Shulgan-Tash State Nature Reserve

Shulgan-Tash is a famous natural biosphere reserve of Russia, located in the western foothills of the Southern Urals, densely covered with mixed forest and mottled with a network of rushing rivers. The Shulgan-Tash Reserve is one of the tourist highlights of the Republic of Bashkortostan. Its local administrative affiliation is Burzyansky district. Every year about 40,000 tourists from all over the world rush to these lands to enjoy the magnificent scenery, feel the power of the invigorating mountain air and touch the rarest monuments of history and culture of this region.

.

Video: Shulgan-Tash

Contents

Shulgan-Tash Cave – Stone Age Art Gallery

According to legend, when the Ural Mountains were 14,000 years younger, a large family (or maybe an entire tribe) sought refuge on rocky slopes overgrown with dense forests. The people’s refuge was a huge karst cave washed out by water in the limestone rocks.

.

We don’t know what the inhabitants of the cave looked like, what their speech sounded like. But they left us quite clear messages that do not require translation – drawings made with mineral paint on the uneven walls of their underground stone house.

.

General information

Since 1958, the Shulgan-Tash Reserve, spread over an area of 22,531 hectares, has the status of a nature conservation, research and ecological-educational institution. Initially it was a branch of the Bashkir Nature Reserve, but in 1986 it became an independent unit. In 2012, Shulgan-Tash was officially recognized internationally as part of the UNESCO Bashkir Urals Integrated Biosphere Reserve. The reserve is world famous for its unique natural complex, cultural and archaeological monument – the Shulgan-Tash cave (second name – Kapova Cave) with rock art from the Paleolithic era.

.

The Reserve is also famous for its original traditions of bortnichestvo – the oldest trade of the Bashkir people. One of the activities of the staff of the scientific institution is the preservation and study of the population of the primitive wild honeybee, known as the Burzyan bee.

The museum and excursion complex welcomes guests all year round. The tourist infrastructure is quite well developed here: hotels, equipped tent parking lot, well-maintained trails, cafes, stores are at the guests’ disposal.

.

“Water died in stone.”

In the scientific world for many years, the ancient cave was commonly referred to as “Kapova”. Perhaps, such a name was fixed for it due to its similarity with the word “drop”, the ringing sounds of which are spread under the cave vaults. Another, devoid of emotion, the explanation – the name came from the word “kapishche” (sanctuary, residence of the gods).

.

Many researchers believe that in the prehistoric period of the cave was a non-man-made temple, the peculiarities of the location of rock paintings – confirmation of this. And when in July 2009 in one of the halls with rock art were found human skulls, scientists have suggested that these are the remains of the elite of the ancient tribe, most likely, dedicated to the secrets of the sanctuary shamans.

.

It is known that already in historical times the Bashkirs used the cave to perform their religious rituals – this is confirmed by folk legends and myths.

.

Today, the underground cave bears the name given to it by the indigenous inhabitants of the mountainous country – “Shulgan-Tash”. In translation from Bashkir “tash” means stone, and “shulgan” means “to disappear”, “to flow away”, the latter is also the name of the river flowing out of the lake located at the entrance to the cave. “Shu-ulgan” in translation from the ancient dialect of Bashkir means “water died in the stone” or “water went under the stone.”

.

In addition, Shulgan is one of the main characters of the Bashkir epic “Ural-Batyr”, the lord of the underworld. Legend has it that the reservoir formed when Shulgan struck the ground with his staff in anger served as a place for a cruel ritual – here the most beautiful girls in the area were sacrificed to the underworld.

.

Underworld

The first Russian scientific community was informed about the Shulgan-Tash cave by the geographer P. I. Rychkov, corresponding member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences. Having visited here in 1760, he vividly depicted in his writings halls, grottoes, natelic formations, stalactites hiding under the ground. But Rychkov did not get to the real treasures lurking in the cave.

.

Only two hundred years later, rock paintings of artists of the Stone Age discovered zoologist reserve AV Ryumin (1959). Color images created between 12 and 10 millennia BC, caused a worldwide sensation: before that with the fine art of the Paleolithic era could only be acquainted in France and Spain (caves Lascaux, Chabot, Altamira and others).

.

Cave Shulgan-Tash fourteen millennia concealed in its halls about 200 rock paintings. Primitive people left images of animals contemporary to them – mammoths, bison, horses. On the rocky walls they drew their huts and geometric figures. The manner of execution is characterized by realism. Almost all the drawings are created with red ochre, but there are images made with coals from the fire.

.

The entrance to Shulgan-Tash is located on the southern slope of Mount Sarykuskan. It resembles the portal of a primitive cathedral – it is a grandiose thirty-meter arch crowning the passage deep into the mountain.

.

At the entrance to the cave, in a separate rock, is located “Mammoth Grotto”. This grotto owes its name to the fact that the shadows at sunset are refracted in such a way that the outlines of the rock become similar to a mammoth with a lowered trunk.

.

At the very entrance to the Shulgan-Tash cave, visitors are greeted by the Blue Lake. It is fed by the underground Shulgan River, which then bursts out of the reservoir and after 200 meters flows into the Aghidel (White) River. This miniature lake, the size of which does not exceed 3 meters in diameter, is very deep – almost 80 meters. The water in it is transparent and has an unusual color – piercing blue. It is not allowed to drink it, as there are a lot of mineral impurities dissolved in it, including radon “responsible” for its fantastic color. Those who wish to dive in this water body (t° +4 °С!) should get permission from the administration of the reserve. Local residents have long used lake water as healing water and called it “living water”. But the standing water of another lake, Krugloe, located on the other side of the cave, they did not recognize and called it “dead water.”

.

Shulgan-Tash Cave stretches for almost three kilometers, forming galleries and halls located in three levels. But not all corners are available for mass visits. The thing is that the rock images are in different degrees of preservation: some of them are hidden under calcite deposits, some of them are gradually destroyed by moisture penetrating the rock walls. And some drawings are “decorated” with autographs of visitors-vandals who visited the cave back in the days when the cave did not have the status of a reserve.

.

Unfortunately, the problem with finding reliable methods of rock art conservation has not yet been solved, so in order to preserve the unique drawings, visitors are shown exact life-size copies of the images made by artists invited from the Hermitage restoration workshops. Some of these drawings can be seen right at the entrance.

.

A few years ago, the Reserve’s administration made a creative decision, commissioning its photographers and specialists to capture the original images and create a virtual photo tour. An interactive kiosk has been set up in the museum on the reserve’s grounds, where everyone has the opportunity to peek into any corner of the cave accessible to speleologists.

.

It is worth noting that the Shulgan-Tash cave has not yet been fully explored: the halls and passages of the second floor are in no hurry to open their secrets, arranging traps for researchers – cliffs and deep narrow crevices.

.

The security service of the reserve regularly checks the condition of the cave, as there are periodic rockfalls and collapses. Particular attention is paid to the stairs that are built in the underground passages, so that tourists are left “armed” with special cave flashlights, which are issued before the tour, stay close to the guide, without leaving the path. And you should also know that an old tradition forbids you to turn around when leaving the dungeon.

.

The world’s most delicious honey

Only in the Shulgan-Tash reserve the Bashkir beekeeping, the original trade of the local population, has been preserved in its original manifestation. And beekeeping on the territory of modern Bashkortostan was practiced even by primitive people – rock paintings found in the caves of the Burzyansk district tell about it.

.

Bashkir beekeepers owe their fame to the Burzyan (Bashkir) bee. Due to the fact that not only in the reserve, but also around it is prohibited the installation of apiaries with other breeds of bees, here the native bee is represented in its unchanged form, as it was 8000 years ago.

.

Wild honey, which is produced in the reserve, is incomparable to any other in its medicinal properties, and gourmets recognize that it is also the most delicious in the world.

.

Scientists call the Burzyan bee the greatest jewel in terms of genetics: the bees are characterized by winter hardiness, resistance to disease and high honey production. However, the reverse side of the coin is their incredible maliciousness, so a suit, a net and a smokestack are indispensable attributes provided to the guests of the reserve who want to try on the role of a bee honey collector. You can learn about the history of beekeeping and the subtleties of this craft by visiting the museums of beekeeping, the Reserve’s educational apiary, and the staking apiary.

.

Every year in the fall in the Shulgan-Tash Reserve hold the Day of the beekeeper, and beekeepers from all over Russia, as well as guests and connoisseurs of honey craft from abroad come here.

.

Early fall is considered by many to be the best time to visit the reserve. At this time it is no longer hot here, but it is not yet cold. Although the reserve is open all year round, you should be aware that the weather here is capricious and contrasting – not surprising for a region located between Europe and Asia. Although there is no year to year variation, summers in these parts are usually hot and winters are frosty. The average temperature in January is -16 °C and in July it is +16 °C.

.

Outdoor recreation

In ancient times, the territory on which the Shulgan-Tash Reserve is located was considered almost sacral. There were no large settlements here, and people went to the forests to hunt and for honey. And even today everything in the area breathes primordiality.

.

The fauna of the reserve is represented by more than 800 species of plants, 10% of which botanists refer to rare, endemic and relict. Here grow luxurious linden forests and relict spruce forests.

.

Among the animals living in these places are lynxes, wolves, foxes, bears, moose. Beavers, whose population was exterminated at the beginning of the last century, have recently settled here again. Today they actively develop water bodies, transforming nature: they fell trees, flood the trunks and create ponds again.

.

On the territory of the Shulgan-Tash Reserve flows the beautiful Aghidel (White). On it are organized extreme rafting of varying complexity. They take from several hours to several days. It should be borne in mind that it is not that wide and serene Aghidel, as it is used to see the inhabitants of Ufa, and a real mountain river flow, rapid and stroppy, with rapids and rolls, so it is better to go on a trip accompanied by an experienced instructor.

.

All tourists entering the reserve are given leaflets with a map and routes, and its territory is crossed by an ecological walking trail with signs. It is so comfortable that even moms with strollers can walk along it. Along the trail there are museums, observation decks, camps with field kitchens.

During the walk, spending a small amount of money, it is nice to treat yourself to pancakes, drinking them with herbal tea with honey, or koumiss. More densely you can eatin cafes, where European and Bashkir cuisine is presented.

.

In summer, tourists like to order pilaf and kebabs in an outdoor cafe, and on winter days spend time in the bathhouse with fragrant brooms. The main winter entertainment also includes tubing, snowmobiling, cross-country skiing.

.

Main excursions

Familiarization excursion on the territory of the whole museum complex of the reserve includes a visit to the Shulgan-Tash cave and its museum with the possibility of photo and video shooting, the museum of the history of beekeeping, as well as a visit to the apiary and living room “Bee Forest”. The excursion lasts 3 hours and costs 320 rubles per person. Children under 8 years old can make the trip for free. Also in the Shulgan-Tash reserve there is a system of discounts, about which you will be told in detail in the tourist office.

.

If you want to get into all the halls of the Shulgan-Tash cave, you will have to pay for a comprehensive tour, and it will cost 4500 rubles. Take into account that your physical preparation should be at the level – it is not easy to get through the difficult sections of the cave.

.

Accommodation

To accommodate guests of the Shulgan-Tash Reserve, guest houses of different comfort levels for 4-12 people are built near the cave. Accommodation here costs from 480 rubles per person per day.

.

Staying in the tourist complex “U Kapova”, you can combine active vacation with accommodation in a comfortable hotel room or a separate guest house, located away from the main buildings of the base. In the evening you will have the opportunity to cook a kebab on the equipped grill of the hotel, accompanying the meal with fragrant mead from bortevoy honey on spring water.

.

All buildings of the complex are made of environmentally friendly local materials. The cost – from 500 rubles per day of accommodation.

.

Those who want to be closer to nature, can be accommodated in a tent city, fenced and guarded.

.

How to get there

You can head to Shulgan-Tash as part of an excursion group from Ufa. Weekend tours cost from 3000 rubles per person. The price includes: transfer by bus, accommodation at the campground, three meals a day, entrance tickets, giving the opportunity to freely explore the museums. Also included in the price are the main excursions, including the Shulgan-Tash cave and the services of a guide.

.

If you go by private transportation, leave Ufa in the southern direction, towards Beloretsk, then turn to the village of Starosubkhangulovo. After it you will have to go another 40 kilometers on a dirt road to the final point. The length of the whole route is about 400 kilometers. Prepare to overcome the Uraltau ridge with its treacherous turns, steep ascents and descents. You will certainly be rewarded with stunning views, but the driver should not be particularly distracted by them.

.

The shorter route from Orenburg and Magnitogorsk is between 260 and 270 kilometers. And the most spectacular, but also risky way to get to the Shulgan-Tash Reserve is to raft down the Agidel River.