What happens there: UFOs fly in, meteorites fall, heroes of ancient myths and legends come to life, ghosts and monsters meet, portals open to other worlds. You need to go here with extreme caution, following the rules. Then you will be lucky and you will see something very interesting and unusual. We talk about eight such corners of our country.
Land of Witches
The Ovda Korem ravine is located in the Mari-El Republic. Once upon a time, the Ovds, the forest evil spirits from Mari fairy tales and legends, lived here. They are easily recognized by their knees turned back. One of the favorite pastimes of female police officers is to steal horses from camps and ride them at night with wild laughter. If in the morning the owner found his horse in the soap, it was immediately clear: a widow was riding him. It is possible to catch the kidnapper, but it is a very risky undertaking. You never know how it will end: either he will offer you a profitable deal, or he will curse you forever. In the ravine, even today you can see round entrances to the dwellings of the forest people. But local residents say that the last time they were seen was a hundred years ago. The witches were offended by the civilization that had reached the remote places and went deeper into the thicket.
How to get there: by plane to Yoshkar-Ola, and from there by car to the village of Nursola.
Time loop
More than a hundred years ago, residents of the lands that are now part of the Krasnoyarsk Territory observed something very impressive: a meteorite flew in the sky over the taiga. It sparkled and made noise, and then with a roar and a bright flash it fell into the swamps of the Podkamennaya Tunguska River. A powerful blast wave knocked down trees, destroyed animals, damaged people’s houses, and then a fire started. However, the meteorite itself disappeared: not even a characteristic crater was found at the supposed crash site. There are about a hundred theories about where the celestial body could have disappeared. According to one of the versions, which is reflected in the work of the Strugatsky brothers, the Tunguska meteorite is an alien spaceship stuck in a time loop. The fire in the forest began before the approach of the celestial body, and earthlings observed not the fall, but the takeoff of the fireball. Be that as it may, even today people notice that anomalous phenomena occur in these places, and nature goes crazy.
How to get there:by plane to Krasnoyarsk, from there by car or small glider to the village of Vanavara. Then about another 70 kilometers on foot or by helicopter to the point “epicenter of the explosion.” Today, the inaccessible location is part of the Tungussky State Nature Reserve, so it is safer and more economical to go here as part of an organized tour.
Russian Atlantis
According to the Old Believer legend, when the beautiful ancient Russian city of Kitezh was attacked by the Tatar-Mongol army, the inhabitants, instead of defending themselves from the invaders, began to pray. The rescue was unexpected: fountains began to flow in the square, and soon the city completely went under water. This is how Lake Svetloyar appeared. And if the mythical Kitezh can be called the Russian Atlantis, then the reservoir is a very real location that is not so difficult to get to. It is located in the Nizhny Novgorod region on the territory of the Voskresenskoye Povetluzhie natural park. You can come with a tour or on your own, staying in a village nearby. Who knows, maybe someone will be lucky enough to see the church domes of the beautiful Kitezh city through the water?
How to get there: by plane to Nizhny Novgorod, from there by regular bus or car to the village of Vladimirskoye, and then on foot to Lake Svetloyar.
Ghost Island
A ghost island lurks among the Arctic icebergs of the Arctic Ocean. People first started talking about it in the 19th century. Scientists have noticed that birds migrate towards the North Pole in the fall, and return home with their offspring in the spring. This means that somewhere out there, in the icy deserts, there is warm land. The merchant Yakov Sannikov went in search, and the members of his expedition confirmed: they saw the island, but could not land on it. The news so excited the public that more and more new researchers gathered to look for the mysterious territory. But no one else ever saw anything like it. Interest in the legend flared up again when V. A. Obruchev wrote a fantastic fiction book, on which the film “Sannikov Land” was later made. At the end of the 20th century, Sannikov Land, which received the name in honor of the “discoverer,” was recognized as non-existent, and the name became a household name. However, scientists still identified the location of its hypothetical location: the Laptev Sea, north of Kotelny Island.
How to get there: by regular plane to Yakutsk, then by local air transport to the village of Tiksi, and then by helicopter to Kotelny Island.  ;
Navel of the Earth
The village of Okunevo in the Omsk region unexpectedly received the status of the energy center of the Earth. According to legends, in this locality you can not only be cured of diseases, but also find eternal youth. People first started talking about the miraculous properties of this place in 1991. One of the Indian guru’s students saw in a dream how in a certain place the temple of the god Hanuman, Rama’s assistant, was going underground. The girl described the vision to a familiar archaeologist and local historian, who immediately understood: this happened in Okunevo. Soon followers of other teachings flocked to the Omsk region, and the indigenous people began to notice the healing properties of river water. In 2000, during soil research under the settlement, tunnels were found that could easily fit an entire temple. The fame of Okunevo as a place with strong energy began to spread throughout the world. The village grew: pilgrims kept coming and coming in search of the temple. They began to record paranormal phenomena and mystical events. Today, people of different faiths live in Okunevo, who are looking for a way to themselves and learning the secrets of the universe.
How to get there: by plane to Omsk, from there by regular bus, minibus or car to the village of Okunevo.
UFO landing site
The Molebsky triangle, an anomalous zone in the Perm region, can be called a UFO brand. According to ufologists, it is in this place that the chances of seeing aliens are especially high. Expedition participants were more than once able to capture a variety of angles of flying saucers. Naturally, such encounters are not without consequences: UFO hunters may feel a deterioration in their health and dizziness. Equipment breaks down: batteries run out, cameras malfunction, watches slow down. Time and space are distorted. According to one legend, such high paranormal activity is associated with the ancient Mansi people, who lived in these places. It was as if their prayer stone stood in this triangle, which, of course, was of extraterrestrial origin.
How to get there: by plane to Perm, from there by car through the village of Osintsevo to the village of Molebka. You can also fly to Yekaterinburg, and from there take a car or train to the village of Kungur, then continue to your destination by taxi.
Whale Alley
No one knows how an arch made of ribs and jaws of bowhead whales appeared on Yttygran Island. According to the most magical and terrifying version of the origin of this place, there was once a huge sanctuary of the ancient Eskimos here, where they prayed and made sacrifices to the spirits. Other researchers adhere to a more everyday theory. Maybe this is a field for games and sports? Be that as it may, similar structures have not been found in the Arctic. Due to the lack of analogies, it is very difficult for scientists to say unambiguously what it is. A mystery comparable to that of Stonehenge attracts tourists to Yttygran Island even despite the inaccessibility of this location.
How to get there: by plane to the city of Anadyr, then by local air transport to the village of Provideniya. And then, from the village of Yanrakynnot, and by helicopter, all-terrain vehicle or water transport to the island of Yttygran. In winter, the last 40 km section of the journey can be covered on ice.
Portal between worlds
Another complex, the purpose of which has not yet been determined, is located on the Solovetsky Islands. On the ground covered with moss and lichen, large round labyrinths are laid out from stones. As often happens, the opinions of scientists about their origin do not coincide. Some talk about magical rituals, others believe that this is ancient know-how for fishing. But some tourists who lingered for a long time near the labyrinth testified to their wanderings in time and space. Maybe that’s why today it’s forbidden to wander along strange paths? And local residents specifically say that they have never seen any movements? There are enough conspiracy theories around the Solovetsky labyrinths. Ufologists are sure: the stone circles are traces of a UFO landing.
How to get there: by plane to Arkhangelsk, then also by air to Bolshoy Solovetsky Island, and from there by boat to Bolshoi Zayatsky Island.
