The most mysterious and mystical places in the Chelyabinsk region. © Pavel Raspopov

Averkin pit from the inside

It was the beginning of April 1966, when I, with my volunteer assistants, tenth-graders Volodya Trapeznikov and Sasha Efremov, began to examine the Averkin pit. When we approached, the edges of the well were covered with frost crystals, and moisture was drawn from the depths. We blocked the gap with two logs, built a flooring from boards, and began lowering a homemade wicker staircase. 10 meters... 12... 15... Only at the 20th meter did our ladder let us know that it had reached something. They secured it and I began to descend.

After about five meters there was a ledge. It became gloomy, so I turned on the flashlight. A light spot of sky was already barely visible overhead. The walls shone a little from the drops of water. A few more minutes passed until my legs felt support. He turned on two flashlights at once and looked around. My assistants came down after me.

There’s a log block ahead,” said Volodya, who had been here before. - Look how many logs and poles there are! How the cave was littered.

Squeezing between slippery, half-rotten trunks, we climbed out into the first grotto.

“Stone stairs,” Volodya said.

Steps made of stone went down. We walked along the stairs to the southern wall of the grotto, turned, and walked along the stone corridor.

The first grotto was large. White icicle stalactites hung from its ceiling. Here and there bats hung upside down on ledges. They wrapped themselves in their membraned wings, like cloaks. The mice were still in their hibernation season. With the arrival of spring, they will wake up and unmistakably find their way to the surface.

Climbing back up the stairs, we examined the western side, where the second part of the grotto led, walked through a low corridor, and came out to an underground lake. The water in it turned out to be very clear and clean. But the grotto narrowed further and turned into a tight hole with two side branches that ended in dead ends and crevices.

On the way back, Volodya and Sasha found the bones of some animals in the first grotto. Upon examination, it was found that among them there were teeth of domestic goats and sheep.

On the way to Averka Pit

It has now been established that the cave was named after the schismatic Kerzhak Averky, who appeared on the shores of Ai over a hundred years ago. He lived in this cave for several years and then suddenly disappeared. This disappearance caused a lot of rumors.

In 1974, the newspaper “Satkinsky Rabochiy” published an ancient Aylin legend called “The Golden Tragedy”, in which the events also concerned the Averkin Cave. Heated debates erupted as to whether this was true or false. Everyone who knew at least something or had heard about the secrets of the cave, and those who knew nothing at all, argued.

But relatively recently we managed to discover interesting material about the cave - Dolgov’s article “Journey to the “Holy Fathers”,” published in the Zlatoust district newspaper “Proletarskaya Mysl” on July 3, 1924. It says, in particular:

“The Aili youth decided on June 15, and on June 29 carried out an excursion to the Ai River and to the Averkin Cave... The guys created a commission that stocked up on kerosene, candles, ropes, bread and everything necessary for traveling underground.

Arriving at the cave, the youth tied a block to a log above the hole and began to descend along it on a rope. At first it was creepy: they frightened us with snakes and various monsters. The entrance to the cave is a round hole an arshin and a half in diameter, then wider and wider. At the very depths of this natural well there is a lot of different debris piled up: sticks, logs, stones. Without a lantern, without a candle, it is impossible to get further. And at a depth of 10 fathoms the following picture appears: from a narrow stone entrance there is a stone staircase, then a vast stone room... There are boards from the door, a working wooden machine, and a bed lying around. The iron brackets from the door and the tin pipe still remain. There are many bones, including human ones...

Time takes its toll - everything collapsed, was covered with underground stone, sand and clay, but old-timers say that not so long ago (about 50 years) a schismatic hermit lived in this cave. The bread was lowered into the top hole. Sometimes he himself went out, but so that no one would see. He had female acquaintances who sometimes stayed with him “in fasting and prayer” or took a “holy” walk through the forest.”

Ai River Valley

But Elena Mikhailovna Shlyapina, a resident of Ailino (maiden name Sosnina), stated something else:

“He was not a Kerzhak at all. He was a Tatar. His nostrils were torn and one eye was gouged out. He was black-faced and had a thick beard. Averky was a horse thief and he was sent to prison, but he escaped and hid here. The brothers Savva and Joseph Sosnin said that Averky left the cave secretly, wandered through the forests, and was engaged in robbery. He was caught stealing horses, tied up, and handed over to the police. Then he appeared in these places again, the Ailin men saw him near Vinokurny Stream. He was sitting on a rock, he was thin and barefoot. Since then he has disappeared forever."

What to believe? There was, after all, another opinion, according to which the Sosnins greeted the stranger for a reason, not out of kindness or common faith. According to this version, Averky brought gold from Siberia, and this is what attracted the attention of rich men. It was also alleged that the lonely old man was a “damned adulterer”; not only widows, but also nuns from the monastery allegedly visited him in his cave.

Among the surrounding residents there were those who seriously believed that the gold was hidden by Averky in a secret passage, since there was a passage, and after the disappearance of this strange man it turned out to be walled up. It seems they have been searching for the treasured treasure for a long time, but to no avail. Even the author of this essay found a bent crowbar and a rusty shovel in the cave. Isn't this evidence of searches? Nowadays, of course, no one is looking for gold anymore, but speleologists and tourists have tried to find the buried passage more than once.

So, as we see, everything is the same - rumors, assumptions. Then, in July 1924, a teacher, a doctor, even “a cell of the RCP, a sex offender” visited the cave, not to mention Komsomol members. But, as the newspaper admits, “the main goal of the excursion, the study of stalactites, was not achieved, since everyone became interested in the internal structure of underground housing.”

So what emerged from this whole story? It is clear that Averky is not a fictitious person, he lived in a cave alone, worked there, probably hid from the authorities, he was supported by the Sosnins, and then for some reason he disappeared. All this happened at the end of the last century. This is the story of a hermit, whom someone even hastened to call “the Ural Rasputin.”

Already in the early 90s, students from school No. 13 began cleaning the entrance well of the Averkiev Yama cave. The entrance well, as mentioned, is littered with tree trunks. But the guys were not only pursuing an environmental goal. The bottom of the entrance well is under a flooring made of logs, branches, earth, and among the boards there are forged nails, they don’t make those anymore. And somehow they pulled out a log with a hollowed out core, which clearly served as a gutter for water drainage. And who knows what else will be discovered there?

The Chelyabinsk region is called by many the most anomalous place in Russia, as it is filled with mystical places, mysterious buildings, monuments with secrets and other things that will give goosebumps to the skin of an ordinary person. Especially in the mining region of the Chelyabinsk region there are many mysterious places. Since ancient times, people have encountered the unknown here. Literally everything in the area is shrouded in mysticism: the foothills, slopes and peaks of the mountains keep secrets that are incomprehensible to human perception.

Arkaim

The leader in the list of the most mystical places in the Chelyabinsk region is, of course, Arkaim. It is located in the south of the region at the foot of the Ural Mountains. This is the most mysterious archaeological monument not only in our region, but throughout Russia. It differs from the others in that four thousand years ago the “owners” of the city burned it and abandoned it, but it is still well preserved. From a bird's eye view, Arkaim looks like two almost perfect circles - these are the main ring streets. In the middle of the city there is a square for performing rituals. The entire layout of the streets with four exits from the city is built like a regular swastika, which in Paleolithic times was a sacred symbol of good luck and light. Arkaim has long attracted Russian and foreign tourists here on excursions. Ordinary people claim that while in the fortress, their consciousness changed, their breathing slowed down, and an otherworldly whisper was heard in their ears. There are cases when ordinary people on an excursion could not cope with the force that fell upon them and lost consciousness. Some even temporarily lost their minds and left in an unknown direction. Later they explain this by orders that they heard in their heads and could not resist them. For people with psychic powers, the ancient fortress is a truly energetically rich place. But skeptics explain the energy phenomena simply by the location of Arkaim - in ancient times there was an active paleovolcano here.

Lake Shaitanka

It is located on the western border of the Chelyabinsk region, just south of the city of Asha, on the outskirts of the village of Uk. According to the Encyclopedia of the Ashinsky District, the depth of the lake is 200 meters. It is possible that the lake has not one bottom, but several. Local residents claim that Shaitanka is bottomless, which, of course, is unlikely. If you look at it from the air, its shape is almost an even circle with a very tiny diameter. This is because the reservoir is of karst origin. Even more interesting is that, according to some reports, down there, Shaitanka is connected to a giant underground water system. There is a legend that once upon a time there was a settlement on the shore of the lake, and the swamp that overflowed one day swallowed it up. And it is as if its depths still spit smoothly hewn logs to the surface from time to time. According to local residents, robbers used to operate here. They robbed and killed mercilessly. And all the evidence (carriages, corpses) was drowned in this lake. Now the supposedly restless ghosts of innocent victims sometimes appear to those who find themselves on the shore of a reservoir at night. Asha residents also claim that they saw unidentified objects flying several times.

Ignatievskaya Cave

The cave is located in the Katav-Ivanovsky district, near the village of Serpievka. It is one of the most visited caves in Russia, because rock paintings that are more than 14 thousand years old were discovered in it. Therefore, it is called the oldest art gallery of primitive man in the country. The underground halls and galleries of the cave, located in hard-to-reach places and far from daylight, most likely had sacred significance and served as a place for ritual activities. Ignatievskaya Cave got its name from the cell attendant Ignatius, who lived in the cave and, according to legend, was buried in it. The table on which Ignatius healed has survived to this day. It is split in half, with one of its parts being cold and the other being warm. They say that touching a warm part and prayer can heal any ailment. According to legend, the spirit of St. Ignatius comes out to the edge of the cave at night and looks at the Moon. Tourists at night hear strange voices and footsteps coming from nowhere. In the cave itself and around it, batteries quickly run out, flashlights burn out, camera flashes refuse to work, people feel someone’s invisible presence. And in one of the halls it is very difficult to get high-quality photographs - a “white transparent veil” appears on them.

Ilmensky Reserve

The reserve is located in the eastern foothills of the Southern Urals on the Ilmensky ridge, northeast of the city of Miass. In the spring, so-called “bottomless holes” appear in the reserve - gaps where melt water flows. Their diameter is about 15 centimeters, but their depth is so great that it is impossible to determine. It is believed that such holes form UFOs by extracting rare earth elements. However, the geological department of the Ilmensky Nature Reserve itself categorically denied information about the phenomenon of bottomless holes. In addition, in 2004, phenological anomalies were noted here: broom, viburnum, raspberry, and cinnamon rose bloomed in the fall.

Taganay National Park

In the Taganay National Park, located on the mountain ranges near Zlatoust, a full bouquet of anomalies is observed - UFO flights and landings, contacts with extraterrestrial intelligence, chronomirages, ghosts, changes in the course of time. People there often feel inexplicable fear and anxiety. They also talk about sound mirages, “walking” fog, frequent ball lightning, rapidly changing weather, and even about Bigfoot and a certain Kialim grandmother.

Lake Itkul and Shaitan stone

Lake Itkul is located in the northwestern part of the Kasli district, local residents consider it “unclean”. Translated from Bashkir, Itkul means “meat lake,” since “it” (“meat”) and “kul” (“lake”). Scientists believe that the lake was given this name because of the abundance of various fish in it. Although there is a version that, on the orders of the Demidovs, several convoys of pork were thrown there in order to drive away the Muslims who lived near the reservoir and were protesting against industrial work. But it is not this fact that Lake Itkul is notorious for, but the fact that in the middle of its water surface the so-called Shaitan Stone rises threateningly. There is a version that in ancient times, sacrifices were made on this stone for the sake of the harvest and good weather. Nowadays, many people drown in this place. And those who remain alive say that it is as if some invisible cord is passing through them, as a result of which the body is constrained and it is very difficult to get ashore.

Lake Turgoyak and Vera Island

A small island on Lake Turgoyak near Miass keeps an incredible number of secrets. Local residents say that at the beginning of the last century, the hermit Vera lived on the island in a stone dugout, and even earlier, Pugachev’s ally was hiding here, and in his honor the island was long called Pinaevsky. The oldest historical monument on the island is the Neanderthal site, which is about 60 thousand years old. But the main finds were megaliths - prehistoric structures made of large stone blocks connected without the use of cement or lime mortar. The most interesting is the megalith, which looks like a man-made cave. This is a stone structure measuring 6 by 19 meters. It seems to be cut into a rock and covered with massive slabs. Moreover, the weight of the largest slab is 17 tons. It was not easy for our distant ancestors to move it. It is more correct to call a megalith a dolmen - a burial box covered with a stone slab. It was in this dolmen that Vera supposedly lived. It consists of three chambers and a corridor, its dimensions are quite impressive, and inside you can stand up to your full height. Directions associated with the points of sunrise and sunset on the days of the equinoxes and solstices are recorded on the megaliths of the island. Next to the megaliths is a stone mountain on which an iron cross is installed. This mountain is not man-made, it is a remnant, but it still attracts ecstatic visitors to the island today. People climb the mountain, pray, tie bright rags there, and leave food and money. Archaeologists believe that many thousands of years ago the island of Vera was a sacred, holy place, a kind of religious center. At all times, there were many religious buildings here, people came here for secret knowledge, and worshiped the created sanctuaries. There are opinions that there are some bioenergetic strong places within the island. Therefore, people come here to feel inspired, get rid of negative energy, and recharge with positive emotions.

Mahadi-Tash stone

The miraculous stone Mahadi-Tash is located in the Kunashak region near the village of Ust-Bagaryak at the junction of three regions - Chelyabinsk, Sverdlovsk and Kurgan (on a hillock, on the left bank of the Sinara River, a little above the village). According to the local population, this is a sacred stone; previously it was surrounded by a small fence. Believers took care of this place: they cleaned the stone and removed the garbage. The fence has long been gone, and there are not many true believers left, but still in dry weather you can see women praying by the stone, asking for rain. Mahadi-Tash does not perform other miracles, but it helps with rain. There is also a noticeable dent on it - the mark of Saint Mahadi. They say about Mahadi that he was from the Mishar Tatars, who moved to this area from the Caucasus or Volga. Whether it was a real person or not is now almost impossible to establish. There is also a legend that he descended from heaven onto a stone by the river and performed the ritual of ablution.

Averkin Yama Cave

Averkiev Yama Cave, or as it is popularly called Averkin Cave, is one of the most mysterious and mysterious places in the Southern Urals. It is located near the Old Pier on the rocky bank of the Ai River. The entrance to the cave is a 20-meter drop, inside of which there are two grottoes, as well as an underground lake with drinkable water. The cave is named after the schismatic Kerzhak Averky, who appeared on the shores of Ai over 100 years ago. He lived in this cave for several years and then suddenly disappeared. There are other legends that Averky was an escaped convict hiding from the authorities. One way or another, according to legend, he was helped by local residents who brought food. Some even considered him a saint. Some called him the Ural Rasputin. According to another well-established opinion, the remnants of Pugachev’s army hid here until their death. The gold looted by Emelyan Pugachev was hidden here. They even say that ancient coins were found in Averkiev Yama. Scientists discovered a cave near Satka in 1924. Then the expedition found a dilapidated stone staircase, a wooden door, a machine of unknown purpose, a bed and human bones. A little later, the remains of an ancient pipeline were discovered in the cave. There is also a mystical story associated with the cave. Local residents know that she has two options. According to legends, in Soviet times, two young men found one of the exits, hidden by a stone, and opened it. One went crazy from what he saw, the second was speechless.

Neighborhoods of Satka and Lake Zyuratkul

From time immemorial, various kinds of legends and tales have been circulating about the surroundings of Satka. Here is the only high-altitude clean lake Zyuratkul on the western slope of the Ural Mountains. It is in these parts that mysterious events associated with the appearance of UFOs and Bigfoot occur. People often disappear in these parts, and some are lost in one place for several hours, or even days. In February 2001, a UFO in the form of a “luminous pulsating sphere” was even captured on videotape.

Devil's swamp near Miass

The Devil's Swamp is a small lake overgrown with grass and bushes, where various anomalies occur. Although the lake is small, it is impossible to approach it. No matter who tries, everyone is overcome by some inexplicable fear. Residents of nearby villages tell visiting ufologists that they often see barely visible balls in the sky, hovering over this swamp. Only a few days pass after such “reconnaissance”, and at night a mysterious glow appears here. And at least once every six months, the sky above the reservoir seems to be illuminated by a huge, powerful spotlight. On such nights, the village dogs hide in their kennels with their tails between their legs. Livestock, on the contrary, are rushing about in barns and trying to break free. Such mystical nights affect not only animals, but also modern electronic equipment.

Sugomak cave

Sugomak Cave is the only cave in the Urals formed in marble rock. This natural monument is located near the city of Kyshtym. The length of the cave is 123 meters. It is the main local attraction and is a cavity consisting of three grottoes, which are connected by narrow passages. The third grotto is partially filled with water. There, speleologists allegedly found small crustaceans unknown to science. And representatives of Cosmopoisk, using an echo sounder, discovered at least three strange objects here under a layer of silt. The echo sounder showed that disc-shaped hollow structures of unknown origin lie in the lake at a depth of up to eight meters. There are also flooded passages underwater, leading, in all likelihood, to new sections of the cave. According to one of the legends about the cave, there was an exit in the ceiling of the second grotto, which is now blocked; according to another, there are exits in the southern part of Kasli and in the courtyard of the old Kyshtym hospital; according to the third, there are underwater routes to the Kasli lakes, and secret tunnels lead to Kyshtym Demidov's house. They also say that Emelyan Pugachev was hiding in a cave, and the Old Believers lived before him, which is why the second grotto is called “Old Believers”. The boldest assumption was made by Fyodor Konyaev in the book “The Urals and the Bible” (1927), moving biblical scenes to the Southern Urals, proving that Noah on his ark landed at Mount Arakul, and not at Ararat, after which “Noah’s family went to live to Mount Sugomak and lived here in a cave.” The world-famous story of the Kyshtym Aleshenka is also connected with the Sugomak cave, allegedly he was born there, and then came out to people. The mountain itself, in which the Sugomak cave is located, is considered a “place of power.” Local psychics come here to “recharge with energy.”

Kyshtym dwarf Alyoshenka

The small town of Kyshtym is located 80 kilometers from Chelyabinsk. In 1996, an unusual story took place here, which has been worrying not only Russian and foreign ufologists, but also lovers of the supernatural for many years. Despite the many unsaid things, this incredible story is distinguished from thousands of others like it by the presence of photographic and video evidence of its veracity.

It all started in the summer of 1996, when a local pensioner picked up a strange humanoid creature not far from her house - only 25 centimeters tall. The stranger lived with her for two weeks, during which the neighbors saw him, and they confirmed that Alyoshenka was alive, ate sweets and whistled. Eyewitnesses described him as follows: there were no genital organs on his body. Alyoshenka did not even have a navel; her body was gray-green, “like the screen of a turned off TV.” His head, reminiscent of a pointed ancient Russian helmet, seemed to be composed of four petals. There was a small fold in the middle of the face, almost not separating two huge eyes with cat-like vertical pupils. By the way, these eyes did not close with eyelids, but seemed to fall inside the head. The creature had tiny holes where its ears should have been. The mouth was a slit-like slit with two small teeth and a clearly atrophied lower jaw. But the arms and legs were much more mobile than those of people, thanks to the special structure of the joints; the long fingers ended in claws.

When the pensioner’s condition worsened, she was taken to the hospital, but Alyoshenka remained at home. Left in an empty house without the minimal care that his grandmother provided him, the “baby” died. But the house, although sealed, became a godsend for the daughter-in-law’s unemployed roommate, who made a living by stealing and reselling scrap metal. He climbed into the house and found a tiny corpse there, already covered with some kind of larvae. He really liked the “curiosity,” and the man washed it, removed all the insides, “dried it in the sun” and put it in the refrigerator. Alyoshenka was discovered by the police during a search. After it was established that the creature did not belong to the human race, the criminal case of its murder was closed.

The Kyshtym dwarf Alyoshenka himself was taken home by an investigator and placed in the freezer. However, the investigator could not stop without finding out exactly what kind of creature it was and where it came from on Earth. To answer his questions more accurately, an expensive DNA examination was needed. Unfortunately, it was not possible to conduct this study at that time. But the investigator’s wife began to be indignant at the fact that there was a corpse in her refrigerator, and the man had to give the body to unknown individuals who introduced themselves as researchers of paranormal creatures. The further fate of the alien is shrouded in darkness. It was not possible to find those people, and one can only guess where the Kyshtym dwarf Alyosha is now. The mystery of its origin still interests millions of people. Unknown sources report that DNA testing was nevertheless carried out. As a result of this study, it became known that Alyoshenka, the Kyshtym dwarf, is actually a mutated human embryo.

As it turns out, his DNA contains only female chromosomes. This means that Alyoshenka is not a boy at all, but a girl. Scientists attributed the fact that this creature is significantly different from humans to radiation, which is elevated in the zone where it was found. The cause of radiation contamination was the Chelyabinsk accident, which happened in 1957. Therefore, experts do not deny the possibility of a gene mutation that the Kyshtym dwarf could have suffered. According to ufologists from Cosmopoisk, Kyshtym is one of the most popular cities in the world among aliens. Every year, local residents see dozens of unexplained phenomena and UFOs. Creatures similar to Alyoshenka were also found in South America. The last time a “relative” of the “Kyshtym alien” was discovered in Chile was in 2003.

Devil's Gate (Dragon Wings, Stone Gate)

They are located on the northwestern spur of Mount Teplaya (height 615 m). The rocks are an elongated stone ridge at the top of the mountain. But the attention of tourists is attracted by a stone outcrop with an arch. The path will lead you exactly to it. The height of the rocks, composed of granite gneisses, reaches approximately 10 meters. The mountain is surrounded mainly by birch forest - a consequence of frequent logging. The main feature is an oval-shaped through hole, formed as a result of weathering of rocks. The rock in this place turned out to be less stable, so it gradually collapsed under the influence of wind and water. The height of the arch is almost the height of a person. You can climb into it from the south side. To the north the rock breaks off vertically. Once upon a time, the Stone Gate was considered a sacred place where wishes were made. Since ancient times, hunters have come here to beg for good luck and to make their weapons more accurate and deadly. Nowadays, people come here to look, to be amazed by the rock, as well as the magnificent views that open from the mountain to the surrounding area. Fans of esoteric teachings claim that the rock is still a kind of energy point - a “place of power.” Also here, equipment breaks down, batteries run out, people get lost, and other mystical phenomena occur.

Mountain and Lake Sugomak

Not far from Kyshtym there is a low mountain with a bald rocky peak. The height of Mount Sugomak is close to 600 meters above sea level. An interesting fact is that the mountain has not one, but three peaks. There is a saying among local residents: “The first hill, the second hill, the third is the mountain.” Many consider Mount Sugomak miraculous, the so-called “place of power” that heals, fills with health and energy. There are many variations of the legend about a strong and brave warrior named Sugomak and the beautiful girl Egoza. But the main plot line boils down to the fact that the lovers’ relatives are against their union; they belong to two warring families.

Despite all the prohibitions and obstacles, Sugomak and Egoza began to live together away from their tribes. But this decision only increased the hostility of their relatives towards each other. Then the young man and girl turned to the gods for help. They begged for peace and harmony. The wish came true, but at what cost: the Gods turned the lovers into two mountains (Sugomak and Egozu), standing side by side. And the tears that they shed from unhappy love formed the most beautiful Lake Sugomak. They say that Bashkirs still believe in the magical power of the lake and try to come here with their newborns to dip them in the waters of the lake. Perhaps they dream that their sons will become as strong as Sugomak, and their daughters as beautiful as Egoza. Tradition says that the poet and hero Salavat Yulaev appeared among the Bashkirs precisely because his mother bathed him as a newborn in Lake Sugomak

Arakul Shihans

Arakul Shikhany, more often referred to simply as Shikhany, is a granite rock massif of the Middle Urals, the southernmost and highest (more than 40 meters). The Shikhans received their name from the widespread dialectism “shikhan” in the Southern Urals and the name of the Bashkir clan group “uvan” - “high cone-shaped mountain”. The length of the stone ridge, composed of granites, is more than two kilometers. The height of the steep cliffs reaches 60 meters, and the width of the ridge is up to 40-50 meters. They are composed of huge granite slabs and blocks, hewn by the elements over centuries, which gives them an old and majestic appearance. Shikhan resembles the Chinese Wall or an impregnable fortress in appearance. Archaeologists have found several sites of ancient people near the rocks (Bronze Age and Early Iron Age), a total of 13 archaeological sites. The age of the finds varies from the Chalcolithic to the second half of the 19th century. Of particular interest are the man-made depressions located at the top of the ridge. The diameter of such bowls reaches two meters, and the depth reaches a meter.

According to one version, our distant ancestors performed sacrifice rituals and lit ritual fires in these stone bowls. In addition, this place is rich in legends about a certain Grandma Shikhanka, who lives in Arakul Shikhany. Rumor has it that an evil spirit, taking the form of a frail old woman, roams the mountains and brings disaster to tourists. Meeting her does not bode well. They say that those who saw Babka Shikhanka only have time to tell about their meeting, and then they inevitably die. Of course, under the most mysterious circumstances.

Mount Iremel

Mount Iremel is located on the territory of the Republic of Bashkortostan, but on the border with the Chelyabinsk region, from which it is easier to get to the mountain. Iremel is the second highest peak in the Southern Urals. The Bashkirs have long considered the mountain sacred. It was closed to ordinary people. Iremel has its own mysterious story. The name of the mountain came to us from time immemorial, this is what the Turks who inhabited these lands called it (the ancestors of modern Bashkirs). Translated from ancient Turkic, the word “Iremel” means “a place that gives a person strength,” and the name of the village of Tyulyuk, located at the foot of the mountain (founded two centuries ago), is translated as “desire.” It is precisely because of the proximity of Tyulyuk to Iremel that the legend originates that supposedly on the top of the mountain any desires can be fulfilled, you just need to present a gift to the spirits of the mountain. In ancient times, human souls were brought to spirits. According to legend, the priests of ancient peoples performed bloody sacrifices on the top of the mountain in order to appease the gods and beg them for a rich harvest. Nowadays, the mountain is of great interest not only among tourists, but also among esotericists. Sports tourists, nomadic esotericists and simply curious people have recently flooded the mountain. Some jokingly, some in all seriousness, tell their stories about Iremel. Some believe that this is a “portal”, an “energy center” and come here to “recharge”. The most common joke of the mountain is the disappearance and then sudden reappearance of tourists' belongings or the inability to go home. It is believed that spirits guide people, causing them to wander “in three pines.” Ufologists, of whom there are also quite a few, claim that somewhere here there is an underground UFO base and claim that they regularly see “flying saucers.” Sorcerers and psychics come here to collect magical plants. For example, only here does Rhodiola Iremelica, listed in the Red Book, grow. This plant, which is also called the “golden root,” is included in many alchemical recipes for immortality. Some put Iremel on a par with such iconic peaks as Kailash in Tibet and Belukha in Altai. Psychics say that there is very strong energy here. They classify Iremel as a place of power.

Moskal Ridge (Witch Mountain)

The Moskal ridge is located on the territory of the Zyuratkul National Park, in the southwest of the lake of the same name, in the Satka region. To the west of the ridge is the valley of the Malaya Satka river, and beyond it is the Bolshaya Suka ridge (emphasis on the last syllable). In the north, the Zyuratkul ridge is a continuation. The meaning of the word “Moskal”, “maskal” is derived not from the name Russian, popular among some fraternal peoples, but from the Bashkir “meskey” - “witch”. Hence its second name - Witch Mountain. Among the mountain ranges of the ridge, geologists discovered a unique paleovolcano, and in its crater - a real underground storehouse. The Moskal “box” contains more than 70 minerals. And this is on an area of ​​just one square kilometer. Fans of esoteric teachings compare the Moskal ridge with Tibet, and Mount Big Kalagazu with the sacred Mount Kailash. Unnoticeable to the uninitiated, streams of energy, they say, actually flow in these places. The silence and peace of the surrounding areas promotes spiritual relaxation, meditation and self-contemplation.

Nurgush mountain range

The Nurgush ridge is one of the most beautiful places in the Southern Urals; translated it means radiant (light, magnificent) bird. This is one of the best places for tourists. The main peak of the Bolshoi Nurgush ridge (1406 meters) is the highest point in the Chelyabinsk region. According to reports from tourists and hunters, as well as employees of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, you can periodically observe a UFO in the sky above the mountain, and in the surrounding forests you can meet the Bigfoot, the encounters with which Satkinsky local historian Vitaly Cherentsov spoke about on the pages of his book. It was in the vicinity of Nurgush that a cryptozoologist from Chelyabinsk, Nikolai Avdeev, was lucky enough to take a photograph of Bigfoot, but like all materials on this topic, the picture turned out to be blurry and poorly informative. A mysterious and tragic story happened in 2001. While climbing to the top, a 10-year-old boy, Rostislav, disappeared. He climbed up with a group from Zyuratkul, where they had a tourist camp, but in the middle of the way he got tired and asked to go back to the camp. No one saw him again. Many search groups searched for the boy for a whole year, they searched very carefully, they combed everything, but alas, he disappeared without a trace. According to the parents, they turned everywhere, including to clairvoyants. Nobody thinks the boy is dead. If he had died, the dogs would probably have picked up the scent and found the place. In a word - a mystery.

Holy Simeon (Novo-Tikhvin) Monastery

A mysterious, anomalous church, popularly called simply the Freedom Church (Kasli district), is a place where instruments malfunction, a compass does not work, in the dungeons of which lies a secret that six nuns did not give up and were shot, whose souls still hover in the vicinity of the church. It is here that, according to assurances, the revival of human civilization will take place. Geophysicists with their instruments, together with dowsers with their frames, walked around the contours of the cathedral and received signals about the presence of underground galleries. Detailed studies were carried out on the site in front of the apse. It turned out that two underground passages emerge from under the altar hall of the temple at an angle to each other. Their general direction is deep into the once densely built-up monastic territory. This direction is consistent with the location of some dry wells, as if they, these wells, are either ventilation devices or exits from underground areas.

The miraculous grave of Blessed Evdokia Makhankova (Saint Dunyasha)

The grave of Evdokia Makhankova, better known among the people as Saint Dunyasha (Dunyushka), turned the small village of Chudinovo, Oktyabrsky district, into a place of pilgrimage. People come here not only from the Chelyabinsk region, but also from other regions. Evdokia Makhankova has not been canonized to date; documents are being collected to canonize her. But many already consider her a saint for her righteous lifestyle and for the fact that she grants miraculous healing after her death. Many come to Dunyasha specifically for help; others simply want to venerate the grave of the local righteous woman. Information is passed on from mouth to mouth that finding this place in the cemetery is absolutely simple: people go there so often that the path to the grave is always well trodden and cleaned. And being near the healing grave, many feel more at ease; someone notes that the problems that previously weighed on the heart are beginning to go away. Most often, families who come to the martyr ask for recovery for their child, as well as women who cannot get pregnant. There is no need to bring photographs to Dunyasha’s grave - they say that Dunyasha herself will understand who needs help and what. At the same time, Dunyasha is picky and will not help someone who is “disliked” to her. They notice that strange things often happen when visiting Dunyushka’s grave. For example, the sun suddenly begins to shine brightly during rain.

Kiselevskaya Cave

This cave is a natural monument of regional significance. It is located four kilometers from the city of Asha. The cave begins with a small narrow opening and an obliquely downward passage leading to the grotto of Wintering Bats. It is followed by a whole chain of large grottoes, connected by short passages: Musical, Manezhny, Temperature Anomaly, Organ Hall, Empty, Pearl, Banquet Hall. Each has its own morphology and its own characteristics. The largest is the Banquet Hall. Its length is 100 m, width from 10 to 40 m with a ceiling height of 2 to 10 m. Ice stalactites of various heights and snow crystals form in the cave in winter. But not only this natural phenomenon can attract tourists to the Kiselevskaya Cave. According to scientists, different light effects appear in the cave for inexplicable reasons. In addition, there are eyewitnesses testifying that time distortion often occurs in the cave.

What's in the Chelyabinsk region. Numerous legends are associated with it.

The entrance to the cave gapes in blackness on the mountainside, not far from the Ai River. To get to it, you have to climb a steep slope. The entrance to the Averkin pit is impressive! The walls of the karst funnel end vertically downwards into a deep well. The depth of the vertical well is 21 meters, the hole dimensions are 2x3 meters. Be careful not to accidentally slip and fall.

There is a log thrown over the entrance well, to which you can attach a rope to go down. You can only go down into the cave using ropes if you have the appropriate experience. Thanks to this, the cave is relatively protected from random onlookers. Therefore, the vaults of the cave are almost not smoked by torches.

The entrance to the cave looks most impressive from the inside. Everything around is dark and cold, and above there is a blue sky and tree crowns.

The length of the cave is 130 meters, depth is 28 meters. The cave has two large grottoes and several narrow passages. The grottoes are connected by a 12-meter manhole.

There are beautiful sagging in the cave. There are also small lakes in the cave. The cave always has a positive temperature (+4+5°C) and high humidity. It is a wintering site for bats.

It is interesting that from the bottom of the well to the horizontal part of the cave (to the lake) there is a staircase made of stones.

The origin of the name of the cave is curious. She is associated with the Old Believer hermit Averky, who hid in a cave in the 19th century. According to another version of the legend, Averky was an escaped convict hiding from the authorities. They said that his nostrils were torn and one eye was gouged out. One way or another, according to local legends, he was helped by local residents who brought food. Some even considered him a saint. Some called him the Ural Rasputin.

Subsequently, Averky disappeared, his fate is unknown.

A legend was born that Averky hid gold in the cave and blocked the passage with stones. And there are also legends about Pugachev’s gold hidden here (how could we not!) and about the counterfeiters hiding there. Many, inspired by the legends, searched for the treasure, but, of course, without success.

At the bottom of the well there are many fallen logs and branches. Interestingly, when clearing the entrance well in the 1990s, enthusiasts found ancient forged nails. They also found a log with a hollowed out core, apparently used for a drainage system.

Dolgov in the article “Journey to the “Holy Fathers”” (Zlatoust district newspaper “Proletarskaya Mysl” for July 3, 1924) wrote:

“The Aili youth decided on June 15, and on June 29 carried out an excursion to the Ai River and to the Averkin Cave... The guys created a company that stocked up on kerosene, candles, ropes, bread and everything necessary for traveling underground.

Arriving at the cave, the youth tied a block to a log above the hole and began to descend along it on a rope. At first it was creepy: they frightened us with snakes and various monsters. The entrance to the cave is a round hole an arshin and a half in diameter, then wider and wider. At the very depths of this natural well there is a lot of different debris piled up: sticks, logs, stones. Without a lantern, without a candle, it is impossible to get further. And at a depth of 10 fathoms the following picture appears: from a narrow stone entrance there is a stone staircase, then a vast stone room... There are boards from the door, a working wooden machine, and a bed lying around. The iron brackets from the door and the tin pipe still remain. There are many bones, including human ones...

Time takes its toll - everything collapsed, was covered with underground stone, sand and clay, but old-timers say that not so long ago (about 50 years) a schismatic hermit lived in this cave. The bread was lowered into the top hole. Sometimes he himself went out, but so that no one would see. He had female acquaintances who sometimes stayed with him “in fasting and prayer” or took a “holy” walk through the forest.”

And here is what the discoverer of the Zyuratkul geoglyph, Alexander Shestakov, writes:

“In the cave there are man-made stairs carved into the rock. Legend has it that the escaped convict Averkiev lived there. This cannot be, since the entrance to the cave is a 20-meter vertical well. Averkiev could not enter the cave in those years.

My guess is that at the beginningIn the 18th century, merchants forced monks into the cave so that they would reveal the secret of the science of stone. To avoid hypothermia, the monks cut step by step. Soon the monks broke down.

The first quarry of those years was right on the mountain, above the cave. It has long been overgrown with trees. Since then, the stone cutting business of the Satka region has been put on stream...”

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The Averkin Yama Cave is a geological and geomorphological natural monument of the Chelyabinsk region (since 1987). Near the cave flows a stream with clean spring water - Vinokurny (or Vinokurenny) spring.

How to get to the Averkin Yama cave

The Averkin pit is located on the left bank of the Ai River, in the Satka district of the Chelyabinsk region, three kilometers south of the village of Staraya Pristan.

The cave can be visited while rafting along the Ai River or by car to the Old Pier.

GPS coordinates of the Averkin Pit: N 55º 12.113´; E 58º 53.523´.

There is a well-trodden path leading to the cave, which begins a little downstream from Vinokurny Klyuch. The entrance to the cave suddenly opens on a small area in the middle of the forest.

© Pavel Raspopov

Averkiev pit, cave. A horizontal karst cavity embedded in a massif of Proterozoic limestones and dolomites.

It is connected to the day surface by a vertical shaft. The cave is located in the Satka district, on the left bank of the river. Ai, three km south of the village of Staraya Pristan (near the so-called White Ford), 300 m from the confluence of the Vinokurny Spring into the Ai River.

The entrance to the cave opens into a steep wooded slope at the bottom of a karst sinkhole. The entrance hole is oval-shaped with dimensions of 2x3 m. It is followed by a vertical shaft 21 m deep with a variable trunk diameter (from 2 to 8 m).

From the bottom of the shaft there is a steep, inclined descent in the form of a stone staircase with steps made of limestone slabs (probably of artificial origin). After 7 m, an inclined corridor leads to the horizontal part of the cave, which is a system of narrow low passages and 2 large grottoes. The first grotto - Cave Hermits - stretches from north to south by 35 m, its width is from 5 to 9 m, the maximum ceiling height is 8 m. From the southern part of the grotto, the 12th passage leads to the 2nd, more extensive grotto - the Musical Drop. It stretches in the north-west direction for 25 m, its width is from 8 to 14 m, the ceiling height is from 4 to 8 m. A new passage opens in the southern wall of the grotto, which stretches to the southeast. After 10 m it branches into 3 dead-end passages.

The total length of the passages and grottoes of the cave. 130 m, maximum depth 28 m, width from 1 to 14 m, height from 0.8 to 8 m. The cave has high (up to 98-100%) humidity, the air temperature is always 4-5 ° C.

There are 2 underground reservoirs in the cave: one of them is a small shallow lake with clean spring water; the second appears only in the spring as a result of melt water entering the underground cavity. There are a few stalactites on the vaults of the grottoes. The cave is home to a small colony of bats.

In 1924, residents of the village. During an excursion in the cave, Eilina discovered the remains of a hut, a wooden bench, a stone bed, various iron items, a print from a copper icon, human skeletons and bones of domestic animals. On the floor of the grotto of the Cave Hermits, a large stone cross was laid out of uncemented cobblestones.

The cave got its name from them. Elder Averky, a hermit and schismatic who lived there in the 1870-1880s.

Based on the results of the environmental assessment “Sinegorye” (1986), by decision of the Chelyabinsk Regional Executive Committee in 1987, the Averkiev Pit Cave was declared a natural monument.

A complete speleological survey, topographic survey and description of the cave were carried out in 1971 by speleologists from the Chelyabinsk club “Pluto” and the Satka club “Poisk” (expedition leader S.V. Faizullina).