Wonders of the underworld: interesting caves in Russia

There are more than 10,000 caves in our country. Underground halls, grottoes and corridors contain wonders created by nature, artifacts from the distant past and echoes of ancient legends. It is part of the natural and cultural heritage of Russia. Today we will tell you about the most interesting caves available to tourists.

The Kungur ice Cave is probably the most famous and largest karst cave in the European part of our country. The total length of its passages is 8,153 m. There are 58 grottoes, about 70 lakes and 146 high shafts in the cave, which are called "organ pipes". The first plan of the cave was drawn up in the XVIII century. Now a route of about 1.3 km is equipped for visiting. Visitors can admire stalactites and stalagmites 10-12 thousand years old. As well as ice and frost crystals covering the walls and columns of underground halls. This natural wonder is located in the Perm region.


Botovskaya cave is considered the longest in Russia, the length of its corridors is 66,743 m. Speleologists believe that in fact it is even larger, and there are about 30 km of underground passages in the unexplored part. But even what has already been revealed is enough to make an impression. The cave is conventionally divided into 2 parts. The southwestern one is called the "Old World", it has very narrow tunnels with low ceilings, and it is extremely difficult to move inside. The northeastern part is called the "New World", the tunnels are much more spacious here, and the halls are decorated with stalactites and stalagmites. Apparently, the Botovskaya cave was once the home of ancient bears: archaeologists found about 50 skeletons of these animals in it, more than 700 thousand years old. The cave is located in the Irkutsk region.


Kapova cave (Shulgan-Tash), located in Bashkortostan, has a double name. Russian, Kapova Cave, according to researchers, comes from the word "kapishche" - it is assumed that earlier pagan deities were worshipped here. The Bashkir name Shulgan-Tash comes from the name of Shulgan, the patron saint of the underworld. The cave is about 3,300 m in size and is about a million years old. During the Paleolithic period, it was inhabited: ochre and charcoal drawings, which are more than 14,000 years old, were found on the walls. You can recognize mammoths, rhinoceroses, horses, bison, camels in them. These are the most ancient rock carvings in Russia.


Today we have illuminated only a small part of the caves located on the territory of our country. But there are others in Russia, for example, whose corridors are filled with water. And there are also caves that are considered underground concert halls or real archaeological treasures - it is impossible to tell about all of them in one article.