Ahead of the weekend, and all the surrounding routes have been explored? We are going to the Olkhinskoye plateau!
The route to the rocks of the Olkhinsky plateau (60 km from Irkutsk) can be planned for one day, or with an overnight stay. The plateau itself is a plateau between the Angara and Irkut valleys with numerous outlier rocks. Stones and lonely rocks on the flat tops of the mountains are a common landscape in these places. Many original forms of the rocks have beautiful names - Old Fortress, Old Woman Izergil, Crow, Pharaoh, Cleopatra. Upstream there is a rapids with large stones and a compact group of outlier rocks, which are especially spectacular in spring in the big water. You can get here by car, and on weekends it is interesting to watch the training of rock climbers. You can spend the night in felt Mongolian yurts right at the foot of the cliff.
About 40 years ago, Vityaz was very popular, every Sunday a crowded electric train brought several hundred tourists to Orlyonok station, who traveled 6 km on foot to the cliff. Climbing competitions were regularly held here. Now on Vityaz, 19 named routes, 25-35 meters long, of the most difficult V-VI categories are marked with hammered hooks. The rock is an ideal climbing wall with shelves, plumb lines and monolithic sections. Now there are much fewer tourists, although a road leads to Vityaz, and there is a camp site nearby on the bank of the Olkha.
There are 20.5 km of forest roads from the nearest settlement - the village of Bolshoy Lug - to Vityaz; it is unlikely to break through here without a guide. Numerous forks end in sideways or forest dead ends. Previously, Vityaz could be reached by road through the Khanchin and Orlyonok stations, then up the valley of the Bolshaya Olkha River. Now this old timber road is difficult to pass even for SUVs. All wooden bridges have been destroyed, Olhu (on the section between Rassokha and Orlenok) can be overcome only through two deep fords with large boulders at the bottom. On the road there are many treacherous pits filled with water with mud.
Knowledgeable drivers prefer a long detour through the mountains, but for beginners it is difficult to guess the right turn. The reference point for the correct exit from the village is the garbage dump in the Molta valley, just past it in the southeast direction the road to Vityaz passes. If you reset the counter immediately after the dump, at noticeable forks after 4 km and 11 km you need to turn right, at the third fork after 12 km - left uphill to the pass - along a forest road with large stones. On the edges of the road there will be blocks of stones with traces of drilled holes to split the boulders. Poorly knurled minor forest turns should be ignored and kept on a well-worn track. On the descent from the pass (after 13 km) at the fork, turn right downhill along the Zyryansky spring. The road is rocky, in case of heavy rain it is dangerous due to hidden water by deep winding gullies. After 14.1 km - another turn to the right, an error threatens that after a kilometer the road will lead to an abandoned ski resort with a rusting dismantled lift, two dozen houses and winter quarters near the road. A bend of the Bolshaya Olkha River will be visible on the right in front of the ski-ski and in the distance above the crowns of a dense forest - the rocky crown of Vityaz. It is less than a kilometer away along the path along the river, and 4.3 km on the detour road. http://doktor-vet.ru/
From the alpine skiing or the last fork, you need to drive 2 km down the valley to the next fork with a concrete bridge across Olkha, to the right - about 5 km of a bad road to Orlyonok station, to the left to Vityaz - across the bridge along the road, keeping the main slope, until the fork at 19- km km (a pointer with an arrow to Vityaz is nailed to the pine trunk), there you have to turn left from a knurled forest road - downhill.
On the way, it is better to collect firewood, near the Vityaz rock there is little dead wood. After 1.6 km, a narrow road with many deep puddles will lead to a clearing at the foot of a cliff on the bank of the Olkha. The most difficult section is the last 200 m in the lowland with a stream. The road is here with bumps and fragments of the old gati. You can only drive on all-wheel drive, skidding in the mud. In Renault Koleos, we irrevocably tore off the decorative pipe on the exhaust pipe and the electrical connector for the towed trailer in these pits with muddy water. We got stuck twice - the car had to be freed out of the mud with the help of a pickup truck and a long cable.
Heated yurts can accommodate up to 12 people (400 rubles / place). A bridge made of logs is thrown across Olha. In the neighborhood, the rocks Idol, Turtle, Old Woman, Fortress, popular among climbers. With the help of the information stand, you can determine where they are. They got their names because of the characteristic contours. The 30-meter Idol resembles the famous stone idols of Easter Island - the same columnar stone monolith with a slab and a head-like stone at the top. To get to the Idol rock hidden in the forest from Vityaz, walk along the path for about 30 minutes (2.5 km). The places here resemble the famous Krasnoyarsk Pillars, however, the rocks of the Olkhinsky plateau are less known, and are popular only among local climbers.
If you drive from the Bolshoy Olkhi valley along the old roads up the Zyryansky 2 nd stream to the summit (923.7 meters), you can walk (200 m) to the Starukha and the Fortress rocks. The first is named so for its massive bulging "nose", angry "eyes" and wrinkled "face", and the second - for its resemblance to a medieval castle. The climbers' routes are pierced here with bolts. There are beautiful rocks, which you can almost drive up to by car, are also in the area of the station. Andriyanovskaya and in the upper reaches of the Zazara River. The rocks themselves are clearly visible from the Kultuk tract, and even the blue surface of Lake Baikal is visible from the tops of some rocks.
09/30/15 That day off I spent at the Olkhinsky rocks and adjacent taiga wilds in the Irkutsk region.
The train departed from the Irkutsk-Passazhirskiy station at about half past eight in the morning, slowly swaying and knocking comfortably at the rail joints.
Sunlight for the thirtieth September was so pale, piercingly melancholic, transparent, which only happens at the beginning of autumn, when the diversity of the outgoing summer is still lingering on someone's flower beds, in pots on window sills and women's dresses. The inspector had just checked my ticket and I went to the window - reluctant to sit on the seat, lifted the top half, which creaked in the grooves due to accumulated dust. We pass Irkutsk, already awake, but reluctant to move, because today is Sunday and sleepy houses and cars shrouded in pale yellowish light, like a picture from a book. The morning fog was in no hurry to float away into the bushes and trees and bridges hanging over the Angara River, because soon October and this is its territory, not like in summer, where the air temperature even in the morning approaches forty degrees and the night haze evaporates, evaporates without any hint of existence. But now the river felt real coolness. The Angara is the only river that flows out of Lake Baikal and divides the city of Irkutsk in half. Somewhere approximately in the middle of the city, it merges with the Irkut River, from which, as you know, the name of the city originated, and carries its waters to the mighty Yenisei, and the latter to the Arctic Ocean.
Our electric train rolled out of the city to the plain. Summer grasses were slightly shriveled and frayed, dried up under the inexorable August rays, but now, the grasses soaked at dawn from dew emitted a pleasant, so tart and reminiscent of the steppe homeland aroma. Feather grass, shepherd's purse, yarrow, several types of wormwood, thyme, timothy and dozens of others, whose names I find it difficult to name, have created a real symphony of smells with hundreds of halftones and shades. Small heaps of straw await harvesting in the fields, covered with scraps of blue banners and polyethylene. Jet swifts and boorish sparrows fly in the air, catching half-dead flies and clumsy horseflies on the fly.
We pass Shelekhov. The scenery outside the window changes. In the city, the onset of autumn is not so noticeable than in the open nature. Here, all deciduous trees change in color. The place of dying chlorophyll is gradually replaced by anthocyanin, which stains the leaves orange, red and even purple with many transitions and shades. The spots of vegetation, yellow-green with reddish veins, contrast especially well with huge spruces, cedars and larch trees protruding from the shadows, and half-uprooted giant stumps with lumps of earth that have not fallen off, full of ants and fat larvae. Birches with aspens are the first to start to shy away from the cold and throw off pieces of their clothes, although often, even in the deep and deep November cold and slush, they scratch the sky with unopened dry leaves. But now they are beautiful. Birches and aspens, mountain ash, elderberry and pear with sour, darkened sweet and sour fruits, light spots gleam against the background of conifers. And above all this there are clouds, shreds of heavenly fog, wiping out of the already clear sky.
We drive past dachas, small villages, halt stations and single houses.
Mostly wooden houses, roasted by the sun, soaked in wood smoke and steppe-cedar aroma. In such places it is good to close yourself off from everything and drink tea with gingerbread. And with cranberry jam. The Rossokha station sailed to the left and the train again rolled further towards the lake. The train makes a big turn, if you look out the right window in the direction of the train, you can see how all the cars are hiding behind the slope, approaching the next station. The next stop is the Orlyonok stop. For us, the final. In total, one and a half hours by train from the station Irkutsk-Passenger.
Once upon a time, the pioneer camp of the same name hosted children here, it is somewhere quite nearby. Now abandoned and dismantled for firewood, it was overgrown with grass and became a haven for magpies, squirrels, and quite possibly for someone larger. From a small but neat stopping point to the left and slightly upwards, a primer departs, which soon divides into two, more modest ones. A group of 5-6 cyclists who rushed ahead disappeared from sight, and my friend and I slowly walked along the left road. The right one steeply climbed up and it was shorter, soon disappeared and was practically lost from sight, it jumped over streams, slippery boulders, dived between the roots. This path to the rocks was shorter, but we were not going to rush and moved along the left road, along which cyclists had recently passed. We crossed a narrow bridge over the Malaya Olkha River, a small, bubbling stream of water with mossy stones protruding from it, between which birch leaves and scraps of bark fluttered together.
About twenty minutes later we stopped in a small birch-aspen groove to drink tea. Got some water in one of the small lakes, which are enough here, hung it over the fire to boil. The fireplace was neat, tidied up - there were no bottles, cigarette butts, candy wrappers, only at the table, which was also there, an apple half-eaten by someone had dried up, from which, like threads of a spider's web, the paths of red ants stretched out to a low anthill. The water boiled in the pot, we threw tea - between the white trunks and the wind-hewn granite outliers, the aromas of Sri Lanka or the Yunnan province, tart tea aromas stretched out.
The branches under the low alder began to stir in surprise, something whistled softly from behind the driftwood, and a shaggy shadow flopped into the water. Tea was tastier as always than at home.
After having a snack and drinking tea, we moved on. Kolya asked me what we would do if a bear came out now. Of course, people sometimes pass here, sometimes they even rush, during the holiday season. After all, here at the most visited rock Vityaz, which is already very close there is a small, I would even say a small base "Vityaz", which grows with tents and tents of rock climbers, children who came on excursions and just tourists. Now the main tourist season has already ended and only occasionally go to the rocks, and comrade bears come out of the deep taiga bolder. They, and eaten over the summer, have worked up fat to hibernation, should not be aggressive. But if a bear suddenly comes out on the path close to you, he can attack. Therefore, we were just talking - bears are afraid of loud sounds. There is no need to shout, but sometimes to make it clear to potential predators that people are walking on the path. The claws of an adult bear are very long and a blow with a huge paw on the head or throat can instantly cut off the screams of an unlucky tourist, so in theory he should not suffer for a long time, but still it is better not to risk it. If special bear pipes, somewhat reminiscent of those of sports fans, are very effective in preventing attacks. In Irkutsk, in the animal nursery, Asya lives, an elderly bear with small brown eyes and burnt-out matted hair. It was this celebrity who starred in the film "Peculiarities of the National Hunt". I saw these claws, these, albeit worn out and already reduced in length by an order of magnitude, 10-12 centimeter blades on decrepit paws, very quickly, just lightning fast turn into a weapon, albeit in eating apples, watermelons and cakes. It is impossible to be frivolous in moving through the taiga and it is advisable to walk in a group, adhering to simple rules.
The fate of Hugh Glass, the hunter, passed us, fortunately, and we finally came out to the first rock. This is Vityaz, a forty-meter block of granite, towering over a spacious clearing, along the perimeter of which, on the southern side of it, were the houses of the camp site, which are now empty.
The Skalnik is called Vityaz, because if you look at it from the side of the river, it resembles a warrior in a helmet. To the left of the houses flows the turbulent Olkha River, which merges with Malaya Olkha not far from here, forming Bolshaya Olkha.
If you look up at the rock with a clearing in the lower left, you will see a granite wall with many hooks and rare markings - there are trails for practicing climbers and rock climbers, and a little lower there are small but thick areas for those who are keen on bouldering.
To the right and higher of all this is an observation deck, which is difficult to reach for those walking head-on from left to right along a narrow cornice, or, on the contrary, easily along a path that bypasses the rock from behind. For inexperienced climbers or people who don't need adrenolinic adventures, I recommend the second option.
The first one is also possible, but in case of an error, your remains will not lie below for long - there is someone to feast on them.
Olkhinsky rocks are named after the river and plateau of the same name. There are many of them, but the most popular are Knight, Idol, Old Woman and more distant ones: Lizard, Pharaoh, Lion, Mirrors, White Church.
But not all of them are readily available. Some thickets are so much that you have to break through the thickets to them, leaving scraps of clothing on the branches of sharp thorns and dead wood. Trails to them are completely overgrown, due to the remoteness from the main trail.
Skalnik "Idol" in April
Having admired the beauty from the top of Vityaz, we went southeast to the Starukha rock. This is just one of the distant granite outcrops, to which the paths were overgrown.
Finally we got to the Old Woman (I still hope that this was exactly the rock we were looking for), behind which there was a huge felling of trees, the innumerable number of fallen trunks reminded me of a similar felling of the forest, which can be remembered from photographs and documentary newsreels at the site of the fall of the famous Tunguska meteorite (also in the Irkutsk region). As if you are standing on the edge of something unknown and incomprehensible, the emotionality of this moment is off the charts. Just imagine that you are walking along the taiga off-road, making your way through the fallen thick trunks, climbing, jumping from stone to stone, seeing a maximum of thirty meters in front of you, and there is such a sharp space. Kolya, of course, has been to the Olkhinsky plateau several times, he has never seen such a fall. Space place I will tell you.
An additional bonus to this was a huge clearing of lingonberries, brown-red, sweetish-bitter berries, which were very difficult to stop eating. There were so many of it that it was impossible to move without stepping on the bush, which caused bright scarlet drops to fly out from under the boots.
It was possible to pick up on the road, but there was no time. We needed to catch the train that would take us back to the city.
We walked back down to the river, adhering to the planned landmarks, tired but satisfied, filled with impressions to our ears. It was getting dark. The air was filled with the chirping of insects and the distant cries of evening birds. The smell of rotten leaves intensified, mixed with the smell of mushrooms and recently eaten lingonberries.
Soon the water rumbled below and we went out onto the trail. We crossed the now empty clearing with the Vityaz base, turned onto the dirt road and moved towards Orlyonok.
60 km from Irkutsk, in the Irkutsk, Slyudyansky and Shelekhovsky districts, between the most beautiful peaks of the Tunkinsky loaches and the low Primorsky ridge, there is a unique area, the so-called Olkhinsky plateau.
On the maps, this area forms the shape of a regular triangle, it is limited from the south by the water area of Lake Baikal, the waters of the large Irkutsk reservoir and the Irkut valley. This is a hill covered with mixed forest with elevations of 500-800 m with unique granite rocky outcrops up to 75 m, not inferior in their natural value to the Krasnoyarsk pillars, but not so popular among tourists.
The most famous outliers on the Olkhinsky plateau are the Vityaz rock with a height of 30 m, the Idol rock with a height of 20 m, the Zerkala rocks with a height of 16 m, a bizarre rock with a clearly visible face - the Old Woman Izergil, 25 m high. the plateau became the town of Kamen Moygota with an elevation of 1222 m. The main rocks are located in the valley of the picturesque mountain river Bolshaya Olkha, which gave the name to this sublime orographic unit.
Outskirts of the Olkhinsky plateau
There are many interesting natural and man-made objects in the vicinity of the rocks of the Olkhinsky plateau. A very picturesque picture is the mountain river Bolshaya Olkha itself, on its banks you can pleasantly relax on a weekend, because it is located very close to Irkutsk. In the south, the plateau comes close and drops abruptly to Lake Baikal, forming picturesque rocky cliffs and steep cliffs.
At their foot there is a section of the Transsib, often called the "golden buckle" or its Circum-Baikal section. From it, passengers can enjoy magnificent panoramas of Lake Baikal. Circum-Baikal Railway branch from st. Slyudyanka II to the village. Baikal, only 89 km away, is a state-protected monument of unique engineering structures.
There are 38 tunnels in the rocky coast of the lake with a total length of 9063 m. There are also 15 rock galleries with a length of 295 m, 3 galleries made of reinforced concrete, 248 bridges and high viaducts, up to 270 retaining walls that strengthen the route. In terms of the number of unique engineering structures, this section of the road has no analogues in the country.
From the very north-east of the Olkhon plateau in the south-west direction through its territory passes the federal highway M-55 or P258 "Baikal", on the road of which 296 bridges are built, the road is replete with sharp turns and serpentines. The Tunkinsky tract A333 to Mongolia and the Kyakhtinsky tract A340 to Buryatia depart from this highway.
See also: Hot springs of Baikal
Climate
The climate on the Olkhinsky plateau belongs to a sharply continental type, with an average January temperature of -22 ° C, closer to the coast of Lake Baikal it is noticeably warmer -18 ° C. The temperature minimum on the plateau is -45 ° C. Already from the end of October, snow falls here, its cover during the winter reaches 1 meter, but with the absence of steep slopes on the plateau, there is no avalanche danger.
Average July temperatures on the plateau are + 18оС, on the Baikal coast in summer it is noticeably cooler + 15оС. The temperature maximum in summer reaches + 33 ° C, + 35 ° C. In addition to northwestern winds with a general transfer of air masses, dry winds from the south from Mongolia often blow here, bringing moisture from Lake Baikal and the shores of the Irkutsk reservoir. The precipitation on the plateau is 400-450 mm annually.
Weekend on the Olkhinsky plateau
If the weekend is ahead, a fascinating trip to the stone idols of the Olkhinsky plateau will be a wonderful place to relax in any season of the year. This route, due to its richness and accessibility, can be a wonderful active mountain adventure. More than half of the walking route from the Orlyonok station to the rocks runs along the Olkha River, which is beautiful at any time.
In the Soviet years, the granite outlier "Vityaz", known among all the rocks, was very popular among climbers and vacationing students. Every weekend, the overcrowded commuter train brought up to several hundred tourists to the Orlyonok station, who enjoyed spending their free time on the plateau.
Here on "Vityaz" competitions of local rock-climbing athletes were regularly held. On the rock you can see hammered bolts that mark 19 climbing routes, their length is from 25 to 35 meters, the highest difficulty category is V and VI. "Vityaz" is a wonderful climbing wall with many monolithic sections, shelves and plumb lines. In September, the traditional local bard festival is held here by the rock.
The trail to the "Vityaz"
On the platform, having breathed in clean coniferous air, perhaps with a group of fellow travelers, you should go to the bridge over Olha. At the beginning of the path, you should familiarize yourself with the route at a special information stand. There will be a fork in two mountain paths behind the bridge. Now there is no need to be interested in the gentle "lower path" going straight along the logging road along Olkha, it will be convenient to return along it to the bridge at the end of the journey.
A more difficult and spectacular route should start from the “upper path” going off to the right. The most difficult here will be the first ascent to the power line, but when it ends you can enjoy a very picturesque descent along the ridge to the very foot of the Vityaz rock. On the route, it is very important not to be mistaken in finding the desired path near the power transmission line, the road here will go to the right, you have to find the path that goes to the Vityaz ridge to the left. Coming right to the ridge, you can safely go down to the foot of the rock for about 1.5 hours.
See also: Kara Sea resources
If tourists have both or three days off, you can take your time to get acquainted with the surroundings and spend the night at the first rock in a log cabin or felt yurt at the Vityaz camp site of the same name. In two yurts, 12 people can stay at the same time, the cost of a daily stay at the base is 400 rubles per person.
The buildings appeared here quite recently, 5-6 years ago due to the great popularity of this route among the townspeople. When it's warm, in a large clearing near the base, you can put up a tent and make radial exits to each of the rocks, explore lesser-known groups of rocks, just enjoy being in nature.
The path to the "Idol"
The closest rock along the route from "Vityaz" is the graceful rock "Idol", similar to Easter idols. It is a columnar 20-meter monolith, visible from a distance, with a characteristic larger slab on top, reminiscent of a headdress. It was for this accessory, which made it look like a Siberian rock with overseas Easter idols, that it got its name.
Walking from the Vityaz along a well-trodden, well-marked path that goes to the right to the Idol for about 3 km is quite simple. In the middle of the path, after 1.5 km, there will be a small wooden bridge, it can also serve as a landmark. With an easy crossing, the path bifurcates again, to the left the path goes to the buildings of the Skazka winter hut, to the right, 1.5 km, you can walk to the Idol. Another rock known here, Turtle, is located very close to the Idol.
The path to the "Old woman"
The path from the "Idol" to the cliff "Old Woman" will not be so noticeable and you need to be more careful. Skalnik got its name for its similarity with the face of an old woman, for its well-visible protruding "nose", angry "eyes" and wrinkled "face". Having determined the further direction, you need to prepare for a section of the path through the burnt forest. But on this trail of 4.5 km, everyone will feel like the heroes of Tolkien's fantastic works because of the similarity of local landscapes.
It is important not to get lost here and to follow the red marking signs on the trees and special signs. It is from the "Old woman", past the "Vityaz", along the "lower path" 10 km you can walk back to the station. "Eaglet". In total, the length of the circular route along the paths and rocks of the unique terrain will be 22 km.
Once again I am convinced that in order to have an interesting weekend, you do not need to buy a plane ticket. You can just take a ticket for the local train. For example, in Irkutsk, just an hour and a half away from the city, there are fascinating places: rocks. They are located at some distance from each other, but the more interesting. You can plan and make a small hike to each of them along a completely simple route.
Skalnik Idol, Olkhinskoe plateau
For example, last weekend we made a small two-day excursion to two of them: Vityaz and Idol. On the Idol, we even made a sacrifice (as the "guards of tourism" advised us to these places)
How to get to Vityaz rock?
And so, from Irkutsk, from any stop: Irkutsk-passenger, Akademicheskaya, Melnikovo, etc. we go to the railway station Orlyonok.
The trains run in the morning at 9-30, at 10-30, in the evening at 16-00, at 19-00, at 21-00.
One way fare is 61 rubles.
Travel time is approximately 1 hour 20 minutes. 
Information sheet: Skalnik Vityaz is also called the Climbers' Nest - a granite wall on the Olkhinsky plateau 40 meters high. To all future climbers who have just embarked on their "climbing" path - "the path of rock climbers", this rock is of great interest for its varied relief. The rock has many ledges, overhanging cornices, as well as absolutely smooth vertical surfaces.
From the station along a well-trodden path (pay attention to the signs with arrows) we go to the Vityaz rock (about 1.5 hours on the way), admiring the winter landscapes, clear snow.
Usually on weekends there are whole lines of tourists going to Vityaz, so if you are afraid of getting lost, you can join someone. The main thing is that it is not Susanin 🙂
At the foot of Vityaz itself there is a tourist center (4 houses).
Previously, there were yurts at the camp site, where you could spend the night for 300 rubles, now the yurts have been removed for some reason, although, as far as I know, they have always been in demand.
House on Vityaz
The camp site has a separate house, something like a common kitchen-dining room. There, for a small fee, you can warm up, drink tea, warm up and cook food, there are dishes, a gas oven and a potbelly stove. There is no electricity (as well as cellular communication) on Vityaz. No Wi-Fi TVs and other benefits for you, so that nothing distracts from contemplating beautiful places and unity with nature) as well as heart-to-heart conversations and songs with a guitar (the instrument was noticed in the kitchen)
What a blue sky ...))
There is a generator at the camp site, in the evening they give light for a short time)
The prices for accommodation on Vityaz, in my opinion, are not modest (we paid 2,000 rubles per night for two), given that in a two-bed house at night we constantly had to heat the stove, and then, from the rapid heating of the room, to ventilate. And so all night - every hour. If you are planning a hike with an overnight stay, decide in advance who will not sleep in your company 🙂 🙂 🙂
But all the inconveniences are compensated by impressions)
Olkhinskoe plateau in winter, view of the Vityaz tourist center
The Idol rock is a 30-minute walk from Vityaz. An impressive stone column rises monumental amid the snowy splendor of a winter forest. An almost regular rectangular huge stone in front of the rock evokes associations with a sacrificial altar. Fortunately, human casualties were avoided, as well as not a single animal was injured during the shooting of the report. Profiterole was given to the slaughter and tea with thyme was drunk for the health of all local idols and spirits.
Sacrifice 🙂 later the person was replaced by a profitroll, they decided that it was more humane 🙂
As the evening approaches, simple illumination is turned on at the camp site. The houses, from a distance resembling alpine chalets, covered with snow, look absolutely fabulous against the background of mountains and forest walls.
And with the ascent of the full moon, the sensors of romanticism went off scale. Something had to be done about it. Out of excess of feelings, it was decided to climb to the top of Vityaz in order to light sparklers, candles and admire the view of the surroundings in the moonlight. Moonlight ruled everything. Pearl moon dust covered trees, mountains, stones, moon milk was poured into the air. The moon seemed to be very close, just stretch out your hand from here, from the top of Vityaz, who, pulling down his stone helmet, stands guard.
From the Idol you can walk to the no less picturesque Old Woman Rock (we did not reach the path, the path was covered with snow, a lot of snow fell)
Read and watch what else to do in Irkutsk in winter at the weekend.
Imagine a giant triangle on an area map. Which is located within three districts of the region: Irkutsk, Slyudyansky and Shelekhovsky. It stretches 50 km from north to south and 30-80 km from west to east. From the south, this triangle borders on Lake Baikal, along the coast of which the notorious Circum-Baikal Railway stretches. From the northeast, it borders on the Irkutsk reservoir, formed by the Irkutsk hydroelectric power station. And from the northwest with the Irkut River. This triangle is called the Olkhinskoe plateau - a physical and geographical area between the Tunkinskiye Goltsy and the Primorsky ridge in the Irkutsk region. Olkhinsky, it is named in honor of the 37-kilometer river Bolshaya Olkha or simply Olkha. Olkhinskoe plateau is a wooded upland abounding with outlier rocks, the most popular of which are: Vityaz, Idol, Zerkala and Starukha.
1. First of all, I went to the Crow rock (alternative name - Lizard), about 20 meters high. Skalnik is a detached rock. It is located further from Irkutsk than other more popular rocks. To get to it, you need to get to the Podkamennaya station.
11. Another day was chosen for the trek to the popular rocks. In the photo - Vityaz. This is the most popular and accessible rock of the Olkhinsky plateau with a height of 30 meters. Vityaz is of interest to both beginners and experienced climbers. They go to the rock from the Orlyonok station along the upper or lower path. The upper one is pedestrian and steeper uphill. The lower one is longer than the upper one, but you can drive along it.
12. View of Olha.
14. Olkha and tourist center.
22. Chipmunk found something to cram by the cheek for lunch.
24. Nuthatch.
26. Now I will show why this rock got its name. If you look closely at the top of the rock, you can see the semblance of a head, massive eyebrows, a large straight nose, a squinted eye, a cheek and a mouth. Taken together, it resembles the face of a warrior.
27. Skanik Polytechnic.
28. There are many lingonberry bushes along the path to the Idol.
29. Marsh wild rosemary. A useful plant that is used in agriculture and medicine.
31. Moss carpets.
32. Old classic plaques. When I went here for the first time, I was guided by them.
33. Lingonberry trail.
34. After I crossed the bridge over Olha, I decided not to turn off the path and walk a little along the river bank. Then I got into such a small kurumnik - a field of stones.
35. Moss grows in abundance between the stones. Hundreds of fluffy balls.
41. Idol. Height is 20 meters. The southern part of the rock is an unusual outlier in the form of a stone pillar, consisting of separate blocks. The northern part is pillar-like, but much thicker, lower and less showy.
47. View of the Sibiryak rock.
49. Rock Turtle - the first thing that you meet on the way from the Idol to the Old Woman.
53. Observation rock on the Idol - Old Woman trail. From this rock you can see rocks: Turtle, Idol, Sibiryak, Angarsk, Shakhtai Stone, Old Fortress, Mirrors.
54. The old woman. Here I was already alone. The people that I met earlier did not make it here. Moving around on the Old Woman's head was quite scary. Climbing is much easier than jumping off at a height of 25 meters. Before the rock was named Old Woman Izergil, it was called Kareta - for the trapezoidal profile visible from afar against the background of the ridge. From the name Old Woman Izergil, only the first word stuck. Everyone calls this rock simply the Old Woman. There is a smaller rock next to the main rock of the Old Woman. She is called Granddaughter.
55. The hook-shaped nose of the Old Woman is clearly visible.
58. After the old woman there was a long road to the Mirrors. Windbreak, bumps, dim lighting. Navigation problems.
59. This photo focuses on concentrated pain, hate and relief. The clock is almost seven in the evening. A dimly lit trail strewn with autumn foliage. I stopped, as soon as the rays of the sun break through the branches in my direction. I looked to the left. Checked with the navigator. Yes, you have to turn off the road here. Here, behind the bushes, there is a small kurumnik, and behind them is the rock of the mirror. And everything is strewn with lichen, which I like more than any reindeer (if there were a steppe here, it would have been expanse for them). Somehow my memory, satellite navigation and pictures depicting trails, of which there are too many, brought me here. I had to walk here and there like a windbreak, when the road literally left from under my feet, dissolving into the forest thicket. Damned rock. Damned thickets. I was supposed to be here by sunset, but I miscalculated my time and energy. Twenty kilometers have already been covered. Ahead of me was another ten kilometers of a race in the dark with a stretched foot two hours before the last train, a bruised knee, a companion tick on the shoulder and a sore throat.
From mountain to mountain, from mountain to mountain. No more foot here. With their own forest in their heads, they do not go to someone else's forest.
61. Skalnik Mirrors. The last respite at a height of 16 meters. Skalnik is a group of rocks on a lateral ridge extending from the main ridge between Zyryanskiy Klyuch and Zyryanskiy II. It got its name from the smooth walls on the eastern side of the rock.
62. Sunset over the red forest.
63. Who will lead you out of the forest if the forest is yourself?
The story ends hard, like Spanish post-metal, but with a happy ending. I timing it wrong. And he started his way back to the station too late. I had only an hour left before the last train. Otherwise - night in a dark forest. I put on my forehead, took my last apple and started to run. He ran without stopping, they were impermissible. The pace changed depending on the difference in altitude. Just before leaving the forest, I slipped and bruised my knee. I hobbled to the station. But he did it just seconds before the train arrived. After such a run in the cold air, I lay with a cold, the palate became inflamed from swallowing cold air with shortness of breath. But he lay at home, and not in the forest. I also brought a tick on my shoulder.
