The most famous and largest cave of the Urals has long acquired the status of a popular tourist attraction. The majestic natural monument, whose quaint labyrinths pass through a huge glacier, was used by our ancestors as a spacious chamber for storing food.
Start of research
Research activities in the Kinderlinsky cave, which turned out to be abandoned for millennia, began in 1974. It turned out that the discovered multi-level system of entangled corridors goes deep into several hundred meters. Experienced cavers who returned with special equipment found that the length of the underworld, called the "Victory", exceeds 5 kilometers.
Each year, this distance has increased, and now it is 8130 meters, of which 200 are under water. If such a distance on the surface of the earth can be covered in just three hours, then several days will have to go underground.
Where is the Kinderlinsky cave?
The entrance to the natural attraction is located near the village of Tash-Asty (Gafuri region of Bashkiria), in the Kinderl river valley, on its right side. Next to the spacious manhole is the largest cave glacier in Bashkortostan, almost the entire mass of which occupies the entrance gallery. Unfortunately, scientists note that it is gradually disappearing. But before primitive people kept their prey here.
Two parts of a natural miracle
After the glacier is left behind, the floor of the galleries rises, freeing itself from the ice. The air temperature rises to 8 ยฐ C. Without special equipment you can go quite a bit, and then the cave branches out into two parts. One move goes northwest, and the other east. And to overcome the steep slopes, you must have good climbing skills.
The second part of the cave begins under a deep well, and unprepared tourists are booked here. Although it is here that visitors are waiting for magnificent landscapes that awaken imagination and give an unforgettable experience.
What do tourists say?
Visitors who managed to visit the Kinderlinsky cave note that it is quite cool inside, and even in the hot summers the temperature near the glacier is minus 12 ยฐ C, so warm clothes and shoes are required.
Most tourists agree that the magnificent entrance is so spacious that it seems as if a new and mysterious world is beginning behind it, unknown to anyone. And around there is a fabulous atmosphere, acting in a peaceful manner. Huge grottoes make you freeze at their magnificence. In the unique creation of nature, bizarre figures made of ice and stone are observed, and its arches are decorated with unusual openwork sagging.
How to get to the Ural attractions?
How to get to the Kinderlinsky cave? First you need to get to the village of Arkhangelskoye, and then, turning right, go to the village of Imendyashevo. Tourists will have to cross the Zilim river over the bridge to Tash-Asta and go upstream for six kilometers.
Ecological problems
Previously, the Kinderlinsky cave, a photo of which was admired by tourists who adored everything unknown, was famous for its flowing formations, but now it cannot boast of its former luxury. Mold is found in the littered grottoes, and hordes of bats feed on household waste left by visitors.
Since 2010, the underworld has been closed to the public. Uncontrolled tourism finally destroyed its microclimate, the water became polluted, and the air acquired a completely new composition. Serious environmental problems began.
Volunteers work in the cave, who clean the grottoes from the waste of human life. They installed metal shields that divided it into parts that were publicly accessible and closed to the public. Excellent results have already been achieved, but cavers are extremely concerned about reports that they are planning to reopen the attraction soon.
The emergence of a natural park
At the end of last year, the Ministry of Ecology held a public hearing at which it was decided that the Zilim Natural Park, which would include the famous miraculous masterpiece, would appear in Bashkiria. Without its creation, it would not be possible to solve the problems associated with severe pollution of the Kinderlinsky cave ("Victory"). With the advent of a new status, mountains of garbage that annually appear on the territory of a popular tourist route can be avoided.
It is planned that the conservation area of โโ36 thousand hectares, divided into several functional zones, will appear in the Gafuri region. Any kind of economic activity, making fires, car parking will be prohibited here. Bashkir scientists, claiming that a natural miracle is a unique object in the Urals, are doing everything to keep it intact. Every day, microbiologists and cavers descend into the underworld, and while complex work is underway, all visits to tourists are prohibited. In addition, microclimatologists are studying a glacier, which is rapidly decreasing in size.
What has been done and what is planned?
Now in the Kinderlinsky cave a tourist route is marked with reflective signs, information stands and maps are everywhere installed. Soon warning signs and signs will appear. After the creation of a natural park, which will give impetus to the development of civilized tourism and infrastructure in the area, security obligations will be transferred to the local speleological club, which is engaged in preserving a unique corner.
For the future, it is planned that all tourist groups will be well prepared for visiting the miraculous monument. An experienced instructor is required if a long pastime in fancy mazes is expected. And so that visitors do not leave waste products, portable toilets will be installed inside speleological objects.
Sad reality
Unfortunately, there is no hard access regime, and pollution of the Kinderlinsky cave continues. As a result of organized environmental raids, the activities of tourists violating the safety of the unique monument were established.
And while enthusiasts from the speleoclub cannot resist the vandals. If in the near future the situation does not change, and the provision of the natural park does not pass an environmental review, we will lose an unusual sight of Russia.