UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Russia. Part 1

There are 30 UNESCO heritage sites in Russia, and most of them you visited without knowing about it. And if you haven't visited, then be sure to visit – unique attractions are available to everyone in our country.

UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Russia. Part 2

UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Russia. Part 3

1. Onega petroglyphs

Petroglyphs are one of the most ancient and mysterious rock carvings on Earth. Quartz-carved images of people, animals, celestial bodies and unidentified objects are located in the Pudozhsky district of Karelia, on the east coast of Lake Onega in the Murom Reserve. The age of the petroglyphs is 5-6 thousand years.

2. Daursky Nature Reserve

The Daursky Reserve is located in Southeastern Transbaikalia, located on the territory of Borzinsky and Olovyanninsky districts of the Trans-Baikal Territory. The reserve was created to preserve and study the unique wetland, steppe and forest ecosystems of Dauria, as well as to protect the "red Book" animals: manuls and Daurian hedgehogs.

3. Lena pillars

The Lena Pillars National Park is represented by a unique geological formation in the form of limestone rocks. Everyone who has been to this park must have been impressed by the majestic view of these rock formations. Once there was a prehistoric sea bottom at this place, but geological changes taking place on the planet led to the rise of the Siberian plate. So the limestone deposits at the bottom of the sea became real mountains on the surface of the planet. There is a national park on the banks of the Lena River in the Republic of Sakha, Yakutia.

4. Putorana Plateau

The magnificent landscapes of the Putorana plateau capture the imagination of any traveler: mountains, canyon-like basins of tectonic lakes and many waterfalls make this area completely unique. The reserve is located in the polar zone in the Krasnoyarsk Territory and therefore has a characteristic natural and climatic appearance. It is one of the largest nature reserves in Russia. Interestingly, the name means "the country of lakes with steep shores" in Evenki, and "mountains without peaks" in Yukaghir.

5. Wrangel Island

Wrangel Island is the northernmost object from the entire UNESCO World Natural Heritage List. It is located simultaneously in the Eastern and Western hemispheres: the 180th meridian divides the Russian Wrangel Island into two parts. This is a real oasis of wildlife in the Arctic Ocean. The Chukchi name of Wrangel Island — Umkilir — translates as "the island of polar bears".

6. Ubsunur basin

In the Ubsunur basin, you can see almost all the landscapes of the planet Earth: desert dunes are replaced by steppes, forests, taiga, glaciers and rocky mountain peaks. The territory is slightly more than 1 million hectares, including lakes, rivers, valleys, highlands, and ridges. There is a natural object in the Republic of Tyva.

7. Sikhote-Alin Nature Reserve

The unique and inimitable nature of the Sikhote–Alin Nature Reserve consists of mountain ranges cut by numerous river valleys, noisy waterfalls, lagoon lakes, seaside coves and endless taiga. Brown and Himalayan bears, elk and spotted deer, harza and sable, Amur tiger and lynx, Korean cedar and actinidia liana coexist here. The landmark is located in the Primorsky Territory of Russia.

8. Virgin forests of the Komi Republic

The surviving massifs of boreal forests are striking in the size of their trees. Rivers and lakes flow between the forests, and marshy swamps stretch. This is the first site in the Russian Federation to be included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. Small Komi and Old Believers, representatives of a religious trend banned in Russia in the XVII century, have been preserved near the Unya River, which makes the history of this place even more interesting to visit.

9. The Curonian Spit

The Curonian Spit is the longest sand spit on the planet, acting as a natural barrier between the salty Baltic Sea and the freshwater Curonian Lagoon. Dunes are located next to swamps, and majestic forests border cozy sandy beaches. The spit is 98 km long and is located between Zelenograd (Russia) and Klaipeda (Lithuania).

10. The Western Caucasus

The Western Caucasus is one of the few large alpine massifs in Europe where nature has not yet been significantly influenced by anthropogenic factors. It includes the Caucasian Reserve, Sochi National Park, the Bolshoy Thach Nature Park, natural monuments of the Buyny Ridge, the Upper Reaches of the Tsitsa River, the Upper reaches of the Pshekha and Pshekhashkha rivers. It is located in Kabardino-Balkaria.