Krasnoyarsk Stolby National park

The word «Siberia» has a special magic for any person coming from the west. Siberian taiga occupies a territory of millions of square kilometers. Taiga forest stretch from the Ural to the Pacific ocean.

Most interesting Siberian taiga excursions are offered at Krasnoyarsk. City is situated on the right bank of the Yenisei, the deepest river in Russia. Krasnoyarsk is a major Siberian city, but there are no outstanding sights within the city itself. If you want to see the spaces of Siberia, there is a most interesting national reserve Krasnoyarsk Stolby (Pillars). You can see there a wonderful mix of taiga forest and scenic rock formations.

The national reserve Krasnoyarsk Pillars is located on the southern outskirts of Krasnoyarsk. It is a protected environmental zone, but you can easily get there by urban transport or a taxi.

Pillars or rocks are beats of syenites among taiga forest. They are composed of spar (pink), mica (lustre) and hornblende (black inclusions). Some rocks reach the height of 90 meters. The reserve takes the area of about 47 000 hectares. But the ‘Aesthetic’ Region is the most visited section of the reserve, and you should go there in the first place. There located, on a small territory, a bit more than 1 square kilometer, the most beautiful and famous pillars.

Each rock has its name at the reserve. Tourist footpath starts at the ‘First’ pillar. Then you will go along the pillars ‘Vnuchka’ (granddaughter), ‘Babushka’ (granny), ‘Dedushka’ (granddad), ‘Perya’ (feathers), and ‘Lion Gate’. The ‘Third’ and ‘Fourth’ pillars are at some distance. And on your way back you will come to the tallest ‘Second’ pillar. Apart from these pillars, there scattered over a hundred of other rock formations on the territory of the reserve.

All rocks are in the middle of the most beautiful taiga forest, mainly composed of firs and cedars. The ground is covered with needles, with big roots giving you an impression of something fantastic.

The Sayan Mountains is only 400 kilometers of Krasnoyarsk, which is quite small dis-tance by local standards. If Stolby are but low rocks (Sayan foothills), then in Sayany you can see forests and mountains that are absolutely untouched by civilization. Panoramic views of Siberian spaces in Sayany are simply overwhelming.