The desire to wander is not a profession, but an inclination of the soul. She either exists or she doesn’t. Whoever has it cannot change anything. Those who don't have it don't need to.
Every journey begins with a dream...
Man-pupu-ner (Mountain of stone idols) - unique miracle nature, giant stone idols located in a remote region of the Northern Urals, on the territory of the Komi Republic. They rise above the plateau to a height of 30 to 42 meters, most of them slightly expanding upward. There are 7 of them.
About 200 million years ago, in place of stone pillars there were high mountains. Millennia passed and...
In past times, among the Mansi, climbing Man-pupu-ner was the greatest sin; only shamans had access there. In 2008, weathering pillars on the Man-pupu-ner plateau took 5th place in the finals of the “7 Wonders of Russia” competition.
14.07.09
So, the backpacks are packed. We left Solikamsk in a great mood. We prepared thoroughly for the hike, the weight of the backpacks was about 50 kg each.
16.07.09
8 a.m. Arrived in Ivdel. The beginning of the route (Auspiya River) can only be reached by Ural, because all the bridges across large rivers Vizhay, Toshemka, Ushma were burned. We drove for 8 hours, and this is 160 km of off-road. The road is rough, especially after Ushma. On the way we stopped at the Ministry of Emergency Situations and registered. There they wrote down the route and departure date. They said that last year, three singles were rubbed. Two were found and one was missing. There was one death. The weather was sunny, we arrived at the place at 18.00. The water in Auspiya fell, we forded. We walked 5 km to the first parking lot.
17.07.09
The weather is hot, we are walking along the Auspiya path. The trail does not match the one on the map. It goes up to 300m from it and winds strongly (on the map it’s straight). Lots of wetlands. We reached the parking lot with the “spoon”. There is little firewood, a lot of tiredness. The first day walking is very difficult.
18.07.09
We could barely stand up, our whole body hurt. The weather is warm, we are walking along a very swampy path. By 10.00 the trail began to climb. The slope to the Dyatlov Pass is completely overgrown with aconite the size of a man, very beautiful. And so, by 12.00 we are at the infamous Dyatlov Pass, where on the night of February 1-2, 1959, a group of 9 UPI students died.
There are many versions of their death - from the fall of a rocket, the arrival of a UFO, an avalanche and the arrival of Bigfoot. The facts of death are contradictory. Some reason forced the tourists to cut the tent from the inside in the middle of the night and run down the slope (almost naked, barefoot), at the end of which their bodies were discovered. All of the dead have a reddish-purple skin color, some have multiple fractures, and one has no tongue. The investigation opened into their death was terminated, and all materials were lost to secret archives. Bright memory…..
Snowmobile tour to the Dyatlov Pass (near Manpupuner). 8 days, 460 km, from 15,000 rubles per person!!!
The places around the pass are creepy. The wind howls in the stone outcrops, the rocks on the pass are like details of an ominous musical instrument create strange sound effects. And nearby rises the gloomy dome of Mount Kholatchakhl (Mansi “mountain of the dead”). The mountain has a bad reputation - people often died here. According to legend, 9 Mansi died at the top. In 1961, on the mountain, geologists and 9 crew members died in a plane crash! And almost 10 years later, in the area of the same Kholatchakhlya, another group of 9 people from St. Petersburg died! Many call it the darkest place in the Urals.
From the pass you can see Mount Otorten (Mansi “Don’t go there”) with remnants and Mount Mottevchahl.
It seems like a stone's throw, but when you put on a backpack, the distance doubles.
Heavy rain fell, a cold north-west wind blew it away along with the backpack.
We went down to spend the night in the Poritaitsori tract. This is a very picturesque gorge with a snowfield, with waterfalls of varying heights up to 7 m. The bed of the Lozva source, passing under the snowfield, forms arches and grottoes. You feel all the muscles.
07/19/09 We woke up easier in the morning, apparently we are starting to get used to it. Everything is shrouded in fog. We argued a little about where to go, opinions were divided. This is how some tourists get lost. We have breakfast and wait for the weather. The wind is strong, the temperature dropped to +5, but there are no mosquitoes. From the tract to the town of Otorten, traverse along the peaks. By lunchtime we went to the town of Otorten, the mountain is crowned with a stone ridge, made of stones up to 5 m high. We decided to go around Otorten on the right and went down to the source of Lozva. It started to rain, we were cooking on the kurum and we got wet. Slippery stones, difficult to walk. Mountain ranges in this area they do not exceed 1200 m, but due to constant winds and harsh climate the taiga does not rise above 700 m, so we took a gas burner with us. We climbed to the pass to the town of Mottevchahl in 2 hours, by 23.00. It was cold, the wind did not subside all day. Dinner on gas.
20.07.09
In the morning there is fog, strong wind, temperature +3, we are waiting for the weather. For breakfast, cocoa with condensed milk. There is no firewood, we dry wet clothes on ourselves. A grandiose panorama of blue mountains stretches to the horizon. We left at 10.00. The wind has changed to the north and has been blowing all day. At the pass beyond the town of Mottevchahl, hail hit, it took 30 minutes. Mottevchahl was bypassed on the left, the ascent was 60 degrees. We reached the town of Yanyghachechahl. Overnight at the source of Sulpa, dinner on the wood.
21.07.09
It got very cold at night, the temp. 0+1, very cold. The morning is cloudless. We climbed the slope of height 917.2, we fell knee-deep in moss, it was difficult to walk. We reached the old Mansi path and the speed doubled. It is not without reason that they say that trails are the roads of the mountains. Parking in the forest. Mount Koyp (drum) is clearly visible from the parking lot.
22.07.09
The cyclone raged for 3 days. Cloudy, comfortable walking. The path coincides with a stream, in places you fall knee-deep. At the top of the Pecherya-Talakhchahl mountain the trail splits into two, we need to take the left one, but it is not trampled, it has grown - this led us astray. We went along the right, got lost and went to the source of the Pechora. We realized that we had to go back, but we lost strength and time: 4 hours. We’ve been walking for 13 hours. We spent the night in the Pechora valley, near the Europe-Asia stele. Tea from swamp water and sleep.
23.07.09
Get up at 6.00, leave at 7.00. We returned to the town of Pecherya-Talakhchahl and turned to the left. After peak 758.4 the trail disappeared, we fell far to the left. We make our way through the dense thickets. Wilderness. Mossy stumps, dense forest, fallen giant trees all around. Windbreak. The abode of Baba Yaga. There are bear tracks and nests everywhere. In 2 hours we reached the left tributary of the Pechora. Terrible transition. Lunch on gas. Cloudless, hot, sunbathing on a beautiful, rocky shore. The source of the great Pechora is soft and picturesque. And here we are at the foot of the Man-pupu-ner ridge, the climb takes 1.5 hours. The entire eastern slope is overgrown with Red Book flowers. Entire glades of purple orchis and snow-white lyubka.
And at 16.00 we are on the plateau. Idols are amazing. Fantastic place. Once on the plateau, you feel an extraordinary energy. I remembered the ancient Mansi legend that the pillars were once Samoyed giants who walked through the mountains to Siberia to destroy the Vogul people. But at the top of Man-pupu-ner, their shaman saw in front of him the sacred Vogul mountain Yalping-ner. In horror, he threw his tambourine and all his companions were petrified with fear. And the tambourine turned into Mount Koyp.
We reached the idols at the brink of strength. But, having rested, we decided to return to Pechora and make a good stop. It is very difficult to leave, the Pillars almost physically pull us towards them, not wanting to let us go. We constantly turn around.
We went home in a great mood. The tours did not take us to the Vologda border; we had to descend through the windfall for almost 2 hours. It got dark. We walked along the path, it turned out to be a bear path. You feel a cold sensation in the back of your head from the gaze of a bear lurking somewhere.
By 23.00 we reached Pechora. Today is the most difficult day.
24.07.09
A day is a little happiness. You don’t have to go anywhere, you don’t have to wear a backpack. We wash, do laundry, repair equipment. We sunbathe, unnoticeably burned.
25.07.09
We woke up at 8.00 from the stuffiness. Heat. Climbing to a height of 758.4 without a trail. We make our way through thickets that have no end. The climb is hard, it takes 3 hours. The clothes were soaked through. 10 hours have passed in the day.
26.07.09
Heat, +34. We could barely stand up, our legs hurt. We save water. We walked for 14 hours. We reached the town of Yanyghachechahl and unexpectedly came across a herd of deer. You feel delighted looking at animals in the bosom wildlife. They are at home. It got dark quickly, and in the darkness they looked for water and firewood. The tent was set up under the light of the fire at 24.00.
27.07.09
Heat, +35. The mountains on the horizon fascinate with their beauty. Chocolate for breakfast. Today we need to get to the city of Otorten. Yesterday we lost our legs on the kurum and could barely get out of the tent.
We met a strange girl, Dasha, from St. Petersburg, traveling alone, a student. Doesn't know how to use a compass. On the neck are cards and a whistle. She’s going to Man-pupu-ner, she’s burned, she’s barely going, and there’s still almost 100 km to go there. God will meet her.
We reached Lake Lunthusaptur (Mansi “goose nest lake”) by 23.00. According to Mansi legend, during the global flood, only one goose was saved on this lake.
The tent was set up on the shore of the lake. There is no firewood. Usually, on gas, water boils in 10-15 minutes, but here there is no wind, and in 40 minutes only small bubbles appeared in the boiler, the water was barely warm. They laughed that she was bewitched, drank some water and went to bed.
28.07.09
Quiet, fabulous morning on Lake Lunthusaptur. Yesterday's fatigue seemed to be blown away by the wind. Cloudless. Heat. Mountain Lake small, but very harmoniously combined with the surrounding landscape, with a car, a snowfield, and with a view of the city of Kholatchakhl. The water is icy, there are a lot of cloudberries on the shore.
We went around the lake, the climb to a height of 1073.7, very steep and long. Traverse along the peaks to the town of Kholatchakhl along the moss. My legs get stuck up to my knees and it’s difficult to walk. Overnight on the northern slope of Kholatchakhl. We drank “dead” water from a stream on the slope. Dinner on gas.
29.07.09
It's raining in the morning, everything is covered in fog. Visibility is 50 m, we are waiting for the weather. By lunchtime we reached the Dyatlov Pass. At the pass we met extreme sports enthusiasts on quad bikes. They say that they were at the hr. Chistop. Descent from the pass to the source of Auspiya in 1.5 hours.
There is an excellent parking area at the source. For dinner, rice with stew from the bookmark.
30.07.09
All day we walked along the path, in some places it coincides with streams, in others it is swampy.
31.07.09
We reached the ford across Auspiya, we are waiting for the car. The weather is sunny, the parking is in an excellent clearing. The water in Auspiya has risen significantly. We wash ourselves, we wash ourselves.
I’m sitting after a hearty lunch, rested, and it seems that everything was very simple, and time flew by like a blink. The pain, the rain, the cold, and the kilometers traveled were forgotten, and during our journey we covered about 240 km.
We saw not only the splendor of the Ural nature, but perhaps equally important, we tested our strength of character and felt the shoulder of a friend.
When a dream is achieved, life loses some meaning until the path to a new dream begins. These thoughts are spinning in my head and are connected with the end of our hike.
For lovers exotic countries and travel, I want to say that while striving for distant beauties, we sometimes do not notice the violets under our feet.
And if the idols of Man-pupu-ner are not a wonder of the world, then they are certainly one of the wonders of Russia - that’s for sure!
The Manpupuner plateau, on which the weathering pillars are located, is located in the Komi Republic on Mount Man-Pupu-Ner. These pillars are a unique and inimitable landmark of the Urals.
There are various legends about the appearance of these mysterious pillars. Weathering pillars are also called Mansi logs. In total, on the Manpupuner plateau there are 7 pillars with a height of 31 to 42 meters.
About 200 years ago, on the site of the Manpupuner pillars there were mountains. Many millennia have passed. Rain, snow, and winds destroyed the weak rocks, but the sericite-quartzite schists that made up the pillars remained. This is where the name “weathering pillars” came from.
In winter, the pillars are white and resemble crystal vases.
The legend of the Mansi people about the Manpupuner pillars.
The Manpupuner weathering pillars at a certain time were an idol for the Mansi people. Legends and myths were made about them.
According to one legend, in ancient times there lived a powerful Mansi tribe. Any man of this tribe could kill a bear with his bare hands. Such prosperity and power for the people was ensured by the spirits who lived on Mount Yalping-Nyer. The ruler of Mansi was Kuuschai, he had a daughter, Aim, and a son, Pygrychum. The giant Torev learned about the beauty of his daughter. He decided that he would take Aim as his wife at any cost. But the beauty refused him. When Pygrychum went to the mountains to hunt, taking some of the soldiers with him, Torev called his brothers, and together they went to the fortress where the beautiful Aim lived. With a large club, the giant destroyed both the tower where Aim cried out to the spirits for help, and the crystal castle, which shattered into thousands of fragments. By the way, since then, rock crystal fragments have been found in the Ural mountains. The girl had to hide under cover of darkness in the mountains with a handful of surviving warriors. At dawn, Aim heard the tramp of approaching giants, but it was at that moment that her brother Pygrychum arrived in time, who had returned from the hunt. The light that reflected from Pygrychum's shield hit the giants, and they turned into stones. The giants remained here forever and were called the “Mountain of Stone Idols.” Torev turned into a separate stone that resembles an inverted bottle.
In fact pillars on Manpupuner plateau much more, this group is just more crowded. In the Mansi language, weathering pillars are called Small Blockheads. Geologists believe that the seven pillars are kekurs. Kekurs are rocks that stand not in a mass, but separately, and have the shape of a pillar. People who have been near the pillars say that they were overcome by fear of such a height and the open space around them.
There is information that these places are places of worship, and rituals were held here. Tourists say that in this place you don’t want to eat, communicate, or drink.
Weathering pillars on the Manpupuner plateau in the Komi Republic are one of the 7 wonders of Russia, and every year more and more more tourists visit this unusual place.
Whatever they call this beautiful and mysterious place Northern Urals: Manpupuner, Man-Pupyg-Ner, Bolvano-Iz, Mansi idiots... Tourists usually call them briefly - "Navel". Weathering pillars Manpupuner are considered one of seven wonders of Russia.
Origin and legend of the name
Translated from the Mansi language "manpupuner" means "Small Mountain of Idols". And indeed, there are seven of these remains in total. Six pillars are lined up on a flat plateau, and one stands slightly to the side. Their height is from 30 to 42 meters. They all have bizarre shapes.
For Mansi This place has long been considered holy; they forbade going here. According to one legend, the stone pillars were in ancient times seven Samoyed giants who walked through the mountains with the goal of destroying the Vogul people. But, having risen to the plateau, their leader-shaman saw in front of him the sacred Vogul Mount Yalping-ner. In horror, he threw his drum to the top (it is now called Koip - “drum”) and all seven giants were petrified with horror. Since then they have stood on this mountain plateau.
How were they formed?
Being here, it is truly difficult to believe that these mysterious pillars were formed simply due to the destruction of the mountains. Nevertheless, it is so. The pillars were formed over many millions of years as a result of weathering. The weak rocks surrounding them collapsed, but these, which turned out to be harder rocks, survived and formed this miracle of nature. Plateau pillars Manpupuner in 2008 were recognized one of the seven wonders of Russia. During the voting, more than one and a half million votes were collected for them!
The virgin beauty of this place has been preserved due to its remoteness and inaccessibility. There are no populated areas within a radius of hundreds of kilometers. For this reason, random people prone to vandalism, fortunately, do not come here. Hike to Manpupuner for unprepared people, it is only available during pick-up and drop-off by helicopter. In case of hiking, it is accessible only to experienced, well-prepared tourists. The walking route usually takes about two weeks.
Author of the photo: Yuri Ilyenko Pass, weather and clothing
The weather in these northern mountains very cold and unpredictable. There are frequent fogs in which it is difficult to see the weathering columns and it is easy to get lost. The weathering pillars themselves are located on the territory Pechora-Ilychsky Nature Reserve and to visit them, in order to avoid problems, you need to obtain permission from his administration.
To do this, you need to write an application addressed to the director of the reserve. The application must indicate the expected duration of the trip, a list of group members, passport information and contact information. The reserve will issue you a pass and charge an environmental fee for it.
Author of the photo: Yuri Ilyenko Northern Urals – harsh region, and therefore going to winter trip To Mansi idiots, first of all, you need to take care of protecting yourself from extremely cold temperatures and wind, which can be very strong here. Special attention You should pay attention to a windproof (storm suit), warm expedition jacket and shoes, which should be warm enough and protected from snow getting inside.
How to get there?
Geographically, weathering pillars Manpupuner are situated in Trinity-Pechora region of the Komi Republic, in the interfluve Pechora rivers And Ichotlyaga. It is very difficult to get to them, since they are located in remote, inaccessible areas. Those with a lot of money can book a helicopter tour (however, the weather is not always favorable to tourists). The rest will have to walk for a long time.
For hikers there are two route options - from the side Komi Republic and from the side Sverdlovsk region. IN Komi Republic you must first get to the regional center Trinity-Pechorsk. There is a train from Syktyvkar. Then by car to Yaksha village, where to agree on a transfer up the Ilych by motor boat (almost 200 kilometers). After this, you have to walk another 38 kilometers. Assistance in transferring to Yaksha village can be obtained from the administration Pechora-Ilychsky Nature Reserve.
Author of the photo: Yuri Ilyenko Hike to Manpupuner from the outside Sverdlovsk region much longer and heavier. First you need to get to city of Ivdel(you can get there by bus or train from Ekaterinburg). IN Ivdel on the basis of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, you can agree on a transfer in an all-terrain vehicle up to Auspiya River. Having arrived, you need to walk along Auspiya River to the west about 20 kilometers, then climb the infamous
Many Finno-Ugric peoples still have legends about giants who lived in ancient centuries! For example, the Mari have legends about the Onars - great people created before the advent of man, and then destroyed by the gods by the heat of the sun for their incredible pride. Onar hills are found throughout the Mari region, and in the Morkinsky district of the RME there is even a memorial stone to Onar.
There were also finds of very large ancient bones!
Not all giants were generous - there were also evil giants; such legends were preserved among the northern peoples: the Mansi and the Komi. In any case, their memory is sacred, and their places of residence are surrounded by an aura of secrets and mysteries!
In all the legends about Man-Pupa-Ner, one constant motif remains - the presence of giants who wanted to destroy the Vogul tribe and the magical help of Yalpyngner.
It must be said that Man-Pupu-Ner has always been sacred place for the Voguls, but its strength was somewhat negative. It was strictly forbidden for an ordinary person to climb the Manpupuner plateau; only shamans had access there to recharge their magical powers.
Very close to the Manpupuner plateau there are several more Vogul sanctuaries - Tore-Porre-Iz, Solat-Chakhl (Dead Mountain), where, according to legend, nine Mansi hunters died, and where the legendary group of Igor Dyatlov died (already in our times). By the way, Dyatlov’s group also consisted of nine people. Yalpyngner itself is also not far away, and relatively close is the Prayer Stone (on the territory of the Vishera Nature Reserve), where there was also a temple and a sacred cave of the Voguls and Mansi. As you can see, not only Manpupuner deserves the epithet magical and magical, but undoubtedly he is the most beautiful and impressive.
LOCATION
Manpupuner or Weathering Pillars (Mansi logs) is a geological monument in the Troitsko-Pechora region of the Komi Republic of Russia. It is located on the territory of the Pechora-Ilychsky Nature Reserve on Mount Man-Pupu-ner (in the Mansi language - “small mountain of idols”), in the interfluve of the Ichotlyaga and Pechora rivers. Outliers - 7, height from 30 to 42 meters. Numerous legends are associated with it; before, the Weathering Pillars were objects of the Mansi cult.
They are located quite far from inhabited places. Only trained tourists can get to the pillars. To do this, you must obtain a pass from the administration of the reserve. From the Sverdlovsk region and Perm region There is walking route, from the Komi Republic side - a mixed route - road, water, walking route.
The Manpupuner weathering pillars are considered one of the seven wonders of Russia.
About 200 million years ago, there were high mountains in place of the stone pillars. Rain, snow, wind, frost and heat gradually destroyed the mountains, and especially weak rocks. The hard sericite-quartzite shales, from which the remains are composed, were destroyed less and have survived to this day, while the soft rocks were destroyed by weathering and carried by water and wind into depressions of the relief.
One pillar, 34 meters high, stands somewhat apart from the others; it resembles a huge bottle turned upside down. Six others lined up at the edge of the cliff. The pillars have bizarre outlines and, depending on the place of inspection, resemble either the figure of a huge man, or the head of a horse or ram. In past times, the Mansi deified grandiose stone sculptures and worshiped them, but climbing Manpupuner was the greatest sin.
Seeing this Miracle of Nature is not at all easy. Around, within a radius of one hundred kilometers, there is no human habitation, roads or railways. The rivers nearby are small streams, only one of them is destined, having absorbed a mass of tributaries, to become the full-flowing Pechora and bring its waters to the Arctic Ocean.
HOW TO GET TO THE PLATEAU
There are only two options to see this incredible creation of nature - either fly here by helicopter, or walk many kilometers through completely uninhabited places.
What we saw is impressive; no photographs or videos can convey the living power of the giants...
Very quickly you begin to believe in real power, to feel it emanating from this place. It is no coincidence that this place is considered one of the places of Power.
Opinions differ about the best time of year to conquer Manpupuner. Some people believe that the best way to travel to the end of the world is in winter, on skis. At this time, there are no mosquitoes, midges or gadflies, the swamps freeze, and the pillars themselves, covered with frost, look incredibly beautiful. And the speed of movement on skis is higher than on foot. There is only one minus and it is obvious - the temperature in the Ural mountains in January drops to minus 40 degrees Celsius.
The best summer month to visit the plateau is probably August. This is the warmest time of the year, there are fewer insects, and the water in the rivers decreases. It is at this time that from a bird’s eye view you can observe the pleasant red-yellow taiga, the piercing blue sky, rivers as clear as tears, breathe in the air sharp as a razor blade and enjoy the view of the majestic Manpupuner.
The plateau is located on the territory of the Pechora-Ilychsky Nature Reserve. The reserve has its own task - to preserve vegetation and other components of ecosystems. Therefore, the reserve’s workers plan the tourist flow so that there are not many people on its territory at the same time. There may also be bans related to the risk of forest fires.
The reserve's workers are doing a lot to make tourism here more “cultural.” A frame house was delivered and assembled to the plateau. It is expected that in bad weather it will be possible for tired travelers to spend the night there.
It should be noted that such a phenomenon as remnants and weathering columns is a very typical phenomenon for the Urals. The Ural Mountains are among the oldest on earth, and over the millions of years of their existence, bad weather and elements have battered them quite badly. So, no less beautiful and significant stone remains can be admired on the Torre-Porre-Iz plateau, in the Northern Urals near Krasnovishersk you can look at the Pomyanenny stone, you can also climb the Chuval, Kuryksar or Listvennichny ridges. Similar weathering pillars can be found everywhere. Of course, not as large-scale and pronounced as on Manpupuner, but no less picturesque.
In fact, on the Manpupuner plateau there are more than seven weathering pillars, just one group of seven pillars is more crowded.
In autumn there are fogs there, and the Pillars appear through the haze - there is something divine in this spectacle. They were created by nature, but looking at them, it’s hard to believe that something like this could be repeated by a person.
However, this is just a scientific version of the origin of the pillars on the Manpupuner plateau. Among the Voguls - local population Ural has other points of view. There are legends that explain the origin of the Small Blockheads (this is exactly what Manpupuner sounds like in the translation from the Mansi language).
The Mansi worshiped the remains as idols and created legends about them. Even now, looking carefully at the pillars, you can see images of fantastic animals or giant giants. Previously, this place was considered sacred, and climbing the mountain was strictly prohibited.
It is not surprising that the indigenous people surrounded this place with legends.
LEGENDS
Ancient Mansi legend
Legends and Mansi versions of the formation of stone pillars of the Small Mountain of Idols:
1. The Voguls, who roam here with their herds of reindeer, say that these stone pillars were once seven Samoyed giants who walked through the mountains to Siberia to destroy the Vogul people. But when they climbed to the top, now called Man-Pupu-Ner, their leader, the shaman, saw in front of him Yalping-Ner - the Sacred Vogul Mountain. In horror, he threw his drum, which fell on a high conical peak rising south of Man-Pupu-Nyor and called Koip, which means drum in Vogul. And the shaman and all his companions were petrified with fear.
2. Based on another version, behind the Younger Brothers, i.e. The Voguls were being chased by six Samoyed giants while they were trying to escape beyond the Stone Belt. At the source of the Pechora River at the pass, the giants had almost caught up with the Vogulichs, when suddenly a white-faced shaman, Yalpingner, appeared in front of them. He raised his hand and managed to cast one spell, after which all the giants turned to stone. Unfortunately, Yalpingner himself also turned to stone. Since then, they have stood against each other.
3. The next legend says that seven giant shamans went beyond Riphean to destroy the Voguls and Mansi. When they climbed Koyp, they saw the sacred Vogul mountain Yalpyngner (the most holy place for the Voguls) and understood the greatness and power of the Vogul Gods. They were petrified from horror, only the leader of the giants, the chief shaman, managed to raise his hand to shield his eyes from Yalpyngner. But this did not save him - he also turned into stone.
map anomalous places Komi Republic 
4. An ancient Mansi legend.
“In ancient times, in the dense forests, approaching the very Ural Mountains, lived the powerful Mansi tribe. The men of the tribe were so strong that they defeated a bear one on one, and so fast that they could catch up with a running deer.
The Mansi yurts contained a lot of furs and skins of hunted animals. Women made beautiful clothes from furs. Good spirits who lived on sacred mountain Yalping-Nyer, the Mansi helped because at the head of the tribe was the wise leader Kuuschai, who was in great friendship with the spirits. The leader had a daughter, the beautiful Aim, and a son, Pygrychum. The news of the beauty of young Aim spread far beyond the ridge. She was slender, like a pine tree that grew in a dense forest, and she sang so well that deer from the Ydzhid-Lyagi valley came running to listen to her.
The giant Torev (Bear), whose family hunted in the Kharaiz mountains, also heard about the beauty of the daughter of the Mansi leader. He demanded that Kuuschai give him his daughter Aim. But she refused, Aim laughing at this proposal. An angry Torev called his giant brothers and moved to the top of Torre Porre Iz to seize Aim by force. Unexpectedly, when Pygrychum and part of the warriors were hunting, giants appeared in front of the gates of the stone city. The whole day there was a hot battle at the fortress walls.
Under clouds of arrows, Aim climbed a high tower and shouted: “Oh, good spirits, save us from death! Send Pigrychum home! At the same moment, lightning flashed in the mountains, thunder roared, and black clouds covered the city with a thick veil. “Insidious,” Torev growled, seeing Aim on the tower. He rushed forward, crushing everything in his path. And only Aim managed to descend from the tower when it collapsed under the terrible blow of the giant’s club. Then Torev again raised his huge club and struck the crystal castle. The castle crumbled into small pieces, which were picked up by the wind and blown throughout the Urals. Since then, transparent fragments of rock crystal have been found in the Ural Mountains.
Aim and a handful of warriors disappeared under the cover of darkness into the mountains. In the morning they heard the sound of a chase. And suddenly, when the giants were ready to grab them, Pigrychum appeared in the rays of the rising sun with a shiny shield and a sharp sword in his hands, which the good spirits had given him. Pygrychum turned his shield towards the sun, and a fiery sheaf of light hit the eyes of the giant, who threw the tambourine aside. Before the eyes of the astonished brothers, the giant and the tambourine thrown aside began to slowly turn to stone. The brothers rushed back in horror, but, falling under the beam of Pigrychum’s shield, they themselves turned into stones.
Since then, for thousands of years they have stood on a mountain that the people called Man-Pupu-Nier (Mountain of Stone Idols), and not far from it rises the majestic peak Koip (Drum).
Every shaman from the Mansi tribe necessarily came to the sacred tract and drew his magical power from it.
The time of year changes, and the appearance of the area changes. The area is very impressive in winter, when Mansi boobies are completely white, like crystal.
Local peoples claim that in pagan times there was a holy temple on the plateau.
Very close to the Manpupuner plateau there are several more Vogul sanctuaries - Tore-Porre-Iz, Kholat-Chakhl (Mountain of the Dead or Dead Mountain), where, according to legend, nine Mansi hunters died. The legendary group of UPI students under the leadership of Igor Dyatlov died there (February 1959). By the way, Dyatlov’s group also consisted of nine people.
Yalpyngner itself is also not far away, and relatively close is the Prayer Stone (on the territory of the Vishera Nature Reserve), where there was also a temple and a sacred cave of the Voguls and Mansi.
In the Northern Urals, not only the Manpupuner plateau deserves the epithets “magical” and “magical”, but undoubtedly it is the most beautiful and impressive.
GENERAL INFORMATION - Man-pupu-ner plateau.
This plateau is considered the most iconic on the Ural ridge. In addition, it amazes with its beauty, so many tourists strive to visit there, but their first attempt is not always crowned with success.
The location of Man-pupu-ner is the Northern Urals, or rather, the reserve, which is located in these places and is called Pechero-Ilychsky, since the Pechera River originates in the same area. As mentioned above, the main attraction of the plateau are the seven weathering pillars. A person coming here cannot help but feel the mystical and mysterious influence of this unique place, especially close to the stone giants.
Geologists believe that the seven weathering pillars are kekurs. What are kekurs? This is the name for rocks that do not stand in a mass, but separately and have the shape of a pillar. They are obtained as follows: magma enters the voids of rocks from below, then it solidifies, forming oblong bodies. Over time, water, wind, temperature changes, affecting the stone, destroy it, turning it into sand. But bodies that were formed with the help of magma are much stronger than stone, and therefore are able to resist erosion for a longer period of time. Therefore, it happens that after the destruction of the sandstones, these “fingers” of the Earth still point to the sky. Of course, the above example is not the only reason for the occurrence of kekurs; there are others.
In the summer of 2008, seven weathering pillars located on the Ural ridge were officially recognized as one of the seven wonders of Russia. About two hundred million years ago, on the site of the plateau where these weathering columns are located, there were huge mountains consisting mainly of weak rocks. These breeds have been exposed to various natural phenomena: rain, wind, temperature, etc., which destroyed them. And only the weathering pillars have remained to this day in their original form. Geologists also call them remnants. Their composition is mainly represented by sericite-quartzite schists, which are more resistant to the vagaries of nature and time.
Six of the seven weathering pillars are located along the edge of the cliff, and the seventh is located further away from them. Each of the Mansi Blockheads has a unique and bizarre shape. Moreover, if you look at the weathering pillars from different sides, then each time you will see different images. You may imagine people, animals, objects. As we already mentioned, the seventh, separately standing pillar, looks like an inverted bottle resting its neck on the ground, and the sixth resembles the head of a horse, the fifth looks like a huge man. With the onset of winter, the Mansi Blockheads under a layer of ice look like crystal sculptures, and in the fall they seem to float above the ground in a foggy haze.
When these gigantic stones appear before your eyes, such a definition as a geological monument or the reasons for their occurrence, named by geologists, seem like a myth, and legends, on the contrary, seem like truth. The location of the plateau, on which seven weathering pillars stand, is also interesting. At the beginning of summer, when everything is green and blooming on the southern slope, on the northern slope the snow has not yet melted and it lies there until the beginning of August. People who have been near the Weathering Pillars say that they were overcome by a feeling of inexplicable fear. There is information that in these places there were ancient temples and places of worship to communicate with spirits. In addition, tourists note the peculiarity that there is no desire to communicate here, there is no need for food and water, and the head is free from thoughts about worldly things. Here you just want to contemplate and feel like a part of this world.
Sometimes stone giants make booming sounds, as if they are talking to each other. The weathering pillars are located at a great distance from each other, and around them, as if encircling them, there are ridges of stones and boulders. It turns out something like a stone miraculous wall, bordering a plateau with kekurs.
How to get to the Mansi weathering pillars.
The path to them is quite difficult and distant, not everyone can do it. It requires a lot of patience, enormous willpower and, of course, funds. There are two routes to the weathering pillars on the Ural ridge.
The first one is pedestrian.
It can be started from the Sverdlovsk region or from Perm. If you decide to take such a route, then you should know that it will take about ten days or more to overcome it. First you need to get by train or car from Syktyvkar to Troitsko-Pechorsk, then continue by car to the village of Yaksha, then go to water transport (motor boat) and cover two hundred kilometers on it. Then the walking path begins - about forty kilometers. Therefore, before deciding on such a trip, soberly assess your strength. Otherwise, the impression will be spoiled. The path itself can be classified as the third category of difficulty; for an unprepared person it is an almost impossible task. Strong winds, thick fog, freezing rain - these are not all the “delights” awaiting you along the route.
And the second is by air by helicopter, but this is quite expensive. The helicopter departs from Ukhta with a refueling stop in Troitsko-Pechorsk. This time travel will last a little over four hours. Since the weathering pillars were recognized as one of the seven wonders of Russia, this attracts great attention from tourists to them. That is why helicopter tours to the plateau are offered for unprepared people.
More than two hundred people a year decide to reach the Mansi pillars. But quite recently only athletes and scientists could get there.
Having overcome all the difficulties of the difficult hike to the Man-pupu-ner plateau, you will not only see this miracle with your own eyes, but also believe in your own strength. Being in close proximity to the weathering pillars, you will understand that nothing is impossible for you in the world. The nature here breathes pristine nature, the atmosphere is mysterious and mystical, and the shape of the Mansi Blockheads and the sounds they make simply convince you of the truth of the legend, completely rejecting the conclusions of geologists. However, what and who you believe is up to you to decide.
TRIP TO MANPUPUNER
...If you look at even the smallest-scale, ordinary map Russian Federation, painted with motley patches of regions, it is not difficult to find in the middle of the Urals a place where four patches converge - the Perm region, the Komi Republic, the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug and the Sverdlovsk region. There, on the flat top of one of the mountains, seven stone giants rise, as if huge giants suddenly turned into rock idols. This is the Manpupuner plateau, where I went in July 2009. Its incredible landscapes for a long time were little known to the general public, but in 2008 the idols unexpectedly took one of the places in the list of 7 wonders of Russia at a national competition from the Izvestia newspaper.
It would seem - not so far, only one and a half thousand km from Moscow and about 600 km in a straight line from Yekaterinburg. It cannot be compared with the enormous distances and remoteness somewhere in Evenkia or Yakutia. But let’s open a more detailed map, with relief, roads, settlements. And it turns out that this is one of the most remote places in the Urals: around within a radius of one hundred kilometers there are neither cities nor any human habitation; Railways and roads bypass this area. The rivers nearby are narrow streams, although one of these streams is destined to absorb a lot of tributaries and reach the Arctic Ocean under the name of the powerful, deep-flowing Pechora. Unless a helicopter can get there quickly and without problems, and even then, it depends on what the weather is like.
Therefore, having soberly assessed my strengths, and most importantly, the number of vacation days, I sent an application to one of the Syktyvkar travel agencies. Formally, the tour started from there, but it was more convenient for me to take a train ticket from Moscow to Mikun station - a junction on the railway route to Vorkuta, from where the line to Syktyvkar begins. On the evening of July 25, there I boarded the terribly slow and stuffy train Syktyvkar - Troitsko-Pechorsk, the highest class of cars in it was a reserved seat. By the way, he had a parking lot of 123 minutes - so that no one would be late))
On a hot Sunday afternoon, a small three-car train arrived at the Troitsko-Pechorsk station, lost in the forest 15 km from the town of the same name. Among the passengers, fellow tourists from Moscow, Syktyvkar and Perm were immediately identified: they were not at all surprised by the word “Manpupuner”, reacting to it cheerfully and with enthusiasm. A white Gazelle was promised, but Igor, our guide, showed up instead. His first question was “are there any experienced tourists among us?” The question alarmed me a little - was he really going there for the first time too? However, it soon became clear that Igor had been to Manpupuner 3.5 times, he just didn’t lead large groups.
Then the same “Gazelle” drove up and teleported the participants to a nice Troitsko-Pechora cafe, where a delicious and beautifully served lunch was served, even with wine. I was especially pleased with the okroshka.
At this point, our acquaintance with the regional center of the most dense region in the Komi region temporarily ended, and we drove 80 km to the confluence of the Pechora and its large tributary - the Ilych River. cellular died already a few kilometers from Troitsko-Pechorsk, and for the next week there was no news from " big land"We didn't arrive.
On the shore of Pechora, three light, very elongated boats with powerful engines were already waiting for us. These are the ones that the entire population of Ilych travels on. Each one calmly loaded 3-4 people with backpacks and a motorist-helmsman, but in principle it was possible to load twice as many. And we set sail upstream, lying comfortably on the bottom of the boat, on our backpacks. One could enjoy the clear sky, a light breeze along the river, look at the pebbles at the bottom, the endless taiga along the banks - only here and there were glimpses of hay poles on small coastal hayfields. While still on the boat, you can successfully sleep, read magazines, listen to music, eat food - just a cruise!
A few hours later we moored near the village of Eremeevo, which is located on the high right bank of the Ilych. One of the local residents let us spend the night in an empty house called a “dacha” (although she herself lived across the street). They also heated a bathhouse for us and opened a store specially for us.
The next day, having said goodbye to the good-natured residents of Eremeev and, out of absent-mindedness, leaving them with a number of items, we again boarded the already familiar watercraft. It was planned to sail almost the whole day, so we got up early and prepared ourselves for a long time lying in the boats. Some even managed to sleep in them.
But everything turned out differently. A couple of hours later we sailed to the border of the Pechora-Ilych Nature Reserve and stopped at its first cordon along the Ilych. A grandiose sign with a coat of arms, contrasting with the modest houses on the shore, said - we have arrived at the Izpyred cordon.
With a guide at our head, we walked up the steps clinging to the slope and greeted the local ranger. Looking thoughtfully at the quiet surface of Ilych, the owner of the cordon leisurely tarred his cigarette. “So, tourists have gathered for the navels? Well, let’s give you your permission.” And then everyone, and especially the guide Igor, became confused. As it turned out, Igor did not have any documents confirming our right to enter the protected area. The organizers promised him that everyone in the reserve had already been notified of our arrival...
“No pass - no way to Manpupuner” - this was the huntsman’s verdict. and turn around, slurping lightly, at the very first cordon - that would be too offensive... Meanwhile, the main office of the reserve is located in Yaksha, far up the Pechora from Ust-Ilych - a day's sail on a motorboat. Natasha remembered that she was carrying some papers with her from a travel agency, but it turned out to be just an agreement on the tour itself, which had nothing to do with the reserve...
However, it soon became clear - at 4 o'clock in the afternoon, oh luckily, the huntsman will contact the center, that is, Yaksha, by radio - and there, perhaps, they will confirm our right to visit. It wasn’t even 10 yet, and we suddenly had a lot of free time.
Without starting the engines, we boarded the boats again and slowly floated downstream. Already accustomed to the loud rumble of engines, we enjoyed the unusual silence, the amazingly smooth surface of the river, which carried us along its waters, as if on angelic wings.
After crossing a small riffle and passing the sign “Pechora-Ilych Nature Reserve” perched on a rock, the fishermen unsheathed their spinning rods and began hunting for grayling. A couple of hundred meters later we moored next to the powerfully rising Izpyred rock, which gave the name to the cordon. Translated from Komi-Zyryan it means “stone exit”, or in the literary translation “rock exit”. Due to excess time, our modest squad decided to conquer it. From the river, the rock seemed impregnable, so we climbed up the side of the slope, through windbreaks, rocky cornices, deep moss holes... But the view from above made us forget all this: ahead, like a freely thrown ribbon, the endless expanses of green parma were cut through by the Ilych water, calling us there , forward, to the Ural Mountains still hidden behind the horizon; and somewhere far below on the sand our boats lay, and motor fishermen were boiling the grayling they had caught over a fire. I wanted to fly even higher into the sky, like two huge eagles that we scared off from their nest while climbing to the top.
Having taken plenty of photographs at the very edge of the rocky teeth of Izpyred, which somewhat resembled a huge stone throne, we went down and, cheerfully splashing along the gravel spit, hurried to sandy shore Elder Ilych. It was this place from above that looked like the best for swimming. A VIP beach was opened here. The waters of Ilych were pleasantly cooling after climbing the mountains and forests in the full sun... And then - sandwiches, boiled grayling, tea again - there was still plenty of time.
Finally, at the appointed time, we returned to the Izpyred huts again. The base gave the go-ahead, the huntsman waved his hand up Ilych, adding: “You should go there!” And without wasting any time, we gave the gas and sailed on. The Ilych became narrower, the rocks along the banks rose more and more often, and on the rifts the motorists had to make tricky maneuvers, almost swimming across the river and in the opposite direction. To keep the engine from hanging in the air, we had to move from the stern closer to the bow. Sometimes you even had to take out poles and, pushing them off the bottom, get off the ground - just like in ancient times, when the “pole” method was one of the main ones for moving up the Ilych and all the other Pechora rivers. Another method is “on a whip”; however, we did not have a chance to try it.
Soon the most famous and beautiful rocks in this section of Ilych - “Lek-Iz”, “bad stone”. Here the ice appears first and last to melt, and under the rock above a twenty-meter depth a treacherous whirlpool swirls... It is clear that such a place did not cause much joy among the local residents.
After drinking tea at a beautiful cordon with the complex name “Shezhimdykost”, in the evening we saw several houses on the left bank of the river. This was the Ust-Lyaga cordon. Here Ilych and I had to diverge: Ilych went sharply to the north, and our path went to the southeast, to the mountains. Interestingly, two rivers named Lyaga flow into Ilych here: Ydzhyd-Lyaga and Ichet-Lyaga. Even without being a connoisseur of Komi-Zyryan, it’s easy to guess - this means Big and Small. By the way, this is the first geographical object starting with the letter “Y” that I visited.
The reserve is gradually preparing to receive a stream of people who want to look at the third miracle of Russia, and therefore a guest house and a bathhouse have already been built at the cordon. True, there is nothing inside the house yet, and even the windows have not been installed yet. Therefore, I had to sleep either in a tent or with a lit mosquito coil. They cooked right on the bank of the Ilych, on a grill, climbing up and down a steep slope without any stairs.
A night that was no longer completely white, but certainly not black and starry, fell over Ilych. I needed to get some sleep and gain strength before starting the hiking route tomorrow...
At early dawn, the Ilych silence was disturbed by the trill of my mobile phone, the only one in the whole group, we quickly had a snack, stuffed food supplies for four days into our backpacks and set off. The motorists took us to the peninsula formed by two Lyags and Ilych, we shouldered the loads and set off. A new participant in the hike was walking ahead - guide Sasha, whom the reserve allocated to us. For him, this trip was as common as for a city dweller - a trip from one room of the apartment to another. The guide quickly won everyone's sympathy and told us a lot of interesting things about life and work in the reserve, which serves as his home - after all, on this land he, a native Komi-Zyryan, was born and raised.
With fresh strength, we walked immediately behind the guide along an almost straight, rather wide path, cleared of dead wood and windfalls. Its beginning was hidden in the floodplain bushes of Ydzhyd-Lyagi - without knowing, you are unlikely to find it. We stopped at kilometer No. 1, marked by a freshly cut post with a number. Having lit a cigarette, Sasha said that we were walking along an ancient road - the Sibiryakovsky tract, which goes all the way to the Ob River. 
This is very interesting topic, so let's digress for a historical excursion.
The active development by Russians of the North, the Pechora region and Siberia since the 14th century was possible thanks to the developed river network. Rivers were the only “highways” - in winter on sleighs, in summer on boats and rafts it was possible to cover quite long distances. The only major obstacle was Ural ridge, or a stone - through it it was necessary to look for portages, i.e. places where, firstly, the upper reaches of Asian and European rivers come close to each other (the portage should be short), and secondly, the pass between them is as low as possible. These conditions are best met by the Sobsky Passage in the Polar Urals, where the Railway on Labytnangi. But if you move this way from the south of Siberia to the central and northern part of European Russia, you will have to make too much of a detour.
In search of the shortest route from the Pechora basin to the Ob, Novgorodians already in the 14th century explored a portage through Shchugor to the Lyapin River - north of Manpupuner, on the border of the Northern and Subpolar Urals. Sources from the 15th-16th centuries regularly mention campaigns of Russian princes along this route.
But the real flourishing of routes through the Northern Urals dates back to the end of the 19th century. By this time, grain production had expanded in Siberia. One of the main sales areas was the Russian North; in addition, grain could be exported from Arkhangelsk by sea.
Irkutsk merchant Alexander Mikhailovich Sibiryakov, born in 1849 into a wealthy family of gold miners, seriously thought about solving the issue of creating a convenient, reliable and economically profitable route from Siberia to the European North. The Trans-Siberian Railway had not yet been built, and along horse-drawn roads stretching for thousands of miles you couldn’t transport much... At first, Sibiryakov’s eyes turned to the Northern Arctic Ocean- he pinned his hopes on studying the Northern sea route as a future freight route. He had no shortage of funds, and Sibiryakov invested money in the expeditions of Nordenskiöld and Grigoriev, and participated in them himself. But the harsh customs of the polar seas, after several unsuccessful expeditions, forced him to reconsider his bold plans: “... there are sufficient grounds to draw the conclusion that voyages there [to the Kara Sea] are associated with great risk and are of an uncertain nature, therefore for commercial targets are inconvenient, sometimes the Kara Sea actually becomes free of ice, but this happens rarely. In addition, there is nowhere to renew the supply of coal or provisions, there is no telegraph..."
Then Sibiryakov “returned from sea to land” and in 1884 undertook a journey from the upper reaches of the Pechora to the Ob, with the aim of reconnaissance of a route for the construction of an overland road. And already in 1885, the first Sibiryakovsky highway was put into operation - 170 versts between the village of Shchugor on Pechora and Lyapin (now Saranpaul) on the Ob. Cargoes were transported to the beginning of the route by water in the summer, stored, and in the winter, with the establishment of a sled route, transported through the Urals. The width of the road was 3 fathoms (1 fathom = 2 m 13 cm), along the way there were 5 rest stations for coachmen.
But the tireless entrepreneur did not stop there - a few years later a new, even shorter route through the Urals was found. Only 120 versts was the more southern, Ilych-Sosvinskaya dirt road, already up to 6 fathoms wide. This is exactly the road we followed! The road began at the shore of Ilych; on the site of the current cordon there was the village of Ust-Lyaga. Then the road took the shortest route to the south-east-east, skirting steep slopes, crossing the Urals and reaching the bank of the Northern Sosva River, a tributary of the Ob.
Giving access to products from Siberia to Pechora meant for Sibiryakov not only to provide the Pechora population with cheap food, but also to change the direction of Russian trade routes in favor of Siberia. Siberian cargo was exported to the Pechora region, Mezen district, Murmansk coast, Northern Norway, and Denmark. His path in all respects had advantages over the traditional Volga path, because The delivery time for goods was reduced threefold, and the delivery itself became significantly cheaper. It was calculated that delivery of each type of goods by road provided a saving of approximately 24 kopecks.
But no matter how short the new route was, horse-drawn transport could not compete with the railway. The rails and sleepers of the Trans-Siberian Railway were quickly laid to the east, the turnover of goods and the speed of transportation on the “iron horse” were far ahead of the slow-moving barge and horse... Siberian grain was taken to Europe, it rose sharply in price, and already in 1898 both routes were closed.. And in 1947, parallel to the roads, although to the north, a railway, the infamous “construction 501”, passed, and Sibiryakov’s dream of a reliable connection between the Ob and Pechora was fulfilled...
... Sibiryakov himself died in exile, in poverty, far from his homeland - in Nice in 1923. Apart from several Swedes, in whose expeditions to the north he once invested millions, no one else came to the funeral, and in the USSR he was buried long ago - in many encyclopedias the date of his death is listed as 1893...
But let's return to our path, which was once a highway. Of course, there are no 6 fathoms for a long time, and it’s hard to believe that coachmen once dashed here to drive reindeer with heavily loaded sleighs. However, thanks to the efforts of the reserve, the trail is being cleared (for snowmobiles), and this year, “milestones” were installed at every kilometer.
After having lunch at the 12th kilometer on the bank of the river, around four in the evening we came to a fork at the 18th kilometer, where we were greeted by the emblem of the reserve with an elk on a sign.
Here we left the convenient path and went strictly south, along the quarterly clearing. After another couple of kilometers, we emerged from the forest onto the steep cliff of Ydzhyd-Lyagi, and ahead, right on the horizon, the mysterious silhouettes of the Manpupuner pillars were clearly visible. This sight inspired everyone - we are already close to the goal!
Having gone down the slope and crossed the river, we stopped for the night. There was already a fireplace and a canopy, as well as a wooden platform for future houses - an excellent foundation for a tent. The mushrooms collected along the way made a wonderful soup.
Finally, the time has come for the final, decisive push to the top. We only had to walk 18 km - which is less than 20 on the first day - and we were there. Having seen the beginning of the trail, known only to the conductor and guide, right behind the neighboring birch tree from my tent, we continued moving due south, interrupted by the river. Having walked 10 km, we stopped for lunch not far from the stream along which we had to climb up. Then the path meandered along the stream, skirted windfalls and swamps, and, on top of everything else, went uphill. After some time, the slopes of the valley rose on the sides, and it became clear that it was time to go up.
For the first time, we abandoned the paved road and climbed up a rather steep slope, jumping over kurumnik stones and skirting fallen trees. The forest began to thin out, the other side of the valley began to appear, the eye took in larger and larger expanses of the taiga - individual trees, past which we walked all the time, suddenly merged into a huge, vast sea. I climbed the mountain and looked ahead, periodically stopping to catch my breath. But only a slope loomed ahead, gradually turning into an open plateau overgrown with reindeer moss. Even the smallest trees, twisted by mountain snowstorms, were left behind. And then someone shouted to me: “Look to your left!” I turned my head and was dumbfounded: the tops of huge, almost black, cracked, irregularly shaped pillars peeked out from over the edge of the hill, like the caps of some gigantic mushrooms! They were still far away, about a kilometer, but the scale was already shocking. With every step they became more and more visible, and now they all appeared in their entirety, lined up in a grandiose line, as if in a parade, looking in surprise at the tiny travelers approaching their foot...
I forgot about fatigue, the steep climb, the heavy backpack on my back and sore feet. My hands naturally reached for the camera holster, I hurried to snap them away at different distances, as if these timid “models” might suddenly get scared and run away. I couldn’t believe that, after two years of dreams and assumptions, they are now very close, and any minute now you can touch them with your hand!
Having climbed to the very top and squeezed into the gap between the two most massive pillars, we threw our backpacks onto the windswept area and began to wander through the crisp moss in search of successful photographs. My feet were already worn out by wet boots, and therefore I did not take part in excursions to other edges of the plateau, I only wandered around the main seven pillars. But there was also a huge scope for photography.
By the way, I mentioned the wind for a reason. My tent, carelessly secured with only pegs, got ready for a long flight, heading somewhere to the Sverdlovsk region, but was stopped in time by the participants of the hike. Only the heavy cobblestones, about 10 kilograms at each corner, gave it some stability. The wind speed was no less than 20 m/s, but only at the top - having descended 100-200 meters, you found yourself in peace and quiet.
On Ural mountains evening has fallen. Tired of the long journey, we sat down on the warm stones, as if on the seats of a huge amphitheater, and began to look to the west, where the sun was slowly setting. The light, falling at an acute angle to the horizon, depicted countless fir trees in Parma, a kurumnik on the neighboring mountains and a tiny, almost melted snowfield opposite. As far as the eye could see, at 360 degrees there was only taiga, taiga, taiga, mountains and sky. And there are no signs of humans - no housing, no roads, no power lines, no traces of clearings. Not even a single plane in the sky, only Venus glowing lonely as a white speck. And under your feet, on the plateau, there was not a tin can or even a piece of paper. There was a complete feeling that the whole planet around was a wild world, and you were the first person to set foot on its soil.
While admiring the beauty of the idiots, we suddenly heard a timid voice behind us: “Can you take a picture of me here?” There were no barriers to surprise: a young girl stood next to her, and all she had was a small digital camera. “You... how did you get here???
- I came on foot. - Where? - From the side of the Dyatlov Pass, through Ivdel and Vizhay. - And how long did you walk? - Six days. -Where is your group? “I came alone.” Here my jaw, along with the rest of the hikers, simply dropped to the bottom of my boots. We crawled here for two days along the trail and were exhausted, but she walked alone, and more than difficult route, which no one cleared, without a guide, conductor and GPS. I read a lot of reports on the topic of approaches from the Sverdlovsk region and understood that this was the route for experienced tourists, who are accustomed to multi-day hikes in uninhabited areas with heavy backpacks. It never occurred to me that such a route could be completed alone, much less by a girl.
It turned out that her name is Dasha and she is from St. Petersburg. Having learned that a guide from the reserve was with us, she was very frightened by the formidable punishments and fines on his part - Dasha, of course, did not have any pass. But, being amazed by her courage, Sasha did not even begin to write her down in the log of violators, but, on the contrary, began to tell the intricacies of the further path (Manpupuner was only the beginning of her route, she was still going to go to Torre Porre Iz, and return to civilization only through half a month).
The sun hid somewhere in Europe, and we returned to the tents and decided to celebrate the “capture” of the boobies. But it was impossible to light a fire: there was no firewood or water under the logs, and in addition, strong gusts of warm wind were whistling.
I had to get out. Sasha went to a spring on the slope for water, we all climbed into one of the tents and managed to put a gas burner with a can that was lying in my backpack there. Having violated all fire and mountain safety rules, we boiled tea and drank it instantly, adding the delicious “Power of Life” balm and munching on sausage sandwiches.
Sleep at the top was short-lived: already at 2.30 my phone rang, which became an alarm clock. Meeting the dawn was on the agenda. Having described a huge circle in a few hours, the sun slowly appeared from another part of the world - Asia. The colors of the sunrise were even softer than the sunset, the blockhead stones came to life and acquired relief, as if processed by a skilled jeweler. There was almost no wind anymore, but the summit was enveloped in the cold of the night. The chilliest ones pulled sleeping bags out of the tent and took refuge in them. After admiring the view to the east, we tried to fight the spell of Morpheus, but our forces were unequal.
The second ascent took place three hours later. There was no talk of any breakfast - it was arranged only six kilometers later, where a block clearing met a stream and there was a fairly comfortable area. This time no one was in a hurry: they ate breakfast slowly, leisurely, dozed under the pine trees, dried their shoes... Only thirty kilometers of the return journey remained ahead, and behind them were still very fresh memories of a successfully achieved goal.
Having rested well and had breakfast, the next 10 km along the clearing were sped up cheerfully.
Soon we were pleased to see the familiar parking spot. Here a surprise awaited us: traces of an unknown group visiting the place were discovered. There were bulls and cans lying next to the fire, despite the fact that smoking and leaving garbage are generally prohibited in the reserve. If the group had walked with a guide from the reserve, this would have been impossible. And at the Ust-Lyaga cordon, except for us, there were no tourists, and there was only one road to Manpupuner. By the way, early in the morning, just around this parking lot, smoke could be seen - another sign of the mysterious guests. The only version is that they came from Torre Porre Iz, and shortly before our arrival they left in the opposite direction.
The supplies suspended from the ceiling of the canopy remained safe and sound; no mice or other animals ate them. Remembering the cold of the previous night on Ydzhyd-Lyag, I set up a tent on the boards and put on warm clothes, but there were no attacks of cold, and I didn’t have to get up at 4 am.
We took a last look from the high bank of the Ydzhyd-Lyagi at the taiga around the boobies sticking out on the horizon. Apparently, out of sadness at parting with them, someone burned their shoes here...
There were only 20 km left to go, but my legs were already pretty worn out, and my supplies of plaster had come to an end. For the first 3-4 km I slowly trudged along at the end. But then our guide Igor found a particularly successful adhesive plaster and gave it to me, and I got a second and third wind at the same time. The speed noticeably increased, it felt as if wings had grown behind my back, and my legs were carrying me forward. To the surprise of the other participants in the hike, I soon found myself in front, and it was not they who were waiting for me, but I, who were waiting for them at the “smoke break” at the next river. The rest of the journey was the most dismal, as a boring drizzling rain began to fall, soaking all the grass in the forest, and this time my boots got wet not from below, from the swamps, but from above, by atmospheric means. We must take boots, we must take boots, I repeated to myself. The only positive moment was that I came across a place with abundant blueberry growth, and for the first time during the hike and in general this year I ate my fill of it properly.
The kilometer posts rode in reverse order, and finally a clearing loomed ahead - a river! All that remains is to walk along the shore, turn the corner and end up on Ilych, and there was already a motorboat there! We're out of the forest, hurray, hurray!
At the cordon we were allowed to heat the guest bathhouse - needless to say, with what enthusiasm this idea was received. True, we had to carry the water ourselves directly from the river along a steep, slippery slope, where there was not even a ladder. I had a stash of beer purchased in Eremeev, but it turned out that at the cordon itself you can replenish your stocks of foamy and other drinks. The return from the forest was celebrated nicely, in addition to this, they fried a huge frying pan of boletuses, which came across every now and then along the way. The holiday was double - it turned out that Lena from our group had a birthday on this very day!
The motorists stayed too long on the shore, so early the next morning they happily started the engines on the boats and took us back.
Going down the Ilych is both faster and more fun - it’s easier to go through the riffles.
Again I took plenty of photographs of different coastal species. We stopped again in Eremeevo and had a great lunch there as a guest of one of our mechanics. In general, the village is clean and tidy. They say that on the other side, in Priuralsky, everything is the other way around. At about 6 o'clock, the Gazelle appeared on the horizon at the confluence of the Pechora and Ilych. Getting closer to civilization again! Finally, shortly before Troitsko-Pechorsk, the phones started working again, and I was finally able to tell my beloved that everything was fine with me - after all, there had been no communication at all for a week.
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SOURCE OF INFORMATION AND PHOTO:
Team Nomads
http://turbina.ru/
http://manpupuner.ru/
http://www.manorama.ru/
http://www.pripolar.ru/man_pupuner/
Legends of Weathering Pillars
A. Kemmerich “Northern Urals” Chapter IV. To the land of caves and stone idols
Wikipedia website
http://pics.photographer.ru/
http://s1.fotokto.ru/
The weathering pillars in Komi are classified as one of the seven wonders of Russia and are of natural origin. They are represented by seven vertical stone blocks ranging from 30 to 42 m in height, formed by hard shale rock. The softer sediments were washed away over millions of years of natural erosion.
A developed imagination draws figures of various creatures in the forms of stone massifs, being fertile ground for the emergence of rumors and myths.
The popularity of the plateau among tourists is caused not only by its unusual and breathtaking view, but also centuries-old history the place itself, which is of key importance in the legends of indigenous peoples. Mount Manpupuner (“Mountain of Idols”), on which the pillars are located, belongs to the territory of the Pechora-Ilychsky Nature Reserve and is a nature conservation area.
Despite the beauty of natural places, tourist travel routes in the Urals attract much fewer people than routes in a milder climate. It is recommended to visit the plateau with stone sculptures in the warm season, mainly in summer. Autumn weather is poorly predictable, and snowfall can occur as early as the second half of September.
The total number of tourists per year does not exceed several hundred, so the routes are often deserted. It is best to travel in a group and have minimal tourist experience, since even a short hike through the taiga is very tiring.
How to get to the weathering pillars
There are several route options that differ in time, complexity of routes and financial costs:
- Helicopter flight is the most expensive event, but the fastest. You can get to your destination and return back within one daylight hours. This type of tourism is suitable for those who want to visit the most scenic spots, however, is not prepared for the difficulties of walking. On this moment flights landing on the plateau have been suspended due to the reconstruction of the helipad;
- Hiking – you can go to Mount Manpupuner from the Perm or Sverdlovsk regions. The most popular route is from Ivdel;
- combined trip from Troitsko-Pechorsk - includes river rafting on a boat or catamaran and further hiking.
Almost every tourist route have to hire automobile transport– UAZ or Ural, so you need to be prepared for additional expenses. The UAZ will not be able to go as far as the Ural, so part of its journey will have to be done on foot. It is better to upload a detailed route to GPS, especially if you have little experience walking in the taiga.
GPS routes can be found on thematic forums or websites. You can also use the coordinates of the most noticeable landmarks.
To assess the difficulties of the path on foot, it is worth reading the report on its passage.
Routes for amateurs and experienced tourists
Trekking to Mount Manpupuner from Ivdel.
The total length of the route is about 200 km. It is better to go in a group of at least 4 people - it will be safer and reduce transportation costs.
You can get to the plateau in several stages:
- first by train to Ivdel (Ivdel-1 station);
- in Ivdel we hire Ural, which will take us to the starting point - the mouth of the Auspiya River;
- From the mouth of the river, a pedestrian crossing begins - the main part of the route.
After visiting the plateau, you can return the other way or take an easier route and hire a motor boat to Troitsko-Pechorsk from the Ust-Lyaga cordon.
Combined route from Troitsko-Pechorsk.
Refers to a simpler type of hike if you rent watercraft rather than use your own. Main stages of the journey:
- We arrive in Syktyvkar (by plane or train), from which we head to Troitsko-Pechorsk (by train);
- from the city we take a bus to Ust-Ilych;
- we rent a boat and raft down the Ilych River to the Ust-Lyaga cordon;
- if you are lucky and manage to negotiate with someone at the cordon (the boat from Ust-Ilych will not be allowed further), you can approach the weathering pillars even closer through the water.
You shouldn’t count on this too much, so initially plan your supplies and time with the expectation of walking from the cordon. Depending on the distance traveled by water, you will have to walk 25-40 km.
Features of visiting the mountain
Since the final goal of the hike is located on the territory of the reserve, you must take care in advance to obtain permission to visit it.
Details of the application and information about environmental protection measures are posted on the website http://www.pechora-reserve.ru
If the route starts from Ivdel, you can expect to reach Mount Manpupuner without a pass. In the latter case, you need to be prepared to pay a fine of up to 5,000 rubles. for being in a protected area without permission.
What can and cannot be done on Mount Manpupuner?
The territory of the plateau belongs to a protected zone, therefore the management of the reserve prohibits any actions related to disruption of the ecosystem.
It is prohibited to set up a camp on the mountain itself, so to spend the night you will have to walk about three kilometers to the southeast to the bank of the river. Pechory. The territory of the plateau is completely visible from the observation post, so it is unlikely that you will be able to escape unnoticed.
No more than 10 people per week are allowed on Manpupuner. This decision is due to the fact that a rare variety of white moss grows on its top, adding only 5 mm per year. For the same reason, a special helipad is now being installed on the mountain.
Rarely will a tourist go on a hike to the same place twice, so don’t be lazy to capture the pillars from all possible angles on your way. 
The remaining photos and videos will be the best reminder of the journey and will inspire you to discover yet unexplored corners of our country.
