Everyone wants to visit at least one of the amazing places in the world. Living in huge cities, people miss the beauty that mother nature offers them. Visit Bashkiria, because having seen firsthand 7 wonders of Bashkortostan, you can fill your heart with harmony and peace.
Own world
Bashkortostan is not just one of the many regions of Russia. This is a separate world with its history and culture, with unusually beautiful nature and friendly people who reverently preserve national traditions and protect the unique 7 wonders of Bashkortostan.
National reserve
Shulgan-Tash Nature Reserve is a place with unusually beautiful nature, where several wonders of Bashkiria are located at once. It got its name from a mysterious cave located on its territory.
Water gone under the stone
One of the largest karst caves in the Southern Urals is Shulgan-Tash. It is located on the Belaya River. The origin of the name is associated with the Shulgan River, flowing near the cave. This river is named after the character of the Bashkir epic, whose older brother ruled the underworld. "Tash" in translation from Bashkir means "stone". That is, literally the name of the cave is translated as "water, dead or gone under a stone."
Shulgan-Tash is also called Kapova cave. The origin of this name is associated with the word "temple", that is, "temple." According to some reports, the cave was a pagan temple. The excavations of archaeologists and ancient legends testify to this.
Numerous cave paintings, about 18 thousand years old, were found on the walls of the cave. They depict animals, huts, triangles and stairs, oblique lines. To date, 173 drawings have been deciphered and described, the largest of them has a size of more than a meter.
Here are some more interesting numbers:
- The length of the cave is more than 2 kilometers.
- The entrance to the cave is a huge arch, its height is 30 meters.
- In Kapova cave is the largest bellows in Europe (a cavity filled with water without air) with a diameter of more than 400 meters.
- The cave has three floors, the first - 300 meters in length - fully studied, the second is at the study stage, now scientists have managed to advance only 1.5 km. Examination of the third floor is difficult due to cliffs and crevices.
Wild honey
Bashkortostan is the only one of the regions of Russia where they are engaged in flight-keeping, the oldest form of beekeeping. Honey is collected right on the trees.
Bees live in hollows called “bort”. Therefore, fishing is called “flight-keeping”. It actively developed in the 18-19th centuries.
Bortnichestvo in Bashkiria was a kind of tradition. Some farms totaled a hundred or more boards. The trees on which the sides were located passed from father to son, tamga was placed on them - a sign of the owner’s kind. The sides could serve up to 150 years.
Favorable conditions, the presence of linden and maple forests contributed to the development of beekeeping in Bashkiria. A special Central Russian breed of bees, formed in the Southern Urals, is characterized by high biological activity. On a day, the family of these hard workers can produce up to 12 kg of honey!
By its healing properties, Bashkir honey is incomparable with any other product. And its aroma and delicate taste cannot leave anyone indifferent.
Bashkir epic
One of the 7 wonders of Bashkiria is the thousand-year-old epic "Ural-Batyr". The theme of life and death in it is intricately intertwined with another major theme - good and evil. The oldest epic has been translated into many languages, which means that it has raised eternal themes that have worried people thousands of years ago and still concern us.
The epic "Ural-Batyr" was recorded in 1910 by the Bashkir narrator and collector of folklore M. Burangulov from connoisseurs of Bashkir ancient legends and traditions.
Their essence is this. Father Yanbirde and mother Yanbike gave birth to two brothers - Ural and Shulgen. The boys grew up quickly and learned that Death is stronger than man. Then the brothers decided to go in search of a spring, the water of which can give immortality to a person.
Having gone the hard way and reaching the source, the Ural-Batyr decided that immortality should be given only to nature. This is the meaning of the epic “Ural-Batyr”.
The singing soul of the Bashkirs
The national instrument of the Bashkirs - kurai - is considered one of the 7 wonders of Bashkortostan. It is made from a plant 1.5-2 meters in length, from which it got its name.
The plant is cut to the root in August-September, when it fades and begins to dry. Then they make a “pipe” with a length of 60-80 cm. Holes begin to be made from below at intervals of 4, 2, and 3 fingers from the bottom hole.
Initially, the instrument was used by shepherds to signal. Gradually, the Bashkirs penetrated him so much that the sounds made by the kurai were perceived as an integral part of the nature of Bashkiria.
As a sign of love for the instrument and the plant from which it is obtained, the Bashkirs even placed a kurai inflorescence on the coat of arms and flag of their republic.
Healing mountain
“Burning Mountain” - this is the name of another miracle from the list of 7 wonders of Bashkortostan. It has been a natural monument since 1965.
The height of Mount Yangantau is 413 meters above sea level. At its very top is one of the best resorts in Russia with the same name. This is the only place in our country where steamy jets of hot gases stand out from the bowels.
Until now, the nature of such a thermal phenomenon has not been elucidated. There are suggestions that an underground fire, lightning, or even radiation contributed to this.
Bashkirs explain the phenomenon through legends. One of them says that many centuries ago lightning struck a tree standing on top. It burned down, and the fire went into the mountain roots and lives there to this day.
Mineral springs of Krasnousolsk
Krasnousolskie mineral springs are located in the Usolka river valley, 5 km from the village of Krasnousolskoye. In total there are about 250 sources.
They originate at an altitude of 132-136 meters above sea level. Sources contain chlorine-sodium, hydrogen sulfide and other waters that contribute to the treatment of gynecological and skin diseases, as well as disorders of the musculoskeletal system.
Krasnousolskie sources known since the XVI century. According to the legend of the times of Ivan IV (Grozny), archers and Cossacks arrived on plows along the Kama and Belaya rivers in Bashkiria to lay the Ufa prison. They climbed up the Belaya River to the mouth of the Kugush River and there laid the Tabyn prison. The first settlers - Tabynians - learned to extract salt necessary for everyday life from the Kugush salt water, so the river was renamed Usolka, and the settlement later became known as Krasnousolsk.
In 1924, the resort "Krasnousolsk" was established, however, then it was a pair of wooden houses where the military came to improve their health.
After World War II, war invalids were treated there. A little later, a children's sanatorium was built nearby.
Monument to the hero
Residents and guests of Ufa are greeted by a monument to the national Bashkir hero and poet Salavat Yulaev, towering above the Belaya River. It became the visiting card of Ufa, and its image is placed in the center of the coat of arms of the Republic of Bashkortostan.
The monument is the largest sculpture of a rider in Europe. Its height is almost 10 meters and its weight is 40 tons.
The history of the monument to Salavat Yulaev has been going on since 1967. It was cast from bronze cast iron at the Monument Sculpture plant in Leningrad. Work continued for a month and a half. 3 years after the discovery of the sculpture (and this happened on November 17, 1967), the USSR State Prize was awarded to Soslanbek Dafayevich Yulaev.
The monument took part in the All-Russian contest "Russia 10" as the main attraction of the Volga region.
Miracles not included in the Top 7
Visiting Bashkiria and confining ourselves to only seven sights of Bashkortostan is simply a crime! Therefore, pay attention to several miracles of the republic, not included in the "magnificent seven":
- Askinskaya ice cave. This is the largest ice cave in the Urals. It looks like a giant stone bag, where cold air enters and remains inside. The huge cave hall annually becomes a place for ice sculptures of stunning beauty. In addition, the dome-shaped vault of the cave creates the effect of splitting any sound, even a word whispered into many voices. Such a magic echo is not in every cave.
- Hadelsch Falls. The largest waterfall in the South Urals shows itself in all its glory from early April to mid-May. The fall of a large stream of water from a 12-meter height is simply mesmerizing. Tourists from all regions of the country come to see this miracle.
- Rock Kuzganak. The “Peephole”, which is exactly the name of the rock, is a large stone sail, surrounded by the Zilim River from three sides. The main attraction of this rock is the through hole. On a clear night, when the moonlight passes through it and is reflected in the waters of Zilim, everything around becomes magical and mysterious.
- Aslykul. The lake, whose area is 23.5 square kilometers, seems like a small sea in the very center of Bashkiria. Moreover, it is very shallow - the average depth is only 5.5 meters. The lake is famous for its picturesque shores, cliffs and cliffs.
We hope you were able to feel the fabulous atmosphere of Bashkiria. Let her inspire new discoveries and achievements. We wish you to visit this land with an extraordinary nature and amazing culture as soon as possible.