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The Taganai National Park may be considered the most beautiful in the Urals and one of the most beautiful in Russia. The entrance to the park is within the city of Zlatoust. It will be easier to get to it from Chelyabinsk. Zlatoust is 350 km from Yekaterinburg.

Unlike many national parks of European Russia, where their most beautiful places are usually included in a a day tour, you can see the main sights of the Taganai, if only you go there with a tent for 2-3 day. There are only walking routes in the Taganai. You can not enter the park in a motorcar.

The main sights of the Taganai are: the Big Stone River, the Glade of Fairy Tales, the Otkliknoy (Respond) Crest, the Two-Headed Hill and the Kruglitsa. The Big Stone River is the most impressive. It is a «river» of big rocks of 3-4 tonnes with the length of 6 kilometers and the width of 400 meters. You can find no such stone rivers nowhere in the world, excepting India, but it is smaller there.

If you have only a day to visit the Taganai, you can arrange it in the following way. Early in the morning you enter the park from Zlatoust and go along the Upper Path to the Two-Headed Hill. Near the shelter White Spring you will see a steeply ascending stair. The last part of the way will go along a rather steep path but above you will have very beautiful views on the main mountains of the Taganai, as well as the South Urals taiga.

Coming down to the shelter again, you need turn left and, going over loose rocks, which is, by the way, a local singularity, turn on to the Lower Path. In the valley between the mountain ridges of the Big and Middle Taganai you need turn towards Zlatoust and then go along the Big Stone River. The length of the route is about 20 km and you can cover it for a day.

If you are ready to stay overnight at one of the shelters of the Taganai, you must climb the upper path to the Otkliknoy Crest and then to the Glade of Fairy Tales. If you are strong enough, you may climb Mount Kruglitsa. But you should take it into account that the climb will be very difficult as the upper part of the mountain is covered with taluses. And at that you must remember that Mount Kruglitsa is over 20 km from the entrance of the park in Zlatoust, so the best variant will be a three day trip.

In the first day you will go on the upper path and have a look at the Two-Headed mountain and the Otkliknoy Crest. Spending the night at the shelter Taganai, you will go to the Glade of Fairy Tales and Mount Kruglitsa on the following day. Spending one more night at the same shelter, on the third day you may go to Zlatoust and see the Big Stone River on the way. 

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The Glade of Fairy Tales, a place at the foot of mount Kruglitsa with very picturesque rocks, at the Taganai park.
The Big Stone River – a conglomerate of rocks – is the main sight of the Taganai.
A spider with folded legs on the Glade of Fairy Tales at the Taganai park. 
Picturesque «bird rocks» on the Glade of Fairy Tales at the Taganai park. 
The Otkliknoy Crest (1155 m), the second highest and the most beautiful mountain in the Taganai.
Form the glade of the Taganai park the Otkliknoy Crest looks like the frozen crest of a dinosaur. 
Mount Kruglitsa (1178 m), the highest mountain of the great Taganai ridge.
A rocky crest with the teeth of the «dragon» on the Glade of Fairy Tales at the Taganai park.
A lizard rock on the Glade of Fairy Tales at the Taganai park
Mount Kruglitsa as viewed from a glade before the Otkliknoy Crest.
Most taluses or rock rivers (accumulations of boulders) are at the foot of the Two-Headed mountain at the Taganai park.
Narrow (up to 5 meters) strips of taluses in the forest of the Taganai.
Old moss-grown rocks in the forest of the Taganai.
The sandy hills, small picturesque rocks of the great Taganai ridge.
Picturesque rocky formations near the Glade of Fairy Tales at the Taganai park.
The Otkliknoy Crest as viewed from the sandy hills at the Taganai park.
The Otkliknoy Crest was given this name because of echo.
Taluses (rock rivers) at the foot of the Two-Headed mountain at the Taganai park.
The top of Mount Kruglitsa.
The height of the Two-Headed mountain is 1041 m. It is nearest to Zlatoust.
The Bolshaya Tesma is the biggest river at the Taganai park.
Fish rocks on the Glade of Fairy Tales at the Taganai park.
Petrified dinosaurs ans lizards on the Glade of Fairy Tales at the Taganai park.
View on the Middle Taganai mountain ridge.
Pesochny Gorky (sandy hills) Gorky are small rocks between the slopes of the Great Taganai mountain ridge.
Rocks in the foothills of Mount Kruglitsa at the Taganai park.
Small arms of the Big Stone river running into the forest. 
Two separate trees in the middle of the Big Stone river.
The rocks of the Big Stone river reaches the weight of 10 tonnes.
The maximum width of the Big Stone river is 700 m.