well as the Sinsky section, which is located on the left bank of the Lena, just above the mouth of the Sinyaya River.

are massive stone sculptures; scientists estimate their age at 570 million years. Then, on the site of present-day Yakutia, a warm sea splashed, washing the shores of the ancient continent. Then, under the influence of a changing climate and the movement of continental plates, numerous rocks of various, bizarre shapes appeared.


The Evenks and Yakuts considered it a sacred place. They believed that the rocks were frozen human figures created by unknown giants. When you see these sculptures with your own eyes, it is easy to believe in this legend - it often seems that the rocks move, changing their silhouette. This amazing effect is especially noticeable at sunset.

Lena Pillars and UNESCO

The pillars were included by UNESCO as a protected site in 2012. Ask why?


In the territory natural park numerous were found archaeological finds, which date back to the early Cambrian period.


In addition, archaeologists have found here long-extinct mammoths, woolly rhinoceroses and other fossil animals in exceptionally well-preserved form. Famous national park Lena Pillars also with its petroglyphs and tuculans (sand dunes, a real northern desert).

Video about Lena Pillars of Yakutia

Lena Pillars on the map of Russia and the world

Coordinates: 61°07′45″ N 127°31′05″ E

The reserve is located on the territory of the Khangalassky and Olekminsky districts (uluses) and consists of two isolated areas: the Stolby Site (located on the right bank of the Lena River and along the Buotama River basin) and the Sinsky Site (located on the left bank of the Lena River above the mouth Sinyaya River).

At all times, this natural formation aroused awe in people. This place has long been sacred for the Yakuts and Evenks. Ordinary people were not allowed to go there. They feared the wrath of the spirits of the rocks. Many believed that the pillars were frozen statues of people created by unknown otherworldly forces. Only a select few, elders or almighty shamans, dared to approach these mysterious rocks.

It has been established that these rocks are Early Paleozoic sedimentary rocks, and the age of the limestones is at least 530-570 million years. Once upon a time there was a shallow, warm sea that washed the shores of the ancient Siberian continent. For millions of years, the dead remains of various small shell organisms settled at its bottom, forming multi-meter strata. Over time, the sea became dry land. Hundreds of millions of years passed, only in the Anthropocene period, under the influence of tectonic processes, the continental Siberian platform slowly rose by 200 m, which led to a deep incision of the Lena River valley. Faults and deep river valleys arose, karst processes intensified, which, along with ongoing erosive weathering, gave rise to such intricate and diverse forms of rocks composed of carbonate rocks. This is how a geological and landscape phenomenon called the Lena Pillars arose. It should be noted that, unlike the northwestern regions of Russia, here during the glaciation era there was a very dry climate, which prevented the formation of glaciers. Even when the temperature dropped as much as possible in the Northern Hemisphere, there was apparently no ice shell here - there are no traces of its influence on the local landscapes.

Russian paleontologists in local sedimentary deposits found 350 Early Cambrian genera of organisms out of 2000 now known to science. The overall diversity of creatures in this region was the highest for the Early Cambrian anywhere in the world. These genera include the first archaeocyaths (primitive sponges), radiocii, corallomorphs, brachiopods, and several other groups of fossil animals with mineral skeletons. In addition, extinct organisms have been found here in exceptionally complete preservation (such as mammoths, woolly rhinoceros, etc.). They form the fossil Sin ecosystem, which includes a number of unique specimens with preserved soft tissues and cells, and even their embryos. The rocks that make up the Lena Pillars are a true treasure trove for science.

In addition to stone pillars, in the park there are such remarkable objects as blowing sand-tuculans with separate areas of cold northern sandy desert and parking ancient man at the mouth of the Diring-Yuryakh stream, during excavations of which stone tools were found.

Tuculans:

Numerous petroglyphs were discovered on the rocks along the banks of the Lena and Sinaya rivers - rock paintings made with yellow mineral paint by the ancient inhabitants of these places. These are stylized images of animals preserved to varying degrees, fragments of inscriptions of ancient Turkic runic writing, rock compositions depicting a person.

The number of travelers visiting these places increased noticeably towards the end of the 19th century, but even in the dynamic 20th century, due to the remoteness and sparse population of these places, not many people visited here. In Yakutsk, they began to organize special tourist trips to the Lena Pillars by boat. By the end of the century, the leadership of the Republic of Sakha became concerned with the development international tourism in the region. To do this, it was necessary to preserve not only the stone forest itself in its pristine beauty, but also the surrounding areas. It is very important that local authorities did not wait for guidelines from the capital, but on their own initiative, with the support of the general public of Yakutia, in 1994 they decided to organize the Lena Pillars natural park.

Office national park:

Since then unique landscapes began to gain more and more fame. Pillars today - popular place recreation for tourists and Yakut residents (from Yakutsk to the pillars is about 180 km). In summer, river workers organize boat excursions here. You can't do without a camera, video camera or binoculars here! If you sail upstream of the mighty Lena River, then in the southwest of Yakutia a grandiose panorama of bizarre rocky cliffs appears before the eyes of travelers. This is a unique natural formation in the form of a very extended series of outcrops, stretching in a continuous chain for tens of kilometers along the slopes of the right bank. In some places they look like a colossal, monolithic wall, which is occasionally interrupted by gorges of tributaries of the Lena. But as soon as you approach the pillars, the wall begins to divide into independent, dissimilar sculptures, reminiscent of fairy-tale medieval castles, Gothic temples, or bell towers Orthodox churches. Among the cliffs you can see other creations of the sorceress nature: figures of unknown animals and fairy-tale characters. If you swim for a long time along a ridge of rocks, at times it seems that they come to life and are about to move. This visual effect is especially strong before sunset.

The Lena Pillars were included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2006 as one of the amazing places our planet with an ideal ecosystem untouched by humans.

What kind of bizarre fantasies does nature present to us, creating landscape wonders! Here are the pointed rocks along the coast of the Lena River in Yakutia - either petrified trees with their tops directed upward, or ancient castles with towers propping up the heavens with their spiers!

Bizarre geological formations stretch along the right bank of the upper reaches of the river for more than 520 km from the city of Olekminsk to the village of Pavlovsk, but their density is especially high between the villages of Petrovsky and Tit-Ari. The height of most of the pillars exceeds the hundred-meter mark, some of them rise above the river level by almost 220 m.

It is assumed that the rocks that make up unique monument nature, began to form in the early Cambrian period - approximately 550 million years ago. However, the formation of the Lena Pillars occurred much later, 150 million years later, when the processes of gradual uplift of the Siberian Platform began, leading to the appearance of faults and river valleys. The activation of karst destruction and erosive weathering contributed to the emergence of bizarre rock formations that excite the imagination of everyone who was lucky enough to see them with their own eyes.

Once upon a time, the Decembrist A. A. Besstuzhev-Marlinsky and the famous writer V. Korolenko admired the amazing creation of nature, but today not only nimble tourist craft, but also imposing passenger ships certainly stop at the Lena Pillars.

The pillars are beautiful in any season. In spring, their dark gray silence is embellished by snow-white clouds of flowering bird cherry trees, soft purple spots of lilac, and soft emerald mats of mosses. In summer, at the foothills there is a pink sea of ​​fireweed, a variety of flowers, lilies and lilies. In autumn, the entire right bank of the Lena blazes with crimson, and the winter marble-snow outfit is majestic and festive in its own way.

There is a ringing silence among the rocks, only occasionally it is broken by the timid chirping of swallows and swifts that have built their burrows in the limestone walls, and sometimes you can hear the creaking of spruce, pine and rowan trees, clinging to their roots in the crevices between the stone blocks.

Natural Park "Lena Pillars"

In the 90s of the last century, in the vicinity of a unique natural monument, a natural park of the same name was founded, including two branches - “Sinsky” and “Stolby” and occupying total area 485 thousand hectares.

In the park, in addition to the Lena Pillars, there are many other valuable natural objects of interest for eco-tourism. The remains of ancient animals - bison, mammoth and woolly rhinoceros - were discovered in the natural park. Rare permafrost ecosystems are protected. More than 20 species of vegetation found in the park are listed in the Red Book of Russia, and protected species of fauna of world importance include the crane crane, small swan, golden eagle, peregrine falcon, osprey, and white-tailed eagle.

In 2012, the park added to the list World Heritage UNESCO according to natural criteria.

Attractions nearby Lena Pillars

Within the park there are many picturesque objects that many tourists seek to see.

In addition to the Lensky pillars, the Sinsky pillars are no less beautiful, which are not so impressive in size - no more than 50-100 m above water level and stretch in the lower reaches of the Sinaya River for 180 km. They are especially grandiose in the place where the seething stream is hidden under the rocks.

Downstream after the mouth of the Khariya-Yurekh River, the beautiful Buotama makes its way among the same rocks as the Lena Pillars. The Buotam rocks impress with the variety of rocks that come to the surface - dolomites, limestones, marls.

The natural park is also famous for a rare variety of landscape - the northern sandy desert, presented in the form of large blowing sand massifs - tukulans. There are two tukulans in the protected area - Kysyl Elesin, a sand dune near the mouth of the Buotama, and Saamys Kumaga, almost 5 km long, consisting of ridges, shafts and basins overgrown with herbs, wild rose thickets, and sometimes tall pine trees.

Within the boundaries of the natural park, a site of primitive people was discovered at the mouth of the small river Diring-Yuryakh, during excavations of which stone tools and burials of the late Neolithic period were found.

Excursions to the Lena Pillars

Weekend tours to the Lena Pillars are very popular. Those who want to go on a trip along the Lena gather on Friday evenings at the Yakutsk river station and set off on one of the ships. By morning, the cruise ship docks at the foot of the cliffs. The group of tourists spends the whole day in nature, and in the evening returns to the ship. On the way back, a 6-hour stop is expected on Rassolod Island to search for pirate treasure. Arrival in Yakutsk late on Sunday evening.

Excursions to the Lena Pillars are also carried out by small 12 or 15-seater boats from Yakutsk or along a combined route: by road to the villages of Verkhny Bestyakh, Bulgunnyakhtakh or Elanka, and then along the river. The cost of the trip is approximately 6-8 thousand rubles for one person.

A visit to the Lena Pillars Natural Park is possible by purchasing a ticket at the office of the environmental institution in the city of Pokrovsk. Its cost ranges from 250-350 rubles for a one-day stay and 650-850 rubles for three-day accommodation in guest houses of tourist centers. The park offers interesting eco-trails for tourists:

• Tuculan,
• The feathered world of Buotama,

as well as rafting routes along the Sinaya and Buotama rivers. Relaxation in the park is also possible in winter time– traveling on snowmobiles across the ice crossing “Batamay – Lena Pillars” is no less exciting than a cruise on a motor ship along the Lena.

Where to stay

The easiest way to see the Lena Pillars is to stay at one of the hotels in Yakutsk and go on a one-day tour along the river to explore the attraction. The cost of accommodation in hotels in the capital of the Republic of Sakha - Siberia, Sterkh, Landysh, Lena, Tygyn Darkhan and others from 800 to 5000 rubles. In Pokrovsk there is the possibility of temporary accommodation at the Buotama recreation center. On the territory of the Lena Pillars Natural Park there are several options for accommodating tourists - in guest houses in the Labydya area, in the hunter's house and at the Lena Pillars recreation center in the village of Verkhny Bestyakh, at the Ust Buotama tourist center in the Buotama section of the natural park.

How to get to Lena Pillars

Russia, Republic of Sakha, Khangalassky ulus, Pokrovsk

From Moscow to Yakutsk, air travel is more rational than other options. Airplane tickets will cost from 7,800 rubles for one passenger. If you need to go to Pokrovsk, you should use bus route No. 202, the fare starts from 200 rubles.

The Lena Pillars are the most beautiful creations of nature on a global scale, as well as the pride of our country. In July 2012, they became the 25th unique site in Russia, and were included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Lena Pillars and the national park of the same name are located on the banks of the Lena River, in the Khangalassky ulus of Yakutia, 104 km away. from the city of Pokrovsk. These are majestic-looking geological formations stretching vertically elongated rocks along the banks of the Lena River for many kilometers. The highest density of pillars is observed between the villages of Petrovskoye and Tit-Ary.

The Lena Pillars Natural Park was founded by decree of the President of the Sakha Republic in 1994. The area of ​​the park is 1,272,150 hectares, and consists of two branches - “Pillars” and “Sinsky”. The park's goal is to develop eco-tourism.

Scientists have discovered the remains of ancient animals in the area of ​​the Lena Pillars: mammoth, bison, Lena horse, woolly rhinoceros. On the territory of the park there is such an object as developing sand-tuculans with separate areas of the cold northern sandy desert. At the mouth of the Diring-Yuryakh stream, stone tools (Daring culture) were discovered during excavations. There are also unique permafrost ecosystems.

There are many caves in the local rocks, and on flat ground you can see Lena Pisanitsa - drawings and writings of ancient hunters.

They say that in these places lives big Foot, whom the Nenets and Yakuts nicknamed Ulmesh. He is about 10 meters tall, has a pointed hat on his head, and on his belt he keeps bags with fur and claws of animals. At times he attacks hunters, and sometimes, on the contrary, brings them good luck and even opens treasures.

The Lena Pillars amaze with their power and splendor. Everyone sees something different in them - castle ruins, dragon fangs, brick walls, petrified volcanoes. This unique creation nature can turn the soul upside down, filling it with some kind of magical light.

How to get to Lena Pillars?

A trip to the Lena Pillars can be made both in summer and winter. In winter - on snowmobiles and jeeps along the frozen river, and in summer - on motor ships that moor directly to sandy shore. You can also reach by motor boats taken from local residents.

If you go on a trip by car, it is better to take an SUV. You will need to get to the village of Elanka, and then by water to the Lena Pillars.

Tours, prices, where to stay

All kinds of tours from Yakutsk are organized to the Lena Pillars.

For a group of 3 or more people, the tour will cost from 7,534 rubles per person. It all depends on the number of people in the group and the duration of the tour.

You can stay either in a tent on the banks of the Lena River or in hotels in Yakutsk, of which there are a lot. Prices vary widely and depend on the comfort of the room and the number of guests. Here are some of them:

Hotel "Sanaa" - prices from 700 rub. per room per person per night.

Hotel “Otelsakha” - from 800 rub. per person per day.

Of course, a trip to the Lena Pillars will not be cheap. It all depends on where in Russia you go to them. Tickets to Yakutsk are very expensive. But if you find yourself close to this the most beautiful place, be sure to visit it. Look at the world from a height of 200 meters of rock, meet at least one sunrise on the banks of the Lena, spend the night in a tent, walk along sand dunes, through the caves of the Lena Pillars, and of course, go fishing. The stunning beauty and energy of this place will forever leave a mark on your soul.

Tall rocks, an absolutely continuous wall stretching along the right bank of the Lena for four dozen kilometers. To some they resemble the walls of a huge medieval castle, others remember the fangs of a dragon, others think that stone giants have frozen in front of them forever.

But for the Yakuts, these rocks are a monument to love, fidelity and courage, since the Lena Pillars are actually nothing more than a pair of lovers who were bewitched by a dragon: the young man in a mortal duel defeated an evil snake who wanted to marry his beloved, but managed to take revenge.

The Lena Pillars are located, and with it the national natural park of the same name, on the territory of Russia, in the Republic of Sakha, in the Khangalassky district (ulus) of Yakutia, on the right bank of the Lena (on geographical map peace exact location can be calculated using the following coordinates: 61° 7′ 45.48″N. latitude, 127° 31′ 4.8″ h. d.).

To get here from Moscow, you need to spend several days: the flight to Yakutsk alone will take about seven hours (to get to this city, you need to fly across all of Siberia). To get to the Lena Pillars from the capital of Yakutia, you can use a boat or a motor ship (on average, the journey will take about twelve hours). They will tell you where to go next local residents, will conduct excursions and point out the most interesting places on the map.

Stone forest of the Lena River

Currently, this unique geological formation is included in the list of wonders of Russia and is natural monument of global significance. Several years ago, UNESCO took the territory where the Lena Pillars are located under its protection.

In fact, the Lena Pillars are sheer cliffs, formed from limestone, which are exposed to harsh climatic conditions Yakutia, having broken up into separate parts, formed vertically elongated rocks of bizarre shape with a height of one hundred to two hundred meters.

The stone forest stretches along the Lena for forty kilometers, while the rocks are quite close to each other, and are most densely located between the village of Petrovskoye and the river islands of Tit-Ary.

The mountains that formed the Lena Pillars began to form about 550 million years ago on the site of a once shallow sea splashing here, at the bottom of which limestone gradually accumulated. It disappeared after the Siberian Platform began to rise, forming rocky formations, faults and river valleys made of limestone, while the shape of the mountains was affected by erosion, in particular weathering.

This process lasted a long time, until 400 thousand years ago, a stone forest was formed, the bizarre forms of which have delighted and amazed the human imagination for many centuries.

Eyewitnesses say: the Lena Pillars look especially charming at dawn, when illuminated by rays rising sun the red sandstone cliffs resemble a medieval palace, and thanks to the river flowing at the foot of the river, it all looks several times larger and more majestic. But at sunset the appearance of the rocks is somewhat ominous and looks like the castle of an evil sorcerer.

It is interesting that on the slopes of the rocks of the Lena Pillars, many caves were discovered, on the walls of which drawings of ancient people who lived in this area were painted in yellow paint, and tools were also found.

On the territory of the national park, the remains of mammoths, rhinoceroses, bison were discovered, and in rock fragments - fossils of trilobites, an extinct class of marine arthropods that lived more than 200 million years ago.

Due to its unique natural attractions and unique finds found on the territory of the reserve, it is not surprising that UNESCO nevertheless decided to include the Lena Rocks National Park on the World Heritage List and took these lands under its protection.

National Reserve of Yakutia

Interestingly, the Lena Pillars natural park, where the stone forest is located, has a huge territory: protected area is 81 thousand hectares, and the length along the Lena River is 220 km. On its territory, in addition to the Lena Pillars, there are three more natural object, protected by UNESCO:

• Buotama pillars - these rocky formations, located below the mouth of the Kharya-Yurekh Buotama River, consist mainly of marl, dolomite and limestone, which give the pillars a multi-colored texture;
• Sinsky pillars - despite the fact that these rocks are not as high as Lena (their height rarely exceeds 100 m), they also attract the attention of tourists.
• Tuculans are large sandy massifs, more typical of the desert. Their uniqueness is that they are not only located in the middle of the green taiga, but also occupy a considerable area, for example, the length of one of the dunes, Saamys Kumaga, is about 5 km, and the width is almost 900 m.

The Lena Pillars Nature Reserve is located entirely on undeveloped lands, and therefore any economic work is prohibited here. In addition, several waterways of the region flow through the park: the Lena, the second longest river in Russia, and its tributaries - Buotama (sites of primitive people were found along its banks) and Sinaya.

On the territory of the national park there are many lakes with a depth of two to three meters, formed both in natural depressions and on flat watersheds. These lakes are filled with water thanks to rainfall (and therefore during drought, large reservoirs become shallow and small ones dry up completely), their shores are flat and almost always swampy.

The diversity of the flora and fauna of the national park cannot but amaze: there are about 500 species of plants (about twenty of which are listed in the Red Book of Russia), 42 species of mammals, more than a hundred species of nesting birds, a huge number of fish and quite a few reptiles.

Climate

The climate in the Lena Pillars Park is sharply continental and very contrasting. If in winter the air temperature often drops below -36°C and lasts about six months, then in summer these indicators may well be either +20°C or +40°C.

Do not forget that Yakutia and the Lena Pillars natural park are characterized by permafrost, as a result of which the soil freezes very deeply (from 100 to 700 meters). This situation arose due to the fact that Atlantic Ocean located far from this area, and high mountains South and Eastern Siberia are natural barriers to air masses, coming from the Quiet and Indian Oceans, while air currents quickly reach here from the Arctic. Those wishing to come to this harsh region need to be prepared for extreme conditions.