Novosibirsk region has a unique place by its nature. The locals nicknamed them "St. John's wort". The origin of such a name is not known for certain, one can only assume that the animals living in this place often crashed, falling from steep slopes. These are the Berd rocks.
Natural Monument
Recently (since 2000) St. John's wort is a protected area at the regional level, which became such at the initiative of the council of local deputies. And no wonder - man has not yet fully learned to protect natural gifts. The territory of the object was taken under protection to preserve an unusual ecological system - here the steppe plain harmoniously coexists with the forest, creating a symbiosis of flora and fauna.
Flora and fauna
The forest growing on the slopes is represented mainly by coniferous trees - pines, but there are also deciduous trees - birch, willow, bird cherry, which makes it mixed; steppe vegetation is not diverse and is represented mainly by all types of feather grass,wormwood, bluegrass. Another variety of vegetation is mosses, they grow everywhere and number 49 species, from wet to dry, growing on rocky slopes. Mosses are a specially protected object of these places.
The fauna is also diverse - there are all kinds, starting with insects (many of the representatives of the class are poorly studied) and invertebrates (even vipers can be found), ending with warm-blooded ones. Many inhabitants of flora and fauna represented in this ecosystem are listed in the Red Book of the Novosibirsk Region.
What the natives call the Berd Rocks
To all this splendor there are rocks, which is completely unusual for these places. There is even an opinion that this rocky island was “lost” here either by the Altai or the Salair Mountains. And the locals still called it "the pocket of Altai." However, this is a completely different place, one of a kind. The fact is that there are actually several Berdsky rocks in the area, but the place, which is called "St. John's wort rock", differs from the rest in its picturesque nature. How to distinguish it? If you stand at the highest point and look down, you will notice that the Berd River (in honor of which the official name is given) flows at the foot and meanders in a bizarre way, resembling the Latin letter U.
Geology
The Berd rocks themselves are of igneous origin, their main component is diabase. In some places in the mountains there are so-called kurumniks, this is a Turkic word, which in translation is literallymeans "stone river". Siberians so called huge boulders rolling down the rocks. Tourists need to be careful with them, especially in the winter season, when boulders can be mistaken for harmless snowdrifts and accidentally bump into.
Geographic data
The area of the natural monument "Berdsky rocks" is quite large - about 30 hectares. The site is 300 meters wide and almost 1.5 km long. Berdsky rocks are located in the Iskitimsky district of the Novosibirsk region, not far from the village of Novososedovo. The climate is temperate continental, in winter with incredible snowdrifts and frosty air, sometimes the temperature drops to 40 degrees below zero. This should be borne in mind by tourists wishing to visit the Berdsky rocks in winter. And in the summer, on the contrary, you need to be prepared for unbearable heat.
How to get there
Where are the Berd rocks? How to get to them? There are several ways to get to the rocks. One of these is an extreme adventure, beloved by tourists in just the mountainous area, - rafting down the Birdie River downstream. Berd originates in the Salair Mountains, which are located on the border of the Altai Territory with the Kemerovo Region, and flows into the Novosibirsk Reservoir if you start rafting from the village. Kinterep to with. Legostaevo, then the most picturesque of the views of the area will open.
The traditional way is by car, but there are two options. About each in more detail. The most familiar route for tourists is to goalong the M-52 highway through the city of Iskitim, to the village. Evsino (Novosibirsk region), turning after which, head to the very village. Novososedovo. After it, a dirt road begins, leading along the bridge over the Ik River (a tributary of the Birdie). In the spring season, the crossing can be flooded, which makes it difficult to go directly to St. John's wort. Experienced tourists who have been on the rock have several landmarks in order not to go astray - right after the village there is a hotel (by the way, just for receiving tourists and built, on its territory there is a parking area and a place to sleep in tents), then a caricature monument to Zaporozhets, and directly on the observation platform itself you can find traces of previously visited vacationers - barbecues, tables with seats.
The second route is a little longer, but the road is paved over a larger section of the path. You also need to go along the M-52 highway to the village called Maslyanino and look for the above landmarks.
Local residents or lovers of extreme travel can be found on bicycles, and in winter on skis, snowmobiles. By the way, skiing and cross-country cycling competitions are often held in these places.
Types of recreation
Despite the fact that the Berdsky rocks are a natural reserve, visiting these places is not prohibited by the authorities. Tourists who come to admire this rocky island are very inventive, they try not to get bored and spend time actively and profitably. Lots of recreation options. Let's look at some ofthem:
- Mountaineering. Where there are mountains and rocky slopes, there are climbers with rock climbers. This extreme entertainment is not for everyone, you need to have special training and equipment, so it is not recommended to engage in such entertainment for the first time. To reduce accidents, newcomers to this business are warned by a sign about a crashed tourist right on the stone.
- Alloys. If this method was chosen to get to St. John's wort, then you can raft even lower, the river does not abound with such rapids that are found near mountain rivers, so rafting on Birdie is not dangerous.
- Bike rides. Of course, it is unlikely that you will be able to travel any decent distance on a regular bike, so again, this entertainment is not suitable for every tourist.
- Fishing. The locals know firsthand about the variety of fish found in Birdie.
- Sightseeing trips. Often here you can see buses with children coming on excursions to the Berdsky Rocks Reserve.
- Traditional rest. Of course, the most common type that does not require special skills and training. You can set up a tent camp, go down to the river, swim and sunbathe, admiring the local beauties.
In general, it doesn't matter what the rest will be, the main thing is what a person leaves after hours of leisure. Everyone should remember that nature is defenseless against man.
