Go for adventure and thrills. We have prepared a route to mysterious places in Russia for fans of anomalous phenomena and mysterious legends. We tell you where UFOs land, the brother of the Loch Ness monster lives, spirits of ancient shamans are at work and a portal to hell opens.
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Solovetsky labyrinths
Solovetsky Islands is an archipelago in the White Sea, a place with the strongest energy. On Bolshoy Zayatsky Island, which is the fourth in size of the Solovetsky Islands, ancient layouts have been preserved. People call them labyrinths, and locals call them ‘Babylons’.
In total there are 35 labyrinths on the island in the form of spiral mounds of stones and earth 30-40 centimetres high and 5 to 25 metres in diameter. Yes, you can’t get lost in such labyrinths. According to one of the versions, these labyrinths are traps for the souls of the dead. Having gone all the way along the stone spiral, the soul got to the realm of eternal rest.
Tourists and locals share very unusual stories about Solovetsky labyrinths: they see ghosts travelling through the labyrinth, after visiting these places they feel dizziness and heartbeat increases. It is said that by entering the labyrinth, one can travel through time and even gain immortality. By the way, Solovetsky Islands is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. Travelling around the island is strictly on wooden paths.
✅ Address: Arkhangelsk region, Primorsky district, Solovki, Big Hare Island.
✅ How to get there: From Moscow take a 24-hour train to the town of Kem. Railway tickets Moscow-Kem’ from 4 000 roubles. From St. Petersburg it takes 13-15 hours by train to Kem’. Tickets from 2 000 roubles. Then take bus No.1 to the berth of Rabocheostrovsk settlement, and then get on a motorboat, which will take you to your destination.
Triangle Molebsky
Molebsky village on the border of the Sverdlovsk region is an anomalous place, with very strange and mysterious phenomena. Eyewitnesses claim to have seen UFOs and incomprehensible creatures without faces near the village, some tourists have even established telepathic sessions with them. In addition, a number of paranormal phenomena can be seen here: hovering objects above the ground, glowing orbs, changes in the passage of time and incomprehensible sounds. In the Moleb Triangle, the Witches’ Rings – trees uprooted and stacked in straight rows – have been observed.
✅ Address: Perm region, Kishertsky district, Molebsky village
✅ How to get there: you can get to the Molebka Triangle from two directions: Perm or Yekaterinburg. From Moscow to these cities you can reach by train or come by plane. Then by car:
* From Perm go to the 99th kilometre of the Perm – Yekaterinburg highway, then turn left to Ust-Kishert, drive towards the village of Osintsevo, and from there to the village of Molyobka;
* From Yekaterinburg drive 300 kilometres along the Yekaterinburg – Perm highway to the village of Suksun, then 20 kilometres to the village of Mecha, from there to the villages of Osintsevo and Molebka.
Manpupuner – Pillars of weathering
Pillars of weathering (‘Small mountain of idols’) on the plateau of Man-Pupu-Nyr in the Komi Republic is a unique place, shrouded in legends, secrets and mystical stories. Seven stone pillars of unusual shapes, up to 42 metres high, are among the seven wonders of Russia. In the period of paganism, the mighty Mansi tribe, who used to live in this place, deified and worshipped the stone pillars.
There are several legends about the stone pillars: according to one of them, they are petrified giants who wanted to destroy the Vogul people, according to another – seven petrified brothers who refused to marry their sister to an evil shaman and paid for it with their lives.
Today, the Manpupuner Plateau has no less mystical stories. Not far from the mountain, nine Mansi hunters have gone missing. A similar story happened to the legendary group of Igor Dyatlov, which also consisted of nine people. By the way, it is not so easy to get here, the zone is guarded and a pass is required to visit it.
✅ Address: Komi Republic, Troitsko-Pechorsky district, territories of the Pechoro-Ilychsky reserve, between the rivers Ichotlyagi and Pechora.
✅ How to get there: from Moscow by train or aeroplane to Perm. Then take a bus or a car to the village of Nyroba, and from there you can fly to the weathering pillars by helicopter.
Besov Nos
Cape Besov Nos (Russian: Бесов Нос) joins the lists of mysterious places in Russia. It is located in Karelia on Lake Onega. Tourists come here to see Karelian petroglyphs – ancient rock carvings of sacred significance. The drawings depict birds, forest animals, boats, people, but the most mysterious remains the drawing of a demon.
The drawing depicts a creature 2.30 metres tall with a square head and an evil grin, bent arms and crooked legs. A deep crack runs down the centre of the drawing, dividing it into two equal halves. In the area of the mouth there is a depression, which suggests that he was fed while performing a sacrifice. On the demon’s right hand is embossed a Christian eight-pointed cross. It is said to have been carved by the monks of the Murom monastery who saw evil in the image. The place is notorious and beckons curious tourists with extraordinary power.
✅ Address: Republic of Karelia, Pudozhsky district, Besov Nos.
✅ How to get there: By train/plane from Moscow or St. Petersburg to Petrozavodsk. Railway tickets from 1359 rubles, air tickets from 5 554 rubles Further by train or bus to Pudozh. Drive about 5 hours, bus tickets Petrozavodsk – Pudozh from 1000 rubles. Then by water or by land to Onega petroglyphs.
Island of shamans
Olkhon Island is the heart of Lake Baikal and a place of power for shamans. Every year in early August, all the shamans of the country gather here to ‘talk to the spirits’. The island is filled with extraordinary energy and mystical power: here you can immerse yourself in a trance, get in touch with the otherworld and establish contact with spirits. It is believed that during the dialogue between shaman and spirits you can find out the answer to your question.
During such a ritual, you can not look into the eyes of the shaman, otherwise the spirit will move into the one who asks. An ancient Buryat legend says that in the depths of the Baikal waters there is a mysterious irretrievable entrance to the world of the dead.
Olkhon is the cradle of shamanism in Russia. According to legends, a god from the Upper World lives on the island and protects Baikal. Often he takes the form of a white-headed eagle and flies around the island. To see a bird in the sky or to find a feather is a blessing of the spirits.
✅ Address: Olkhon Island, Lake Baikal, Irkutsk region
✅ How to get there. Three days by train Moscow – Irkutsk or about 6 hours by plane. Then by marshrutka, car or by water to Olkhon Island.
Vottovaara Mountain
Vottovaara is Karelian Stonehenge. This hill is home to mysterious piles of stones: giant boulders are supported by very small ones, breaking all the laws of physics. Probably, these objects were used during sacral rites of ancient peoples. Intricately curved trees add to the mystery of these places. Today Vottovaara is a Mecca for fans of esotericism and seekers of astral energy.
✅ Address: Karelia, Muezersky District, Sukkozerskoye Rural Settlement
Lake Labynkyr
✅ Address: Oymyakonsky District in eastern Yakutia.
For hundreds of years, local Yakuts from generation to generation have been passing down a legend about the existence of a certain huge animal called ‘Labynkyrsky Chert’ in the lake. It is worth noting that people rarely come to the area of this lake, the nearest village is 150 kilometres away. No roads lead here, and the lake itself can be reached only by all-terrain vehicles, horses or helicopter.
It is described roughly as follows: a ten-metre long body, a beak-like toothy mouth, wide-set eyes and a giant horn. Besides the local Loch Ness monster, Labynkyr is famous for another mysterious thing. It is an island that appears and disappears in the middle of the lake. And this despite the fact that the water level always remains practically unchanged!
✅ Address: Yakutia, Oymyakonsky ulus
Kashkulak Cave
Kashkulak Cave (Russian: Кашкулакская пещера) or as locals call it – Black Devil Cave, is located in Khakassia in the Alatau Plateau region. Its depth is 49 metres and the total length of its passages is 820 metres. The cave is of genuine interest to shamans, paranormal researchers and curious tourists. The place is unusual: negative vibrations are felt in the air, low-frequency impulses and geomagnetic anomaly are observed, visitors complain of hallucinations. There is a rumour that the cave does not like visitors.
✅ Address: Republic of Khakassia, Shirinsky district
✅ How to get there: From Moscow by plane or train to Abakan. Then you should take a bus or a taxi to Efremkino village or Shira village, from there it is better to get to the cave with an experienced guide in order not to get lost.
Teletskoye Lake
Lake Teletskoye (Russian: Телецкое озеро) is located in the north-east of the Altai Mountains near Artybash village, at an altitude of 434 metres above sea level. Its maximum depth is 323 metres and the water temperature does not exceed 4 °C even in summer. The lake is included in the UNESCO World Cultural and Natural Heritage List. The place is quite popular among tourists of the Altai Territory.
According to legends, here is the entrance to the mythical country of Shambala, and at the bottom of the lake there is a ‘forest of the dead’. At a depth of more than 100 metres, bodies are ‘preserved’ and remain there unchanged for centuries. The maximum depth reached by man to date is 102 metres. Locals consider the lake to be cursed. Once in 100 years one can see the glow, which, alas, is accessible only to the chosen ones.
✅ Address: Altai Republic, Turochaksky district, Ulagan district
✅ How to get there: four hours by plane to Gorno-Altaisk. Then by bus or car to the village of Artybash.
Death Valley in Yakutia
Nothing good can be expected from a place with such a name. They are sure that somewhere on the territory of the Valley of Death (Russian: Долина смерти в Якутии) there is a descent straight to hell. Hunters avoid this zone: there is a lot of game, but when returning home there is a risk to get seriously ill and die suddenly. It’s not worth it. There are also giant cauldrons made of an unknown metal alloy, which many people mistake for alien spaceships.
✅ Yakutia, Mirny ulus
Travelling can be different: someone prefers distant exotic countries, and someone prefers to explore the vast expanses and mysterious corners of the native land. But despite their diversity, they all have one thing in common – they give us impressions and memories.
