Where are the Lena pillars located? Natural Park Lena Pillars (Russia)

The Lena Pillars, also known as the Stone Forest on the Lena River, are a natural mountain formation. They are located approximately 60 kilometers upstream from the city of Yakutsk in Russia. Amazing stone towers more than 150 meters high stretch along the river for approximately 80 kilometers. These pillars were discovered in the 17th century, but getting here was not an easy task. The journey will take at least three days if you are heading here from Moscow. First of all, you need to get to Yakutsk through all of Siberia; in Yakutsk you need to take a boat and spend another half a day to get to the stone forest along the Lena River. Finally arriving at the final destination, local residents They can easily organize excursions for you, which will also take several days. We won’t even talk about the cost of such a trip.

The pillars on the Lena River are amazing evidence of the development of the Earth over millions of years. Numerous fossils of ancient organisms were found here - unique preserved evidence of a very important stage in the history of the development of the organic world and many biological species during the Cambrian era. The remains of mammoths, bison, rhinoceroses and many other animals were found here.

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

It is worth adding that there is a similar place in China - this

A ridge of rocky teeth, the height of which reaches 200 m, and the age of the rocks exceeds 500 million years, stretches for many kilometers along the river bank. Stunning beauty natural object unique from a scientific point of view. Lena Pillars are an example of two rare natural phenomena: modern frozen karst and the consequences of the Cambrian explosion, during which the population of chordates, arthropods, mollusks and echinoderms suddenly increased. The remains of ancient organisms discovered inside the sedimentary rocks of the Lena Pillars are especially valuable material for study.

At the beginning of the Cambrian period, the first sea creatures appeared and modern ecosystems formed. The rocks on the banks of the Lena, which in the distant past stood at the bottom of the Cambrian sea, became a clear illustration of these processes. Thanks to climatic conditions all the remains of the most diverse life forms are perfectly preserved, which gives scientists the opportunity to conduct experiments in the natural park, the results of which make it possible to predict further large-scale changes on the planet. In addition, drawings discovered on rocks, in grottoes and crevices indicate that the Lena Pillars were a sacred place for the ancient people who inhabited these regions. The age of the drawings is 5–8 thousand years.

The total area of ​​the reserve is 1.353 million hectares. Another unique ecosystem of the park is a desert with blowing tuculan sands, in which the remains of a mammoth, ancient bison and rhinoceros were discovered. According to a number of scientists, these places are the most ancient human sites: some of the oldest tools on earth were found here.

Tourist routes

The park offers more than five one-day or two-day tourist routes: you can go down the river after seeing majestic pillars from the water, or you can climb to the highest point of the reserve, and a huge panorama of the Lena River, taiga and sands will open up to your gaze. Rock climbing is prohibited within the reserve.

The forests are inhabited by bears, lynxes, wolverines, wolves, squirrels, moose, wapiti, hares, muskrats, golden eagles, eagle owls, falcons, and egrets. In total, there are 42 species of mammals and 102 species of birds, many of which are listed in the Red Book. The climate is typical for Central Siberia, with hot summers and frosty winters.

People usually travel from Yakutsk to the Lena Pillars Nature Reserve by water.

Lena Pillars (Yakutia, Russia) - detailed description, location, reviews, photos and videos.

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“A kind of holy silence lies on the virgin creation, and the soul merges with the wild but majestic nature.”

A. A. Bestuzhev-Marlinsky about the Lena Pillars

The Lena Pillars are a forty-kilometer-long series of steep cliffs stretching along the right bank of the Lena River. The city of Yakutsk is located two hundred kilometers downstream of the river, and the city of Pokrovsk is about a hundred kilometers away. The length of the rocks is more than forty kilometers. Today it is nature reserve Yakutia - cliffs from 40 to 100 meters high are becoming more beautiful and mysterious every year due to local climatic conditions.

The view of the Pillars at sunrise is especially beautiful: from afar mountain range its outline resembles an ancient castle or a magical palace, and the river at the foot serves as a mirror, making the pillars twice as large and majestic.

How to get there

The road to the Lena Pillars is tiring, but exciting. You can fly from Moscow to Yakutsk by plane, the price ranges from 11,700 to 25,000 RUB (depending on the time of year), travel time is about 6.5 hours. Boats go from Yakutsk to Lena Pillars. It is this part of the route that tourists most often remember, as the beauty of these regions is mesmerizing. You can make this journey on a small ship or boat, or you can hire a private boat. See more details on the official website national park"Lena Pillars". Prices on the page are for October 2018.

Climate

The climate in the area of ​​the rocks is sharply continental, that is, contrasting. If in winter the thermometer can drop below −35 °C, then in summer you can expect not only +20 °C, but also +40 °C. Because of the river, the air is humid, so it is bitterly cold in winter and stuffy in summer.

Reserve "Lena Pillars"

The Lena Pillars National Nature Reserve was created in 1995 and since then has attracted the attention of not only tourists, many of whom are foreigners, but also scientists. The fact is that the reserve, in addition to picturesque rocks, famous for its flora and fauna. Many animals and birds live here, including rare ones: bears, lynxes, wolverines, wolves, squirrels, moose, wapiti, hares, squirrels, muskrats, golden eagles, eagle owls, falcons, egrets. There is a lot of fish in the river, including valuable sturgeon, nelma and grayling. Many representatives of the local flora and fauna are listed in the Red Book. For several years now, the Lena Pillars have been applying for inclusion of the reserve on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

The total area of ​​the reserve is almost 500 thousand hectares. These are not only rocks, but also picturesque forests, and on this basis the park is divided into two parts: the Pillars themselves and the Tukulan section (translated from Evenki as “sands”). Here you can walk for more than one day along many routes, visit picturesque observation decks, rafting down the river.

Types of tourist routes:

• visiting the Lena Pillars, sometimes including climbing to the tops of some of them,
• excursion walks around Tuculan, including acquaintance with the flora and fauna of this amazing corner of our planet.

Archaeological value of the reserve

The ridge of Lena Pillars began to form about 400 thousand years ago. In fact, these are steep cliffs, the basis of which is Cambrian limestone.

Cambria is old name counties of Wales. The fact is that the limestones that form the rocks of the Lena Pillars were first discovered in England, in Wales.

On the territory of the Tukulan site, scientists discovered the remains of a mammoth, an ancient bison and an ancient rhinoceros. And these places also preserve the memory of the sites of ancient people. The Lena Pillars themselves testify to this: using natural yellow paint, people painted various scenes from their lives on the rocks. These drawings, discovered not so long ago, seriously interested archaeologists and anthropologists.

According to a number of Yakut scientists, these very places can be “the cradle of human civilization.” The results of archaeological research suggest that the first man appeared in the area stretching along the Lena River. This hypothesis is confirmed by the fact that the most ancient tools were found here.

Natural objects of the Lena Pillars reserve

The first pillars that appear in your field of vision make you forget about the difficulties of the path and attract attention. Cliffs of red sandstone, covered in places with forest, are reflected in the surface great river, cliffs of light gray limestone hang over the water, layers of quartzite glisten in the sun. The rays of the setting sun change the picture, turning it from majestic to almost ominous. Not any of these rocks can be climbed, but the reserve has several observation platforms at an altitude of about 100 meters, from here you can admire the surrounding area and the great Siberian river.

The reserve offers its guests one- and two-day excursions, during which you can see the unique topography and local vegetation, listen to a story about the animals that have long lived in these places.

What 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 believed that the rocks that make up this unique natural monument 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 a total area of ​​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, the little swan, the golden eagle, the peregrine falcon, the osprey, and the 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 the water level and stretch in downstream 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.

Natural Park It 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, sand dune near the mouth of 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 wishing to go on a trip along the Lena gather on Friday evenings at river station Yakutsk and depart 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.

Visit Natural Park“Lena Pillars” 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. Recreation 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 to one day tour along the river for sightseeing. 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.

Nature is the most skillful sculptor and inventor. Sometimes she creates such objects that her fascination leaves her speechless. The banks of the Lena River, where the Lena Pillars are located, became exactly such an object.

A unique geological formation is located in the Khangalassky region of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). This republic of Russia is the most extensive, but the most severe. To clearly understand where this place is, find the point with coordinates 61 0 07’48.8” s. w. and 127 0 31’4.8” in. d.

The natural park is located 104 km southwest of the city of Pokrovsk on the right bank of the river and has two branches - “Stolby” and “Sinsky”. In addition to the Lena, its tributaries Buotama and Sinaya flow through the park.

History of origin

Lena Pillars are limestone formations in the form of steep cliffs. They began to form more than half a billion years ago, when the sea that splashed over the Oimuran Barrier Reef disappeared. This was facilitated by the rise of the Siberian Platform, which sculpted a new relief:

• rock formations;
• faults;
• river valleys (then the Lena was formed).

Wind and water erosion gave the rocks bizarre shapes. The process lasted a long time and ended 400,000 years ago. Then the fantastic stone forest in its current form was finally formed.

What can you see

The Lena Pillars are a ridge of rocks stretching vertically along the bank of the Lena. Their height reaches 220 meters, and the length of the ridge is 40 km. In all areas, the rocks are located quite close to each other, and between the village of Petrovsky and the Tit-Ary islands they almost touch.

There are numerous caves in the rock formations. Some of them have preserved petroglyphs on their walls. Stone Age hunters depicted their trophies on stone vaults. The tools of ancient people are also found.

In the park you can find the remains of extinct animals:

• mammoths;
• rhinoceroses;
• bison.

And if you dig deeper into the rocks, you can find a fossilized trilobite that lived here several hundred million years ago.

How to get there

Knowing where the Lena Pillars are on the map, you will definitely want to see them. First you need to get to Yakutsk. And from the capital of Sakha the road has already been paved. There are well-functioning cruises to natural monument. They usually last three days.

The most popular is the weekend route. The ship departs on Friday evening, and by the morning it reaches the Lena Pillars. On Saturday evening the ship sets off on its return journey, making a stop on the island of Rassolod along the way.