The Ural Mountains ... more than 200 million years ago, they proudly rose on the young planet Earth and witnessed many grandiose events. Over the course of many millennia, water and wind gradually destroyed them. And today the Ural Mountains are one of the lowest in the world. But there were places in the Urals where nature could not control the stone. One of them is known to us under the name Man'pupunor. Man'pupunor weathering pillars are considered one of the seven wonders of Russia.
Translated from the Mansi language, "Man'pupunor" means "Small mountain of idols." And indeed, there are seven of these remnants. Six pillars lined up on a flat plateau, and one stands a little to the side. Their height is from 30 to 42 meters.
This place is truly mystical, because the pillars of weathering are so ancient that even the Mansi worshiped them during the pagan period.
Origin and legend of the name
The Mansi are an Ugric indigenous people living in Khanty–Mansia, an autonomous okrug within Tyumen Oblast in Russia.
For Mansi, this place has long been considered holy, they forbidden to go here. According to one legend, stone pillars in ancient times were seven Nenets giants that walked through the mountains in order to destroy the Mansi people. But, rising to the plateau, their leader, the shaman, saw in front of him the sacred Mansis' mountain Yalping-ner. In horror, he threw his drum to the top (it is now called Coyp - “drum”) and all seven giants were petrified with horror. Since then they have been standing on this mountain plateau.
The Man'pupunor formation
Being here, it is really hard to believe that these mysterious pillars were formed only due to the destruction of the mountains. However, this is so. Pillars formed over many millions of years as a result of weathering of the Ural Mountains. The weak rocks surrounding them collapsed, and these, which turned out to be harder rocks, survived and formed this natural wonder.
The virgin beauty of this place has been preserved due to its remoteness and inaccessibility. Within a radius of hundreds of kilometers there are no settlements. A trip to Man'pupunor for unprepared people is available only with traveling by a helicopter. In the case of a hiking trip is available only to experienced, well-trained tourists. The walking route usually takes about two weeks.
Permit, weather and clothing
The weather in these northern mountains is very cold and unpredictable. Fogs are frequent in which it is difficult to see the pillars and it is easy to get lost. The weathering pillars themselves are located on the territory of the Pechora-Ilychsky reserve and to visit them, in order to avoid problems, you need to get permission from its administration.
The Northern Urals is a harsh region, and therefore, going on a winter trip to the Man'pupunor pillars, you first need to take care of protecting yourself from extremely cold temperatures and wind, which is very strong here. Particular attention should be paid to a windproof (storm suit), a warm expeditionary jacket and shoes, which should be quite warm and protected from the ingress of snow.
How to get there
Geographically, the Man'pupunor weathering pillars are located in the Trinity-Pechora region of the Komi Republic, between the rivers Pechora and Ichotlyaga. It is very difficult to get to them, because they are in a remote, inaccessible area. You can book a helicopter tour (although the weather is far from always favorable for tourists), or you will have to walk for a long time.
For backpackers, there are two route options - from the Komi Republic and from the Sverdlovsk Region. The campaign to Man'pupunor from the Sverdlovsk region is much longer and harder.
Man'pupunor pillars on map
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