Soloneshnoe

There are places in Altai, breathing with peace and calmness, ideal for restoring strength and gaining harmony. This is the Soloneshinsky district, which lies in the valleys between two mountain ridges. Wild grass, cheerful forests, light rivers, clear mountain air - all these places are rich of it. Nature gave to the Solonenshinsky district the lakes and waterfalls, caves and springs. Local people live in harmony with themselves and the surrounding world, preserving the distinctive culture and traditions of their ancestors. The thread of time, which has materially expressed in dozens of archaeological memorials, winds through the millennium, without interruption.

The Cradle of Mankind

Soloneshnoe is often called the "region that rewrote history." And this is not an exaggeration: there is a unique the Denisova Cave - the only place on our planet where in one archaeological excavation you can see the traces of all past epochs.

Finds made in the Denisova cave literally turned the idea of the history of mankind. There was a strict scientific concept that claimed that the territory of Siberia people inhabited no more than 50-30 thousand years ago. And it turned out that the age of the Altai monument, the oldest "cave house" in Russia - about 300 thousand years! Only the world's scientists got used to this exorbitant figure, when the early Paleolithic camp Karama was opened near the cave, extending the age of mankind in Altai by another 500 thousand years. Only people changed the facts in the encyclopedia, when in 2010 in the Denisova cave discovered remains of a previously unknown species of man. The study of DNA showed that this human being does not belong neither to the extinct Neanderthals, nor to the ancestors of the modern species Homo sapiens, but represents a special branch of evolution. The technologies used by Homo Altaiensis were much ahead of their time. There are not so many territories on the Earth, called "the cradle of mankind", and Altai, of course, is rightfully wearing this proud title.

Was such a mass of discoveries accidentally concentrated in one place? No, not by chance. The Denisova Cave - a grandiose energy point, from immemorial time attracted people, which is confirmed by dozens of thousands of archeological artifacts. And oral traditions tell us about the Altai shaman who lived in this grotto and collected huge thunderstorms and rains, the recluse-Old Believer Dionysius, who chose the cave as a secluded place for thinking and prayers, about a lot of unusual events and phenomena - echoes of a breakthrough of Subtle matter into our world.

In the music of the waterfall

The Shinok River, whose name means "impregnable" in Turkic, flows in a picturesque canyon under the shadow of the cedar forest. This is an amazing beautiful place, which deserves admiration - there are 13 (!) waterfalls on the river! The largest are called "Gentle Mirage", "Yogi" and "Giraffe". The first is really gentle and cozy, it's more like a waterfall - the river descends, as on stairs, along huge stone slabs, framed by greenery of a larch forest. The second is striking: a wide water stream jumps from a 30-meter height, splitting into millions of splashes on the dividing ledge; not without a reason the waterfall received another name - "Double Jump". The third is hidden in black rocks, converging at an angle, and it falls by seventy meters; it is also called "Hidden".

Energy flows penetrate all the neighborhood of Shink. This is one of the natural miracles that exist throughout the ages, but open only when their time comes. It's incredible, but people found

out about the huge waterfall cascade, located just 9km from a large village, only in the middle of the last century!

... And the nature around is fabulously beautiful. Wild rocks and mountain slopes constantly change colors and outlines, responding to the movement of the sun and the fall of shadows. Forest of cedar and larch is decoreted with islets of birches, tender-malachite in summer and flaming in autumn. In the blue haze, distant peaks are seen with not melting snowfields. It is enough to come here once, so that you forever would love it with your soul to reach this powerful and pure power again and again.

The Underground Museum

It would be strange if in the land, rich by water and air, there were no unique terrestrial gifts. And they are: the stunning beauty of Novo-Karakol cave, called "Museum" because of a huge number of freakish stalactites and stalagmites, cave pearls, calcite flowers and lace decorating a unique grotto, is accessible to people. About it mentioned in the diaries of Nicholas Roerich during a trip to Altai.

Almost all kilometer cave sparkle in the light of lanterns acicular crystals, grow from the walls fragile tubules, similar to the spica on the cut and ringing at the touch, please to the eye stone stalactites-corals. The underworld lives its invisible life, and the people invading it as fleeting guests behave respectfully and modestly. Here it is not necessary to speak loudly and move noisily, it is prohibited to break off stones "for memory", as everything around is in an ancient balance. And if a person's spirit comes to resonance with the energy of the cave, it will let him know about it, throwing a sparkling stone or a petal of a calcite flower to his feet.

Legacy of the Old Believers

"Altai is the most favorable place for the preservation of culture, even originated in very different places," wrote Lev Gumilev. Soloneshensky district is a bright example of this: many local settlements were founded by the Old Believers, after the split and persecutions they secretly traveled to the Altai land. Until today, the inhabitants of these villages carefully preserve their traditions: during the celebration of the Holy Trinity Day, they "curl" the birch, weave wreaths and throw them into the fast river, dance and play torches, jump over the fire - to the glory of the all-powerful nature and human love. In the village Sibiryachikha, the Old Believers' church of St. Nicholas accepts the congregation, a museum works; at the festival people will sing folk songs to you, offer to taste delicacies of Kerzhak kitchen, to touch the sacrament of ancient rituals, to participate in games and evenings.

In many families there are national costumes, and the art of sewing luxurious sarafans with generic ornaments and bright men's shirts "under the belt" is not lost here. Because of that, the holidays are always colorful: enough traditional outfits and for guests who participate with pleasure in lovingly recreated rituals. And with each song, with each circle of the dance, with each ritual action, a piece of the accumulated centuries of folk wisdom and spiritual wealth is inherited.

Sacred land, Soloneshnoe! And this is wonderful: if you want to get here, you won`t spend much time and effort. Only three hundred kilometers of the highway separates this region from Barnaul; for an hour and a half you can get from the district center to the Denisova cave, there is enough of light day to see the main waterfalls on the Shinok River. Welcome for energy, beauty