The legend of Manpupunyor, the coolest tourist attraction in Russia

If I ask you what is the “coolest” natural attraction in the United States, then you will most likely answer: Grand Canyon.

If I ask about Europe, then you will probably remember Mont Blanc. Africa - Victoria Falls. South America - Patagonia. Australia - Great Barrier Reef.

And what is the “coolest” natural attraction in Russia? I will assume that you say Baikal, and you will be right. In part.

Baikal is great and beautiful. But Baikal is a lake. Very big but lake. But is there anything in our country that you look at and marvel at - how did nature create this? How did she do it?

In our country there are a lot of such unusual places, but the greatest and most unusual of them, in my opinion, is Manpupuner. This is the most unique natural formation that I have ever seen in the world. Included in 7 wonders of Russia.

Imagine a bald mountain, on top of which there are 7 huge pillars. Each is 14 storey high, that is, 40 meters high. They were created by nature.

Manpupuner is Russia's most underrated attraction. The legend of Manpupunyore says that once the giants decided to steal the beautiful daughter of the leader - Aim. Brother Pigrychum went to rescue her. For this, good spirits gave him a magic shield. When the giants were about to grab Aim, Pigrychum pulled out a shield, and the sunlight reflected off him turned the giants into stone.

This is a legend of the Mansi people who live in the northern Urals. The very word Man-Pupu-Ner (emphasis on the last syllable) translates as "small mountain of idols."

Geologists have a different opinion about the origin of these remnants, and it is they.

Previously, there was a mountain in this place, in which there were voids or caves. At some point from below, into these voids, the Earth squeezed out magma (lava), which filled them like soft ice cream filling a waffle cone. Over time, rain, wind, frost and heat destroyed the mountain and it crumbled, turning into a pile of stones, but lava, it is solid, it remains. Continuing the analogy, the waffle cup crumbled, and the frozen ice cream remained almost in its original form, repeating in its shape all the curves of the cave.

Manpupuner is far from the only remnants in Russia and even more so on our planet. Even the outcrops are called "weathering pillars", or "kekurs", and there are a lot of them in Chukotka, the Far East and Yakutia.

Getting to Manpupunyor is not easy. I got here only on the third attempt by helicopter from Perm with a group from the Northern Ural company. I highly recommend them.