This is one of the largest waterfalls in Bashkiria. It is called differently - Tuyalas, Khudalaz, Ibragimovsky, but still the most common and familiar name for the indigenous population is Gadelsha. It comes from the village of the same name located nearby. Gadelsha is located on one of the branches of the Khudolaz River. The waterfall (a map of the republic will help tourists) is located on the slope of Mount Irendyk, from the eastern part, in the Baimakhsky district. In this place, the Khudolaz (Tuyalas) river cut a deep and narrow valley in the mountains.
The Bashkirs sing the beauty of this river in folk songs. Previously, locals and visitors affectionately called this river Tuyalas, which means “fast stream” in Bashkir. Unfortunately, the beauty of this exotic word for a Russian person eventually became a thing of the past. Today, cartographers and surveyors have replaced it with a colder, but more familiar name for local residents Khudolaz.
The banks of the river are rich in mineral deposits. When the landscape of the Earth was just beginning to form, volcanoes erupted where Gadelsha Falls is now located. Evidence of this is the thick layers of volcanic rocks (spilites, porphyries).
Many tourists and travelers would like to see the Gadelsha waterfall. How to get to it?
The road to the waterfall
The closest city to him is Sibay, located fifteen kilometers away. Once here, you need to drive in the direction of the village of Old Sibay, and then move along the grader road to the Gadelsha recreation center. From here you can climb up the gorge. In order to make such an ascent, some skill will be required (especially when descending back), but the beauty seen more than compensates for all the difficulties.
Gadelsha Waterfall: Description
This is a three-cascade waterfall. Its upper step is the smallest, not exceeding 1.2 meters in height. The next cascades reach seven meters. Thus, its total height is fifteen meters. Depending on the time of year and the amount of precipitation, the volume of water (and, consequently, its spectacularity) varies. In the middle of summer, when there is usually little precipitation, the water flow does not exceed 10 l / s. But in early spring it is very full-flowing, beautiful and stormy. The gorge is filled with the sound of falling streams.
Weather and climate
In Bashkiria, usually snowy winter. The average January temperature is 18 degrees below zero. It lasts from the second decade of October to the first days of April. In spring, frosts can return, but with the onset of summer, real heat sets in, especially in July. Most precipitation falls in autumnand summer.
Nature Reserve
The Republic has many rather large waterfalls. All of them are very different in size and intensity. But the most spectacular of them is the Gadelsha waterfall. Bashkiria is proud of its natural monument.
In the vicinity of the waterfall, deposits of jasper come to the surface of the earth. It is well polished, and therefore is often used as an ornamental material. From it amazingly beautiful figurines and vases are obtained. In addition, it is widely used in the cladding of monuments and buildings. Ridges and ridges in the river valley are dotted with rocky outcrops of carboniferous limestones. They are successfully used in metallurgy during smelting. In architecture, they are used as wild stone, and after the material is fired, it is used as lime.
Milky white quartz, asbestos and talc are still found on the slopes of Irendyk. Rare herbs and shrubs listed in the Red Book grow here. There are plans to create a nature reserve here.
Natural Monument
Since 1965, the Gadelsha waterfall has been a geomorphological, geological and botanical monument of Bashkiria and is protected by the state.
Tours
If you decide to visit the Gadelsha waterfall, you can also go on an excursion to the copper and sulfur plant. It is famous for the fact that the quarry has a depth of more than 500 meters, is considered one of the deepest in Europe and ranks fourth in the world. Sulfur, copper, iron, silver are mined in it. Its diameter istwo kilometers.
A byproduct of copper pyrite mining is gold. However, it is present in scanty quantities and cannot simply be seen. The quarry is protected, and you can see small lakes next to it, which have a characteristic blue-green color. If you arrive at the quarry as "savages", then you will need permission from the travel agency that cooperates with the plant. Here you can get a pass and a guide.
From the observation deck the bottom of the quarry is not visible. From this position, you can see only a black and yellow slope with light stripes of roads. Over time, this quarry will become an artificial lake.
Where to stay
Near the waterfall Gadelsha is an old camp site with the same name. Many note that it is not comfortable enough - there are no TVs in it, there is no mobile connection. Those who prefer more comfortable accommodation can stay at the more comfortable Golden Card Hotel in the city of Sibay, from which excursions to the waterfall are made with a guide.
