Pillars of weathering (Manpupuner) is a famous geological monument. Weathering pillars on the Manpupuner Plateau
Mansi blockheads (pillars of weathering) - a geological monument on the Manpupuner ridge (which in the Mansi language means "Small mountain of idols"), in the interfluve of the Ilych and Pechora rivers.
There are 7 pillars in total, their height varies from 30 to 42 meters.
Location: Troitsko-Pechorsky district, Russia, Komi Republic
Stolby is located quite far from inhabited places. From the side Sverdlovsk region And Perm Territory there is a walking route. Tourists take several days to reach the plateau, but what they see is fascinating.
According to scientists, the Mansi blockheads consist of crystalline schists. For 400 million years, the wind destroyed the rock and left only 7 pillars. They say that when you come close to the poles, they hum, as if talking among themselves.
The Manpupuner Ridge is located on the territory of the Pechero-Ilychsky Reserve.
Tourists try to get to the ridge in summer, but in winter the weathering pillars are no less beautiful. By the way, in winter, when the rivers are covered with ice, it is much easier to get to the Small Mountain of Idols.
You can get from Troitsko-Pechorsk by car to the village of Priuralsk, then by boat to the Ust-Lyaga cordon. Further on the route you will be taken out by cordon inspectors having previously instructed. The duration of the routes is from 18 to 40 km (there are several routes).
Do not forget to order a pass to enter the Pechoro-Ilychsky nature reserve in the village of Yaksha, Troitsko-Pechora district.
In the north of the Urals, at the head of the Pechora River, the main waterway of the Komi Republic and the largest river in the European North, there is a narrow ridge - a belt stone with steep slopes and smooth passes covered with a multi-colored carpet of high mountain tundra. In Mansi, this ridge is called Manpupuner (translated from Mansi "Small Mountain of Idols"), Komi hunters know it as Bolvano-iz (stone blockheads), and tourists gave it a poetic name - Mountain of Stone Idols. Such toponymy is given because of the seven stone giants lined up in a row on the flat top of one of the southwestern spurs of the ridge. Their height ranges from 29 to 49 meters. All pillars are composed of hard-to-destruct sericite-quartzite schists. 
Perhaps, distinguishing feature this miracle, the fact that it is very difficult to reach it, and not everyone will have enough willpower, patience or means - it depends on which path to choose. And there are two of them: the first is quite extreme and very long, it includes a trip by train or car from Syktyvkar (the capital of Komi) to Troitsko-Pechorsk, then by car to the village of Yaksha, then - 200 kilometers by motor boat and in conclusion you need to walk about 40 kilometers. The second way is for the lazy and wealthy: by helicopter from Ukhta with refueling in Troitsko-Pechorsk. An hour of flight on a rented MI-8, which has 20 seats, costs at least 40,000 rubles, the round trip takes just over four hours.
The road to Man-Pupy-Ner is very beautiful in itself, at least from the open window of a helicopter. It is a well-known fact that the Komi Republic is a forest region, more than two thirds of which is occupied by taiga, but you really understand this only when you slowly fly over the ground. The helicopter flies at a speed of only 200 kilometers per hour, and you can see every lake, swamp, every snowfield in the mountains and almost every Christmas tree!
Blockheads on the Man-Pupy-Nera are visible from afar, which is not surprising - after all, their height is from 30 to 42 meters.
About 200 million years ago, in place of stone pillars were high mountains. Millennia passed. Rain, snow, wind, frost and heat gradually destroyed the mountains, and first of all the weak rocks. The hard sericite-quartzite shales, of which the remnants 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 relief depressions.
The closer you get to them, the more unusual their appearance becomes. One pillar, 34 m 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 that figure. huge man, then the head of a horse or a ram. It is not surprising that in the past, the Mansi deified grandiose stone statues and worshiped them.
The seasons change, and so does the landscape. The area is very impressive in winter, when the remnants are completely white, like crystal.
In the autumn there are fogs, and the Pillars appear through the haze - there is something divine in this spectacle. They are created by nature, but, looking at them, one cannot believe that a person could repeat something similar.
Numerous legends are associated with it, before the Pillars of Weathering were objects of the Mansi cult.
In connection with mysterious origin these pillars, the local population - Mansi, Komi and Russians - created various legends about their appearance.
Ancient Mansi legend
“In ancient times, in the dense forests that approached the very Ural Mountains, the powerful Mansi tribe lived. 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.
In the Mansi yurts there were a lot of furs and skins of dead animals. From them, women made beautiful fur clothes. Good spirits that lived on sacred mountain Yalping-Nyer, helped the Mansi, because the wise leader Kuuschai was at the head of the tribe, who was in great friendship with them. The leader had a daughter - the beautiful Aim and son Pygrychum. Far beyond the ridge spread the news of the beauty of young Aim. She was slender, like a pine tree growing in a dense forest, and she sang so well that deer from the Ydzhid-Lyagi valley came running to listen to her.
Heard about the beauty of the daughter of the leader of the Mansi and the giant Torev (Bear), whose family hunted in the mountains of Haraiz. He demanded that Kuuschai give him his daughter Aim. But she refused, laughing Aim, from this proposal. The enraged Torev called his brothers the giants and moved to the top of Torre Porre Iz in order to seize Aim by force. Suddenly, when Pygrychum was on a hunt with a part of the soldiers, giants appeared in front of the gates of the stone city. The whole day there was a hot battle near the fortress walls.
Under clouds of arrows, Aim climbed a high tower and shouted: - Oh, good spirits, save us from death! Send Pygrychum home! At the same moment, lightning flashed in the mountains, thunder boomed, 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 had time to descend from the tower, as it collapsed under the terrible blow of the giant's club. Then Torev again raised his huge club and struck at the crystal castle. The castle crumbled into small pieces, which were picked up by the wind and carried all over the Urals. Since then, transparent fragments of rock crystal have been found in the Ural Mountains.
Aim with a handful of warriors hid under the cover of darkness in the mountains. In the morning we heard the noise of the chase. And suddenly, when the giants were ready to seize them, in the rays rising sun Pygrychum appeared with a shiny shield and a sharp sword in his hands, which were given to him by good spirits. Pygrychum turned the shield towards the sun, and a fiery sheaf of light hit the giant in the eyes, 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. In horror, the brothers rushed back, but, falling under the beam of Pygrychum's shield, they themselves turned into stones.
Another legend says that six mighty giants pursued one of the Mansi tribes, leaving behind the stone belt of the Ural Mountains. At the head of the Pechora River at the pass, the giants had almost overtaken the tribe. But a little shaman with a face as white as lime blocked their way and turned the giants into six stone pillars. Since then, every shaman from the Mansi tribe has always come to the sacred tract and drew his magic power.
Since ancient times, local peoples have deified stone statues and worshiped them. For example, climbing the Man-Pupu-Ner massif was considered the greatest sin.
When you see these very impressive stone giants with your own eyes, you don’t dare to call them simply a “geological monument” or “a bizarre result of thousands of years of work of wind, rain and snow” - rather, you begin to believe in legends. Firstly, because it is difficult to imagine where nature has so much skill, and secondly, since this is a miracle, it means that its history must be wonderful and even mysterious.
The plateau is located in such a way that when everything blooms on the south side in June, there is still snow on the north side, which begins to melt only at the beginning of August. Nature did not stint on fantasy. Water and wind, summer heat and winter frost for thousands of years, as skillful sculptors, they processed the stone ridge, removing everything superfluous, in order to sculpt stone idols, resembling figures of people, fantastic animals, monsters, sacred statues from Easter Island. Nature continues its work today. Evidence of this - fresh landslides of boulders at the foot of some remnants. This means that, alas, they do not belong to the category of eternal ones. But for now, the stone guards are regularly keeping their thousand-year watch at the protected sources of the Pechora, striking with their grandeur and mysterious mystery of everyone who happens to be near them.
Everyone who has seen the Pillars of Weathering notes that being in close proximity to them, one begins to experience an inexplicable feeling of fear. locals claim that there were ancient temples and a place lured for spirits. According to those who have visited the plateau, you don’t feel like talking, eating, drinking here, and it’s light in your head, not a single superfluous thought. The only desire is simply to contemplate the surroundings and feel oneself in it.
They say that when you come close to the poles, they hum, as if talking among themselves.
It is the seven pillars that are considered blockheads, however, in addition to them, there are also slightly smaller stone blocks on the plateau, as well as a huge stone wall. All of them are located at a fairly decent distance from each other, on different hills, therefore, in order to touch each of them, you need to walk a total of more than one kilometer. Moreover, on uneven terrain, sometimes on uncomfortable stone ledges, with very strong gusts of wind and in clouds of horseflies.
The Man-Pupy-Ner Plateau is a very majestic place, and despite the absolutely huge expanses around, one wants to speak only in a whisper. Perhaps because you are afraid to wake up the evil spirits from the legends; or maybe because you realize how insignificant a person is before the forces of nature ...
The Manpupuner Plateau, on which 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 blockheads. In total, there are 7 pillars on the Manpupuner plateau with a height of 31 to 42 meters.
About 200 years ago, there were mountains on the site of the Manpupuner pillars. Many millennia have passed. Rains, snows, winds destroyed the weak rocks, but the sericite-quartzite shales that make up the pillars remained. Hence the name "weathering pillars".
In winter, the pillars are white and resemble crystal vases.
The legend of the Mansi people about the Manpupuner pillars.
The weathering pillars of Manpupuner at a certain time were an idol for the Mansi people. Legends and myths were written about them.
According to one of the legends, the powerful Mansi tribe lived in ancient times. Any man of this tribe could kill a bear with his bare hands. Such prosperity and power to the people was provided by the spirits that lived on Mount Yalping-Nyer. The ruler of the Mansi was Kuuschai, he had a daughter, Aim, and a son, Pygrychum. The giant Torev found out about the beauty of his daughter. He decided that at any cost he would take Aim as his wife. 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 big club, the giant destroyed both the tower, where Aim called for help from the spirits, and the crystal castle, which shattered into thousands of fragments. By the way, since then, fragments of rock crystal have been found in the mountains of the Urals. The girl had to hide under cover of darkness in the mountains with a handful of surviving warriors. At dawn, Aim heard the clatter of approaching giants, but it was at that moment that Aim arrived in time for her. brother Pygrychum, who returned from hunting. The light that was reflected from Pygrychum's shield fell on the giants, and they turned into stones. The giants stayed here forever and were called the "Mountain of Stone Idols". Torev has turned into a separate stone that resembles an upside down bottle.
In fact pillars on Manpupuner Plateau much more just this group costs more. In the Mansi language, weathering pillars are called Small Bolvans. Geologists believe that the seven pillars are kekurs. Kekurs are rocks that do not stand in an array, 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 open space around.
There is evidence that these places are places of worship, and ceremonies were held here. Tourists say that in this place you don’t feel like eating, chatting, or drinking.
Weathering pillars on the Manpupuner plateau in the Komi Republic are one of the 7 wonders of Russia, and every year more and more tourists visit this unusual place.
MANPUPUNER PLATEAU (WEATHERING PILLARS)
Manpupuner is a unique miracle of nature, giant stone idols. Weathering pillars (Mansi blockheads) is a geological monument in Russia in the Troitsko-Pechora region in the south-east of the Komi Republic on the territory of the Pechoro-Ilychsky reserve on Mount Man-Pupu-Ner (from the Mansi language this name is translated as "Small mountain of idols").
This natural attraction is located in a remote area in the Northern Urals, on the western slope of the Ural Range between the Pechora and Ichotlyaga rivers. There are only 7 remains, their height is from 30 m to 42 m. Numerous legends are associated with stone pillars. Previously, the slope where the Pillars of Weathering are located was the object of the cult of the local Mansi peoples. This is an amazing place, covered with many secrets and mysteries, a place with an unusual and very powerful energy. Such a natural phenomenon as weathering pillars on the Manpupuner plateau cannot be called anything other than a Miracle. A visit to Manpupuner is a must. Weathering pillars (remnants) on the Man-Pupu-Ner plateau are calling card Ural. Man-Pupu-Ner is located quite far from inhabited places. The Manpupuner Plateau is a popular object of sports tourism. Only very trained tourists can get to the pillars on foot. To visit it, you also need a pass from the administration of the reserve. Stone pillars were formed during the selective weathering of rocks. Some of them are even narrower at the base and look like an upside down bottle. How could this come to be... Scientifically, these pillars are the result of the weathering activity of soft rock. About 200 million years ago, full-fledged Ural high mountains were in place of stone pillars. They stood proudly on the young planet Earth and witnessed many grandiose events. Rain, snow, wind, frost and heat gradually destroyed the mountains, and first of all the weak rocks. And today Ural mountains are among the lowest in the world. But there were places in the Urals where nature could not cope with the stone. Hard beautiful sericite-quartzite shales, of which the remnants are composed, were destroyed less and survived to this day, while soft rocks were destroyed by weathering and carried by water and wind to the foot of the mountain. It is from here that the name came from - weathering pillars. Thanks to this, we can admire the pillars of weathering on the Manpupyner plateau. This place is truly mystical, because the Pillars of weathering, as the remnants are also called, are so ancient that even the Mansi worshiped them during the pagan period, and in translation from the Mansi language, Manpupuner means “Small mountain of idols ". Mansi, unlike geologists, know the true origin of stone pillars.
The pillars have a bizarre shape and at different angles can resemble either the head of a horse or the figure of a giant. It is said that stone sculptures even change their location. In fact, of course, they are just easy to confuse due to their changing shape. The oldest stone statues as high as a 15-story building can amaze the imagination by themselves, and if we add to this the uninhabitedness of this place, we can imagine what pristine silence and purity will meet travelers on this majestic plateau. Here, more than ever, you understand that time is just a convention. One high pillar, 34 m 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 point of view, they resemble the figure of a huge man or the head of a horse or a ram. Until recently, only geographers and fans of sports tourism knew about the Manpupuner plateau. But after the Mansi blockheads took 5th place in the competition "7 Wonders of Russia", many heard the outlandish word. High majestic pillars really look like idols - on a relatively flat highlands, giant stone sculptures with 10-17 storey buildings rise. The plateau offers magnificent views of virgin nature at any time of the year. Such a spectacle is simply breathtaking. Seeing this Miracle of Nature is not at all easy. Around, within a radius of one hundred kilometers there is no human habitation, automobile and railways. The rivers nearby are small streams, only one of them is destined, having absorbed a lot of tributaries, to become a full-flowing Pechora and bring its waters to the Arctic Ocean.
There are only two options to see this incredible creation of nature - either fly here by helicopter, or walk many kilometers on foot through completely uninhabited places. What you see is impressive, no photos and videos can convey the living power of giants ... Very quickly you start 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 the year to conquer Manpupuner. Some people think that a trip to the end of the world is best done in winter, on skis. At this time, there are no mosquitoes, midges and 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. We recommend choosing a summer month to visit this area, arriving here on one of the weekends on our Mi-8 helicopter.
The best summer month to visit the plateau is perhaps August. This is the warmest time of the year, there are fewer insects, and the water in the rivers is decreasing. It was at this time from a bird's eye view that one can observe a pleasant red-yellow taiga, a piercing blue sky, rivers clear as tears, inhale the air, sharp as a razor blade, and enjoy the view of the majestic Manpupuner. It should be noted that such a phenomenon , like remnants and weathering pillars - this is a very typical phenomenon for the Urals. The Ural Mountains are one of the oldest on earth, and over the millions of years of their existence, bad weather and elements have battered them quite badly. So, you can admire no less beautiful and significant remnant stones 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 ridge. Similar weathering pillars can be found everywhere. Of course, not as large-scale and pronounced as on the Manpupuner, but no less picturesque. In fact, there are more than seven weathering pillars on the Manpupuner plateau, just one group of seven pillars is more crowded. through the haze - there is something divine in this spectacle. They are created by nature, but, looking at them, one cannot believe that a person could repeat something similar. However, this is just a scientific version of the origin of the pillars on the Manpupuner plateau. The Mansi - the local population of the Urals - have other points of view. There are legends explaining the origin of the Small Bolvans (this is how it sounds in the Manpupuner translation from the Mansi language). The Mansi worshiped the remnants as idols, composed legends about them. And even now, carefully peering into the pillars, you can see images of fantastic animals or gigantic giants. Legends and Mansi versions of the formation of stone pillars of the Small Mountain of idols:
1. The Mansi, wandering here with their herds of reindeer, say that these stone pillars were once seven Samoyed giants who went through the mountains to Siberia to destroy the Mansi 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 Mansi Mountain. In horror, he threw his drum, which fell on a high conical peak rising south of Man-Pupu-Ner and called Koip, which means drum in Mansi. Both the shaman and all his companions were petrified with fear.
2. Based on another of the versions, for the Younger Brothers, i.e. Mansi, six Samoyed giants were chasing, at a time when they were trying to leave the Stone Belt. At the headwaters of the Pechora River at the pass, the giants had already almost caught up with the Mansi, when suddenly, a shaman with a white face, Yalpingner, appeared in front of them. He raised his hand and managed to utter one spell, after which all the giants turned to stone. Unfortunately, Jalpingner himself has also petrified. Since then, they have been standing against each other.
3. The next legend says that seven giant shamans followed Ripheus to destroy the Mansi. When they climbed the Coype, they saw sacred mountain Mansi Yalpyngner (the holiest place for Mansi) and understood the greatness and power of their gods. They were petrified with horror, only the leader of the giants, the chief shaman, managed to raise his hand to cover his eyes from Yalpyngner. But this did not save him - he, too, turned into stone.
4. Ancient Mansi legend. “In ancient times, in the dense forests that approached the very Ural Mountains, the powerful Mansi tribe lived. The men of the tribe were so strong that they defeated the bear one on one, and so fast that they could catch up with the running deer. There were a lot of furs and skins of hunted animals in the Mansi yurts. Women made beautiful clothes from furs. The good spirits who lived on the sacred mountain of Yalping-Nyer helped the Mansi, because the wise leader Kuuschai, who was in great friendship with the spirits, was at the head of the tribe. The leader had a daughter - the beautiful Aim and son Pygrychum. Far beyond the ridge spread the news of the beauty of young Aim. She was slender, like a pine tree growing in a dense forest, and she sang so well that deer from the Ydzhid-Lyagi valley came running to listen to her. Heard about the beauty of the daughter of the leader of the Mansi and the giant Torev (Bear), whose family hunted in the mountains of Haraiz. He demanded that Kuuschai give him his daughter Aim. But she refused, laughing Aim from this proposal. The enraged Torev called his brothers the giants and moved to the top of Torre Porre Iz in order to seize Aim by force. Suddenly, when Pygrychum was on a hunt with a part of the soldiers, giants appeared in front of the gates of the stone city. A hot battle went on all day near the fortress walls. Under clouds of arrows, Aim climbed a high tower and shouted: “Oh, good spirits, save us from death!” Send Pygrychum home! At the same moment, lightning flashed in the mountains, thunder boomed, 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 had time to descend from the tower, as it collapsed under the terrible blow of the giant's club. Then Torev again raised his huge club and struck at the crystal castle. The castle crumbled into small pieces, which were picked up by the wind and carried all over the Urals. Since then, transparent fragments of rock crystal have been found in the Ural Mountains. Aim, with a handful of warriors, disappeared under the cover of darkness in the mountains. In the morning they heard the noise of the chase. And suddenly, when the giants were already ready to grab them, Pygrychum appeared in the rays of the rising sun with a shiny shield and a sharp sword in his hands, which were given to him by good spirits. Pygrychum turned the shield towards the sun, and a fiery sheaf of light hit the giant in the eyes, 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. In horror, the brothers rushed back, but, falling under the beam of Pygrychum's shield, they themselves turned into stones. Since then, for thousands of years, they have been standing on a mountain that the people called Man-Pupu-Nier (Mountain of stone idols), and not far from it rises a majestic peak Coyp (Drum)."
Each shaman from the Mansi tribe necessarily came to the sacred tract and drew his magical power from it. Climbing Manpupuner as a mere mortal was the greatest sin. The seasons change, and so does the landscape. The area is very impressive in winter, when the Mansi blockheads are completely white, like crystal. Local peoples claim that in pagan times there was a holy temple on the plateau. In all legends, one constant motive remains - the presence of giants who wanted to destroy the Vogul tribe and the magical help of Yalpingner. Man-Pupu-Ner has always been a sacred place for the Mansi, but its strength carried several negative character. It was strictly forbidden for an ordinary person to climb the Manpupuner plateau, only shamans had access there to recharge their magical powers. Not far from the Manpupuner plateau there are several more Mansi sanctuaries - Tore-Porre-Iz, Kholat-Chakhl (Mountain of the Dead or Dead Mountain), where, according to legend, nine Mansi hunters died. Died there legendary band UPI students under the guidance of Igor Dyatlov (February 1959). By the way, the Dyatlov group also consisted of nine people. Yalpyngner itself is also not far away, the Prayer Stone is relatively close (on the territory of the Vishera 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 "magic" and "magical", but, undoubtedly, it is the most beautiful and impressive.
In the Troitsko-Pechora region of Komi, there is a unique natural phenomenon called the Mansi Bolvans or weathering pillars. On the plateau, located in the same place, there are seven pillars of stone, reaching a height of 32-40 meters. They attract tourists and scientists from all over the world with their mystery and Mansi legends explaining their origin. Particular attention is drawn to a stand-alone pillar, thirty-four meters high. In shape, it is narrower towards the bottom, but in general it looks like an inverted bottle. The plateau on which the weathering pillars are located is called the “small mountain of idols” by the Mansi. For a small number of people, this place was once holy, where rituals took place, and about which legends and myths are still alive.
Legends about weathering pillars.
Until now, not everyone knows why the constellation Ursa Major bears this particular name, and not the Bucket, the shape of which it is very similar to. Once, a hundred centuries ago, the stars in this constellation were arranged as if a bear was pulling her muzzle towards her cub. In our time, the seven stars that make up the bucket, in which, according to legend, the Kumen gods turned, are located in the same way as the weathering pillars on Earth. There are many legends about this mysterious place. Here are some of them.
There is such a legend among the Mansi. A very long time ago, in ancient times, the Mansi people possessed great wealth, their men were considered mighty and strong, each of them could fight a bear and fill it up. That is, hunting always brought trophies, so the yurts were filled with furs of various animals. Mansi helped the spirits who lived on Mount Yalping-Nyer. The ruler of this nation had a beautiful daughter and a courageous and fearless son. Once the giant found out about the beauty of the girl, and decided to take her as his wife, but she refused him. When the ruler's son went hunting, he was attacked by a giant with his brothers. The battle has begun. The giant, in anger, destroyed the tower where the girl communicated with the spirits, and after that the crystal palace, the fragments of which scattered throughout the Urals. The girl and the surviving warriors fled under the cover of night. But before dawn they heard the sound of giants chasing the fugitives. The son of the ruler came to the aid of his comrades, in his hands was a sword and a shield, which the spirits gave him. The sun rose and its rays, reflected from the shield, hit the giants. The unfortunate groom instantly turned to stone, and his brothers fled. But they were overtaken by a striking beam, so they remained in the place, which later received the name “Mountain of Stone Idols” from the Mansi. And the isolated Blockhead is the very giant who wished to marry the daughter of the ruler.
There is another legend that says that once, when the Mansi tribe moved beyond the Ural Mountains, six giants began to pursue them. And soon they almost overtook people. But the shaman of the tribe was able to stop them by turning them into stone pillars. Since then, Mansi shamans have visited this sacred place to regain his strength.
Plateau Man-pupu-ner.
This plateau is considered the most iconic on the Ural Range. In addition, it strikes with its beauty, so many tourists strive to visit there, but not always their first attempt was successful.
Location 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 pillars of weathering. A person, getting here, cannot help but feel the mystical and mysterious impact of this unique place, especially close to the stone giants.
Opinion of geologists on the causes of weathering pillars.
Geologists believe that the seven pillars of weathering are kekurs. What are kekurs? This is the name of the rocks that do not stand in an array, 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, acting on the stone, destroy it, turning it into sand. But the bodies that were formed with the help of magma are much stronger than stone, therefore they are able not to be eroded more long time. Therefore, it happens that after the destruction of the sandstones, these "fingers" of the Earth still point to the sky. Of course, this example is not the only reason for the appearance of kekurs, there are others.
In the summer of 2008, seven weathering pillars located on the Ural Mountains 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 pillars are located, there were huge mountains, consisting mainly of weak rocks. These rocks were exposed to various natural phenomena: rains, winds, temperatures, etc., which destroyed them. And only the pillars of weathering have remained to this day in their original form. Geologists also call them remnants. Their composition is mainly represented by sericite-quartzite shales, which are more resistant to the vagaries of nature and time.
Mansi Bolvany is one of the seven wonders of Russia.
Six of the seven weathering pillars are located along the edge of the cliff, and the seventh is located at a distance from them. Each of the Mansiysk blockheads has a peculiar and bizarre shape. Moreover, if you look at the weathering pillars from different sides, then every time you will see different images. You may feel people, animals, objects. As we have already mentioned, the seventh, free-standing pillar looks like an inverted bottle resting its neck on the ground, and the sixth one resembles a horse's head, the fifth one looks like a huge man. With the onset of winter, the Mansi Bolvany under a layer of ice look like crystal statues, and in autumn they seem to float above the ground in a foggy haze.
When these gigantic stones appear before our 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, are true. The location of the plateau, on which seven pillars of weathering stand, is also interesting. At the beginning of summer, when everything turns green and blooms 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 Pillars of Weathering say that they were possessed by a feeling of inexplicable fear. There is evidence that in these places there were ancient temples and places of worship for communicating with spirits. In addition, tourists note such a feature that they don’t want to communicate here, there is no need for food and water, and the head is free from thoughts of worldly things. Here you only 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, as if encircling them, there are ridges of stones and boulders. It turns out something like a stone miraculous wall that limits the 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 takes a lot of patience great power will and, of course, means. There are two ways to the weathering pillars on the Ural Range.
The first is pedestrian. It can be started from the Sverdlovsk region or from Perm. If you decide on such a route, then you should be aware 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 locality Yaksha, then switch to water transport (motor boat) and overcome two hundred kilometers on it. Then the hiking begins - about forty kilometers. Therefore, before you decide on such a trip, soberly assess your strengths. Otherwise, the impression will be spoiled. The path itself can be attributed to the third category of complexity, for an unprepared person - the task is almost impossible. Heavy wind, thick fog, freezing rain - these are not all the "charms" that await on the route.
And the second - by air by helicopter, but it is quite expensive. The helicopter departs from Ukhta with a refueling stop in Troitsko-Pechorsk. Such a journey through time will last a little more than four hours. Since weathering pillars have been recognized as one of the seven wonders of Russia, this attracts great attention of tourists to them. That is why for unprepared people helicopter tours to the plateau are offered.
More than two hundred people a year decide to get to the Mansi pillars. But quite recently only athletes and scientists could get there.
Having overcome all the difficulties of a difficult trip 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 in the world is impossible for you. The nature here breathes with primevalness, the atmosphere is mysterious and mystical, and the shape of the Mansiysk boobies and the sounds they make just convince you of the correctness of the legend, completely rejecting the conclusions of geologists. However, what and whom you will believe is up to you.
