Stone forest of Yakutia. To the south of Yakutsk there is an extended stone ridge called the Lena Pillars. It is located on the banks of the Lena River, from which it got its name. The length of the ridge is about 80 km, if we count the accumulations of the largest rocks. The highest of them rise above the river bank by 200 meters. The massif is formed by ancient limestones and began to form more than half a billion years ago.
Lena Pillars is the most famous landmark of Yakutia, which can be reached at any time of the year. Lena Pillars is a unique landscape complex located along the banks of the Lena River in Yakutia. Rock formations of an elongated, unusual shape border the waterway for several kilometers. The natural attraction is divided by a natural barrier - a wide water artery. On the right bank there is a site "Stolby", and on the left - "Sinskiy". The area is considered a UNESCO World Heritage Site. A national park has been created on its territory. 
This place has long been sacred for the Yakuts and Evenks.
In ancient times, this place was considered sacred. Ordinary mortals were not allowed to approach the Pillars, otherwise heavenly punishment could fall on them. Visit sacred place only elders and shamans had the right to talk with the spirits of the rocks. The reverence evoked in people by this place is explained by the visual feature of the rock formations - from a distance they resemble petrified people standing in full growth. Many legends have been associated with this illusion. 
Geologically, the rocks are an example of early Paleozoic sedimentary rock formations. In ancient times, at their foot, in their place, there was a shallow warm sea, which washed the ancient Siberian continental area. It was its inhabitants who formed the rocks with the remains of their skeletons and shells. After the sea dried up, and as a result of a tectonic fault, the valley of the Lena River crashed into the land. River activity, weathering and activation of karst processes led to the formation of these bizarre forms.
Lena Pillars - a true treasury for science
You can admire the Pillars from the river - this is a wall of slender, tall remnants of a rare shape, they stretch like outgrowths from underground. Top view and walking a tourist route also quite impressive. The closer you get to the Pillars, the more bizarre shapes they protrude from the total mass of the stone wall. Some formations look like old Gothic castles, others look like tall medieval towers without windows, still others are rows of stone trees or people's faces are stretched out. Silence, calmness and smooth water surface create a special mood. The name “Temple of Nature” suits this place very well. When the sun sets, the shadows lengthen and begin to move - this creates the illusion of mobility of the rock Pillars - they sway and want to say something. Who knows, maybe they really have something to tell? There is no doubt about this - the ancient remnants have witnessed several eras, climate and relief changes. 
Lena Pillars - a monument to the history of the Earth
Lena Pillars are interesting not only from the point of view of geology - it is a unique monument of archeology and history. In their deposits, the remains of animal organisms are ideally preserved. The fauna here was extremely diverse, various representatives of groups with bone and mineral skeletons, buffaloes, mammoths, rhinos, horses. In some samples, soft tissues and even embryos were preserved. That is why the protected area has such a high scientific value. Stone formations are not the only landscapes of the Lensky Reserve that cause admiration. Tukulan sands are located on the same territory. This loose, migrating mass of light color develops over the territory, creating bizarre wavy dunes. Within the sands there are patches of cold northern desert.
Lena Pillars began to be actively visited only at the beginning of the last century. Therefore, the anthropogenic factor did not have time to fundamentally affect the unique natural object. Local authorities carefully monitor the protection of the site, while simultaneously contributing to the development of tourism. The ecosystem of the surrounding nature is unique and has not been changed by man, which is another most valuable feature of this natural park. Arriving here, try to immerse yourself in the atmosphere of the surrounding natural idyll. This is a place of epics and legends, shamans and outlandish creatures. There is a belief among the local population that a Bigfoot of enormous growth walks in the mountains and along the banks of the river. On his belt hangs a pouch containing a potion made from wool and animal claws. He can attack strangers he doesn't like, but he can also help those who get lost, or show the place where the treasure is hidden. 
Journey to the Lena Pillars
Lena Pillars can be visited all year round. Lena freezes and it is possible to get to the place on snowmobiles. In summer it is possible to travel by water transport of any kind. The territory of the park is divided into routes of varying complexity and duration. hiking trails well-equipped with log steps, wooden railings, gazebos, benches and occult sites - places of communication with the spirits of nature. The reserve is a favorite vacation spot for the local population and an interesting tourist site. You can arrange a boat trip, a river rafting or an extreme trip. The beauty of the banks of the Lena and the water surface itself is simply mesmerizing, and the presence of historical, natural and geological monuments makes the trip very informative.
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The trip to the park can take several days. Arriving at the territory of the Pillars, you must definitely climb to the top and forever remember the stunning landscape that will spread before your eyes. Here on prepared sites organized tourist groups entertain shamanic performances - the rite of ritual. The caves located in the remnants are very interesting. The most accessible and frequently visited Nozdrevata Cave, it is formed by several halls. The stone dungeon is 33 meters long and 8 meters high. The most romantic trip can be called river cruise, which originates in Yakutsk. The trip can be done from June to September. Those who love extreme sports can ride along the Yakut highways in an SUV to the village of Elanka, then on a motor boat to the banks of the Lena Pillars. 
Sandy arrays "Tukulan"
Translated from the Evenki language, tukulan means sands. The air temperature reaches up to +40 degrees C. Tukulan is located 8 km from the mouth of the Buotama River. Tukulan "Samys Kumaga" 40 km from the mouth of the Buotama River. The development of extreme tourism is expected in the summer. Aeolian landforms deprived of vegetation: crescent-shaped, staple-shaped, spear-shaped dunes, hollows of blowing, and only instead of the tumbleweed, characteristic of the Central Asian deserts, there is a rare endemic plant of Scriabin's thin-legged. Just below this sandy phenomenon is the mouth of the Buotoma River - a wonderful bright valley, beloved by water tourists, although difficult to access in the upper reaches, from where it is convenient to start rafting along it. 
The Lena and Sinsk Pillars are steep, completely sheer rocks, composed of Cambrian limestones. Such limestones were first discovered and described in England, in the county of Wales (the old name is Cambria). Subsequently, the land rose high above sea level, powerful faults in the earth's crust broke its surface. Time, rainfall, river water and wind have turned the earth's rock solids into bizarre structures of the Lena Pillars. Their length along the banks of the Lena River, together with powerful stone remnants, is about 80 km. In 1966, the first All-Union tourist route was opened to the Lena Pillars - since that time, people from all over the country and from abroad come to admire the miracle of nature.
On the rocks, in the river valleys meet cave drawings- "scribes", ancient Turkic runic inscriptions. Bloody drawings on the rocks along the banks of the Lena River form a one-of-a-kind gallery of ancient fine art. The age of the drawings is about 5-8 thousand years. Only shamans were allowed to draw on stone. Most of the images contain mystical signs - shaman tambourines, symbols of other worlds. Most of the writings were made in such a way that even now they can only be seen under certain lighting at certain times of the day. Many drawings are hidden from prying eyes in stone niches and grottoes, under some there are altars. The semantics of the drawings is connected with the cult beliefs of the ancient inhabitants of Yakutia.
The site of the ancient man "Deering-Yuryakh"
A little lower than the “pillars” is the mouth of a small stream, Deering-Yuryakh, with traces of an archaeologists’ camp that once was there. For many years they have been conducting excavations in this area and usually organize for tourists interesting excursion into the distant past. Here, in the Deering-Yuryakh area, the oldest tools on earth were found - stone choppers. Similar, barely processed, stone tools made of flint boulders and pebbles had previously been found only in Africa, which is why this continent was considered the ancestral home of mankind. The version put forward by the Yakut scientists was simple and logical: if the great glaciation started from here, then the first person should have appeared here to pick up a tool in order to survive. And with the discovery of choppers, this version received some confirmation. 
At the bottom of neat quarries, opened by powerful equipment, and then with spatulas and brushes, the oldest “anvils” dotted with numerous blows are preserved, right next to them lie failed products, rounded by time, but even after many thousands of years coinciding at the place of the split. Unfortunately, there are no organic remains, but what is there is impressive. It is possible that somewhere in the rocky house of the Lena Pillars there is also the dwelling of those people who came to Deering-Yuryakh to work in the primitive “workshop”. Near the excavation site, a cave was found that served as housing at a later time, in the Neolithic era.
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The results of these excavations are unique only from an archaeological point of view, but also from a geological point of view. Geological sections unearthed by archaeologists' pits and ditches testify to the complex variations of ancient climates and the geological processes associated with them. But each understood line of this book of nature and the formation of mankind gives rise to new doubts, questions and ideas. And there is no limit to the inquisitive thought of researchers of the prehistoric past of the ancient land near the Lena.
And on the high left bank of the Lena River is located Elanka, founded in 1830 as a postal station. Not far from the village of Elanki and on the cape of Toion-Ary (near the village of the same name), rock art of primitive artists, discovered by Academician A. Okladnikova, has been preserved.
The main task of the Lena Pillars park is the development of ecological tourism. Eco-tourism refers to communication with living wildlife without causing damage.
Majestic rivers: Blue - with clear water, all surrounded by beautiful graceful rocks, Buotama - bubbling over mountain rifts falls into the Lena and, of course, Lena - the blue meridian, which in our middle reaches simply amazes with its magnificence and grandeur.
Come to the park, enjoy communication with nature.
Fascinating nature, historical monuments - all this will remain in your memory for a lifetime after visiting this wonderful place in our country.
There is a wonderful place in Russia that not many people know about. Personally, until recently, I had never heard of him, and when I found out, I was very surprised at how little we are aware of the wealth of our country. I want to tell you about the Lena Pillars nature reserve, located on the banks of the Lena River in Yakutia.
The Lena Pillars Nature Park was founded relatively recently, in the mid-1990s. Its main purpose is the development of ecotourism and the protection of rock formations, actually pillars, rising like a bizarre forest along the banks of the Lena. And just a couple of years ago, the Lena Pillars entered the list world heritage UNESCO as a natural site.
The beginning of the formation of these formations, according to scientists, began in the Cambrian period, that is, about 500 million years ago. Many, many millions of years ago there were huge rocks here, and then the processes of erosion and weathering formed high, up to 100 meters high vertical stone pillars. Approximately also formed - Pillars of weathering in the Komi Republic.
The Lena Pillars, as we can observe them today, have existed for about 400 thousand years, that is, by the standards of the age of our planet - “recently”. They stretch for several kilometers along the right bank of the Lena, about 100 km southwest of the city of Pokrovsk, and make a mystical impression. Places here can be said wild, sparsely populated. The silence is unimaginable, and from the purity of the air, an unprepared city dweller begins to feel dizzy. Peace and tranquility descend on tourists who dare to travel to meet these ancient rocks.
The reserve offers a wide range of excursion routes - river rafting, recreation at local camp sites, walking tours, fishing. It should be borne in mind that the park is a specially protected natural object with strictly regulated visiting rules, which you need to familiarize yourself with. But compliance with these rules, of course, is on the conscience of each individual tourist.
In addition to the pillars in the park, there is another remarkable natural object - Tukulan, which is called the "desert of Yakutia". These are waving sands, with a peculiar vegetation and ecosystem, very dynamic, constantly changing and very picturesque.
Active scientific research is carried out in the reserve not only by biologists, but also by archaeologists, as ancient fossils of mammoths, woolly rhinos and other prehistoric animals were discovered here.
This photo has been lying around on my computer for a long time, I thought everyone would get their hands on it - I’ll find out where this unearthly landscape is. What are these rocks! Now the hands have reached and you know - I was surprised! Let's go into more detail under the cut.
Lena pillars- geological formation and the eponymous national natural Park in Russia, on the banks of the Lena River. It is located in the Khangalassky ulus of Yakutia, 104 km from the city of Pokrovsk. The Lena Pillars are a complex of vertically elongated rocks stretching for many kilometers, bizarrely piled up along the banks of the Lena, a deep valley cutting through the Prilensky plateau. The pillars reach the highest density between the villages of Petrovskoye and Tit-Ary.
Rock formations, the height of which reaches 100 meters, are composed of Cambrian limestones. Tectonically, the Lena Pillars lie within the Siberian Platform. The beginning of the formation of the rocks that formed this natural monument is usually dated to the early Cambrian - 560-540 million years ago. The formation of the Lena Pillars as a landform is dated to a much later period - about 400 thousand years ago, that is, relatively recent geological time. The territory of the Siberian platform was subjected to gradual uplift, resulting in the occurrence of faults and the formation of deep river valleys. This led to the activation of karst processes, which, along with the ongoing erosional weathering, gave rise to such whimsical and diverse forms of rocks composed of carbonate rocks.
The area of the park is 485 thousand hectares, the park consists of two branches - "Stolby" and "Sinsky". In addition to the well-known stone “pillars”, there are such remarkable objects in the park as fluttering sands-tukulans with separate sections of the cold northern sandy desert, the site of an ancient man at the mouth of the Deering-Yuryakh stream, during the excavations of which stone tools were found (Deeringskaya culture). There are unique permafrost ecosystems. Fossilized remains of representatives of ancient fauna have been found in the park area: mammoth (Mammulhus primigenius Blum), bison (Bison priscus Boj), woolly rhinoceros (Coelodonta antiguibatis Blum), etc.
Near each pillar resembles a magical statue, an ingenious sculpture. They remind someone medieval castles, churches, oriental columns. Someone claims that the rocks are the heroes of the folk heroic epic. The Lena Pillars (Turuuk Hayalara) stretch along the river bank for more than 40 km. On the rocks rising along the banks of the Lena and Sinya rivers, numerous petroglyphs were found, made with yellow mineral paint by the ancient inhabitants of these places. These are stylized images of animals that have been preserved to varying degrees, fragments of ancient Turkic runic inscriptions, rock compositions depicting a person.
The Lena and Sinsk pillars are steep, completely sheer rocks, composed of Cambrian limestones. Such limestones were first discovered and described in England, in the county of Wales (the old name is Cambria). Time, precipitation, river water and wind have given the Earth's rock solids bizarre shapes. The length of the pillars, along with powerful stone rocks-outliers along the bank of the river. Lena about 80 km. The Lena Pillars have long attracted the attention of travelers and explorers. They are located on the right bank of the Lena opposite the village. Batamay, 200 km upstream from Yakutsk. Depending on the degree of weathering, the rocks break up into pillars, spiers, rocks, towers, and other bizarre shapes, and also form extended screes.
Above Lena, pillars usually rise in several tiers. The presence of stages is explained by outcrops of rocks of different stability. They are characteristic of the entire right slope of the river valley. Lena in this area. Now the Lena and Sinsk pillars, the valley of the river. The Blue River and the interfluve of the Lena and Buotam are included in the system of specially protected natural areas as national natural parks. This is a great place for those who love nature and new experiences.
The pillars on the Lena River are amazing evidence of the development of the Earth over millions of years. Numerous fossils of the most ancient organisms were found here - unique surviving evidence of a very important stage in the history of the development of the organic world and many biological species in the Cambrian era. The remains of mammoths, bison, rhinos and many other animals were found here.
The Lena Pillars were included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2006 as one of the most amazing places on our planet with an ideal ecosystem untouched by man
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The Lena Pillars, also known as the Stone Forest on the Lena River, are a natural mountain formation. They are located about 60 kilometers upstream from the city of Yakutsk in Russia. The amazing stone towers, over 150 meters high, stretch along the river for about 80 kilometers. These pillars were discovered in the 17th century, but getting here was no easy task. The journey will take at least three days if heading here from Moscow. First of all, you need to get to Yakutsk through the whole of Siberia, in Yakutsk you need to take a boat and spend another half a day to get to the stone forest along the Lena. Finally arriving at the final destination, locals easily organize excursions for you, which will also take several days. We will not even talk about the cost of such a trip.
The pillars on the Lena River are amazing evidence of the development of the Earth over millions of years. Numerous fossils of the most ancient organisms were found here - unique surviving evidence of a very important stage in the history of the development of the organic world and many biological species in the Cambrian era. The remains of mammoths, bison, rhinos and many other animals were found here. 
The Lena Pillars were included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2006 as one of the most amazing places on our planet with an ideal ecosystem untouched by man.
It is worth adding that similar place also exists in China
The average height of the Lena Pillars reaches 220 m above the river level.
At the base of these river rocks are limestones of the Cambrian period, about 550 million years old, formed from bottom sediments of the shallow and warm sea. The Lena Pillars themselves were formed much later - "only" about 400 thousand years ago.
The Lena Pillars are located within the boundaries of the tectonic Siberian platform. Approximately half a million years ago, faults formed here as a result of tectonic processes, in which river beds began to emerge, and subsequently deep river valleys, which caused the development of karst processes (washout of limestone rock). Together with the strongest erosive weathering and a significant amplitude of annual temperature (up to 100°С: from -60°С in winter to +40°С in summer), it formed a peculiar configuration of rocks. Each vertical crack in the limestone massif continuously expanded under the influence of water, wind and temperatures, which led to the separation of the next block from the general rock massif.
Also noteworthy is the unusual multi-colored rocks of the Lena Pillars, in which red sandstone is interspersed with light gray limestone.
The Lena Pillars are still a sacred place for the Yakuts and Evenks. In the old days, only shamans could come here, an ordinary person was afraid of the spirits of the rocks, considering the pillars to be petrified people.
The Lena Pillars stand in groups along several long sections of the middle course of the Lena River, on its right bank.
National Natural Park "Lena Pillars"
The Lena Pillars is also a natural park, organized in 1995 and subordinate to the Yakut Ministry of Nature Protection.
The Lena Pillars Nature Park was organized by a decree of the President of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) in 1994 and by a decree of the Russian government in 1995. It is currently subordinate to the Yakut Ministry of Nature Protection. The documents of the park indicate that its main task is the development of ecological tourism.
In addition to the Lena Pillars, there are three more valuable natural object: Sinsk pillars, Buotam pillars and Tukulan sands - Most Kumaga and Kysyl Elesin.
The tukulan sand zone, up to 5 km long, also includes separate sections of the cold northern sandy desert. There are also areas of permafrost with unique flora and fauna.
The proof that people of the Stone Age lived here - the inhabitants of the banks of the Lena - is the site of an ancient man at the mouth of the Deering-Yuryakh stream, belonging to the Ymyyakhtakh culture and the Deering Paleolithic culture. The age of the latter caused fierce disputes among archaeologists around the world.
Also in the park area, fossilized remains of representatives of the ancient fauna were found: mammoth, bison, woolly rhinoceros.
Of the representatives of modern fauna living in the Lena Pillars area, one can name musk deer, red deer, northern pika, sable, brown bear, elk, roe deer. Within the Lena section, which is part of the park, there are Siberian lamprey, Siberian sturgeon, taimen, East Siberian lenok, tugun, whitefish, pizhyan, valek, East Siberian grayling, nelma, Siberian vendace, omul, muksun. Among the birds there are protected species of world importance: kpoktun, osprey, golden eagle and peregrine falcon.
According to their natural criteria, the Lena Pillars were included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2012.
general information
Location: central Yakutia, Russia.Origin: the result of water and wind erosion, as well as a significant annual temperature range.
Natural Park Lena Pillars: in 1995
Lena river.
Numbers
Lena Pillars: 40 km.Average height above river level: 220 m.
Maximum height above river level: 321 m.
Distance: 104 km downstream of the Lena - the city of Pokrovsk, 200 km - the city of Yakutsk.
Area of the natural park Lena Pillars: 4.85 km2.
Climate and weather
Sharply continental.Winters are long and harsh, summers are warm, often hot, but short.
January average temperature: -39°C.
July average temperature: +18.5°С.
Average annual rainfall: 320 mm.
Relative humidity: 70%.
Attractions
■ Natural: Lena Pillars geological complex, Lena Pillars natural park (including Lena, Buotam and Sinsk pillars, sand dunes tukulans, permafrost ecosystems, bison nursery "Bizonoriy"), Nozdrevataya Cave.■ historical: petroglyphs - rock carvings of animals, the site of the ancient man Deering-Yuryakh (I thousand BC).
Curious facts
■ Pillars in Siberia have long been called picturesque rocky peaks, remnants, ridges of pillar-shaped outcrops formed as a result of weathering of crystalline rocks. In addition to the Lena Pillars, the Nizhneudinsk and Krasnoyarsk Pillars are also known.■ The name of large fluttering sandy massifs tukulan comes from the Evenk “tukal” - sand. Accordingly, "tukalan" is a sandy massif or dune.
■ Geological formations similar to the Lena Pillars abroad are multi-colored pillars of the Monument Valley along the border American states Arizona and Utah, as well as columnar forms grand canyon in Arizona and Shilin Stone Forest in China.
■ In the area of excavations in 1982 at the site of a Neolithic burial of the Ymyyakhtakh culture of the 2nd millennium BC. e. stone tools of the Deering culture were discovered, which were originally dated 2-3 million years ago. But, if this is so, then in Siberia a person appeared earlier than in North Africa - the ancestral home of Homo habilis (handy man) recognized by archaeologists. Subsequent analysis showed that the age of the Deering culture is 260-370 thousand years. This indicated that man had explored the banks of the Lena already in the Lower Paleolithic and could potentially penetrate from here to Beringia and from there to America. True, some scientists argue that the artifacts of this culture are not tools, but natural formations, that is, just stones.
