The mountain Tip-Tyav, the highest peak of the Sokolyi mountains, is 30 kilometers to the north from the center of Samara, on the left bank of the river Volga. It reaches the height of 280 meters and is considered the highest mountain in the Samara region.
You can ascend the mountain from the side of the settlement Krasnaya Glinka. The path climbs along the edge of the mountain. From there you can have the most beautiful views of the the Volga and the Zhigulevskiye mountains on the opposite side of the river. In this place, between the Zhigulevskiye and Sokolyi mountains the Volga is the narrowest in its middle reaches.
Regarding these mountains on both sides of the Volga there is a legend about two brothers-giants Zhigul and Sokol. They both fell in love with the beauty Volga and barred the way to her demanding to choose one of them. But since Volga loved Kaspiy she waited until they fell asleep and ran between them. At that moment the dog of the giants had only time to bark two times: «tip-tyav», but it drowned in the waters of the Volga. So the name Tip-Tyav stuck to this mountain.
Apart from beautiful views from the top of the mountain Tip-Tyav, the Sokolyi mountains are also known for a giant network of underground tunnels. The tunnels had been built since 1933. Actually, it is a whole underground town. There is the famous «refrigerator» representing long tunnels, which could contain whole trains. There were stored strategic stocks (tinned meat and other non-perishable food) against the possibility of war.
There is a version that the main purpose of this underground town was accommodation of a great number of people and government organizations during the Great Patriotic War. A separate bunker was built for Stalin in Samara. Now it is one of the main local tourist attractions. The total area of the tunnels is 42 hectares, their total length is 45 kilometers. Today all the tunnels are closed, as the iron supports have long rotten and there is a high risk of collapse.
