Shulgan-Tash Cave - an opportunity to touch history

In all corners of the earth they know that the Shulgan-Tash reserve is located in Bashkiria. The cave, which is on its territory, brought this area world fame. Every day here you can meet about 1000 tourists. But what makes the Shulgan-Tash cave so famous and why do so many travelers come here?

Description of the cave

In the Bashkir South Urals, among all karst caves, Shulgan-Tash is considered the largest. It was formed four kilometers from the Belaya River in the Burzyan District. Reminiscent of a large arch entrance is located on the southern side of the slope of the town of Saryuskan. The Shulgan-Tash cave has an official name, which appears in the scientific literature. This is Kapova Cave. Its height is 260 m, and the length of the object reaches 2,640 m.

Journey inside the cave

This cave is really a tremendous structure of nature. Its large entrance (48 m - width and 18 m - height) opens the way to a long corridor, in which there are many halls and galleries. Two kilometers from the cave the Shulgan River flows, but suddenly it disappears. The fact is that the river falls into a karst funnel and continues the way underground. It is her water, eroding centuries-old limestones, formed halls and corridors. But the waters of the river again appear a stormy spring from under the cave on the left side of the entrance.

The Shulgan-Tash cave has three levels (some claim four). On the first floor there are river water. On the third tier you can get from the second floor through a well with stairs. To see the lower floor, you need to go down the steep slope of the third tier.

Each floor has something to see. For example, on the third there is a huge stalagmite, the width of which is 8 meters. In the most remote halls and corridors you can see calcite deposits of snow-white color, corals and other. But the Shulgan-Tash cave is most impressive with the shape of the rooms, especially if you think about the fact that they appeared as a result of the activity of a small river. The most favorite halls for tourists are the Drawings Hall, the Hall of Chaos, the Diamond Hall, the Hall of Signs.

Age of the cave

Kapova Cave (Shulgan-Tash) is an ancient natural formation. It began to form about 3-5 million years ago. The entrance to the cave is considered modern, and of all three tiers its middle floor is the oldest one. It is assumed that it began to grow actively three million years ago. The lower tier is the "youngest", it was formed about 15,000 years ago. This age is enough that in a certain period the cave was inhabited by ancient people. It is interesting that primitive weapons and tools were found inside. Also, the remains of small rodents and even a large bear were identified.

Historic Landmark

Many tourists are particularly interested in considering the drawings and signs that were painted by the ancient inhabitants. Here the images of animals predominate: horses, rhinoceroses and in particular mammoths, there are unknown animals, signs, ordinary spots. Also, judging by some images, we can conclude that the Shulgan-Tash cave was once a sanctuary. In total, halls and corridors revealed about 50 colorful drawings of various types.

Images are on two tiers - middle and upper. To see the first drawing, you need to move from the entrance to 170 meters. On two floors, the wall coatings differ in composition, but most of them are located low on the floor. The smallest figure is 6 cm, and the largest is 1.6 m.

The archaeologists who conducted the research here assume that many rites took place in the cave, and among them - the process of initiation, that is, the transformation of a boy into a man. Perhaps, it was here that ancient people became real warriors or hunters.

Such discoveries made the reserve and Kapova Cave a world heritage. If earlier such valuable objects were located only in Western Europe, now Bashkiria has joined these ranks.

The Shulgan-Tash Cave still surprises, as recently archaeologists have discovered in it the skulls of several ancient people. This does not contradict the generally accepted opinion that before the heads of revered persons were buried separately from the trunk. This fact also proves that the Kapova Cave used to be a holy place in which rituals and rituals were performed.