The Novosibirsk region has a unique place. Locals nicknamed them "St. John's Wort." The origin of such an appellation is not known for certain, we can only assume that the animals that lived in this place often crashed, falling from steep slopes. These are the Berd rocks.
Natural monument
Recently (since 2000) St. John's wort is a reserved place at the regional level, which became such at the initiative of the council of local deputies. And no wonder - a person has not yet fully learned how to protect natural gifts. The territory of the object is taken under protection to preserve the unusual ecological system - here the steppe plain harmoniously coexists with the forest, creating a symbiosis of the animal and plant world.
Flora and fauna
The forest growing on the slopes is represented mainly by coniferous trees - pines, but there are also deciduous trees - birch, willow, bird cherry, which makes it mixed; Steppe vegetation is not diverse and is represented mainly by all species of feather grass, wormwood, bluegrass. Another diverse type of vegetation is mosses, they grow everywhere and number 49 species, from wet to dry, growing on rocky slopes. Mosses are a specially protected object of these places.
The fauna is also diverse - all species are found, starting with insects (many of the representatives of the class are poorly studied) and invertebrates (you can even find vipers), ending with warm-blooded animals. Many inhabitants of the flora and fauna represented in this ecosystem are listed in the Red Book of the Novosibirsk Region.
As the natives of Berd rocks are called
To all this splendor, rocks are found, which is completely unusual for these places. There is even an opinion that this rocky islet was "lost" either in the Altai mountains or in the Salair mountains. And the locals nicknamed him all the same "Altai pocket." However, this is a completely different place, one of a kind. The fact is that Berd’s cliffs are actually several in the region, but the place called “St. John’s Rock” differs from the rest in picturesque nature. How to distinguish it? If you stand at the highest point and look down, you will notice that the Berd River (in whose honor the official name was given) flows at the foot and coils in a bizarre manner, resembling the Latin letter U.
Geology
The Berd rocks themselves are of magmatic origin, their main component is diabase. In some places in the mountains there are so-called Kurumniks, this is the Turkic word, which literally means “stone river”. Siberians called the huge boulders rolling down the rocks. Tourists need to be careful with them, especially in the winter season, when boulders can be mistaken for harmless snowdrifts and accidentally stumble upon.
Geographic data
The area of the Berdsky Rocks nature monument is quite large - about 30 hectares. The site is 300 meters wide and stretches nearly 1.5 km in length. Berd rocks are located in the Iskitim district of the Novosibirsk region, not far from the village of Novososedovo. The climate is temperate continental in winter with incredible snowdrifts and frosty air, sometimes the temperature drops to 40 degrees below zero. This should be borne in mind by tourists wishing to visit the Berd cliffs in winter. And in the summer, on the contrary, one must be prepared for intolerable heat.
How to get there
Where are the Berd cliffs? How to get to them? There are several ways to get to the rocks. One of these is an extreme adventure, popular among tourists just in the highlands, is rafting down the river Birdie. Bird originates in the mountains of Salair, which are located on the border of the Altai Territory with the Kemerovo Region, and flows into the Novosibirsk Reservoir, if you start rafting from s. Kinterep to with. Legostaevo, then the most picturesque of the views of the area will open.
The traditional way is by car, but there are two options. About each in more detail. The most common route for tourists is to go along the M-52 highway through Iskitim, to the village of Evsino (Novosibirsk region), turning off after which, go to the village. Novososedovo. After it begins a dirt road leading along a bridge over the Ik River (a tributary of Birdie). In the spring season, the crossing can be flooded, which makes it difficult to move directly to St. John's wort. Experienced tourists who have visited the rock have several guidelines in order to stay on track - right after the village there is a hotel (by the way, just for receiving tourists and built, there is a parking area and a place for spending the night in tents on its territory ), then a caricature monument to Zaporozhets, and directly on the observation deck itself you can see the traces of travelers who visited earlier - barbecues, tables with seats.
The second route is a little longer, but the road is asphalted over a larger section of the path. You also need to go along the M-52 highway to the village called Maslyanino and look for the above landmarks.
Locals or extreme travel enthusiasts can be found on bicycles, and in winter skiing and snowmobiling. By the way, in these places competitions are often held for downhill skiing and cross-country cycling.
Types of rest
Despite the fact that the Berd cliffs are a nature reserve, visits to these places are not prohibited by the authorities. Tourists who come to admire this rocky island are very inventive, try not to get bored and spend time actively and with benefit. There are plenty of leisure options. Let's consider some of them:
- Mountaineering. Where there are mountains and rocky slopes, there are climbers with climbers. This extreme entertainment is beyond the power of everyone, you need to have special training and equipment, so it is not recommended for the first time to engage in such entertainment. To reduce accidents, beginners in this matter are warned by a sign about a crashed tourist right on the stone.
- Alloys. If such a method was chosen to get to St. John's Wort, then you can raft even lower, the river does not abound with such rapids that are found on mountain rivers, so rafting on Birdie is not dangerous.
- Bike Rides. Of course, a regular bike is unlikely to be able to drive at least a decent distance, so this entertainment is again not suitable for every tourist.
- Fishing. Local residents know firsthand about the variety of fish that is found in Birdie.
- Sightseeing trips. Often here you can see buses with children coming on excursions to the Berdsky Rocks nature reserve.
- Traditional vacation. Of course, the most common type that does not require special skills and preparation. You can pitch a tent camp, go down to the river, swim and sunbathe, admiring the local beauties.
In general, no matter what the rest will be, the main thing is that a person leaves after hours of leisure. Everyone should remember that nature is defenseless in front of man.