Window to Siberia: what tourists will see in Tomsk Golden Ring tour

TOMSK, Mar 26 – RIA Tomsk, Vadim Belozertsev. Tomsk journalists were the first who visited new tourist route "The Golden Ring of the Tomsk region". Material of RIA Tomsk is about route sights.

Earlier it was reported that the weekend tourist route "Window to Siberia. The Golden Ring of the Tomsk region" assumes a travel across Tomsk and eight areas of the region – Shegarsky, Krivosheinsky, Molchanovsky, Kolpashevsky, Kargasoksky, Parabelsky, Chainsky and Tomsk. Route extent is about 1,3 thousand kilometers.

According to organizers – regional office of Russian Geographical Society, inhabitants and guests of the region will be able to go to a travel across "The Golden Ring of the Tomsk region" in the summer of 2017.

Sacred images and Tomsk rhinoceroses

The excursion across the Tomsk region begins at 8:00. By this time, the minibus Mercedes for 20 places have been expecting for our experimental group of tourists in the Lagernyy garden.

The first stop outside Tomsk is Shegarsky museum of local lore.

At the door representatives of fauna of the area, and not only modern, but also prehistoric inhabitants of the local woods and fields meet tourists. There is a collection of remains of mammoths, bisons, rhinoceroses and even cave lions in the museum.

There is also an exposition devoted to life of the first settlers where home weaving looms, distaffs, samovars and even the first Russian sharpener for the razor are exposed. Besides, tourists can see also richly decorated Blessed Virgin Mary's icon of 1703.

"This icon was so worshiped before the revolution that annually a religious procession were held with it. People went to Petropavlovsk – to present Kazakhstan. <…> It has a name Hodegetria, in fact, it is God's blessing on the forthcoming way", – the prior of the local temple, the priest Alexey told journalists.

Journalists were fed with a tasty and fast breakfast: potato with cheese and mushrooms, berries pies and very tasty and sweet candies from carrot.

The following significant point of a route is St. Nicholas Convent in Mogochino.

It is possible to call this monastery, similar to fortress, "Tomsk Vatican" – it is located in the territory of the village, but it lives its own life. Everything is like in Middle Ages - powerful walls go into the sky, priests grandly walk (the whole lines of persons interested to kiss a hand queue up to some of them), flocks of dirty children run, women in black scarfs select building materials for the forthcoming building.

"Three thousand people live in the settlement (in Mogochino), 900 (people) live somewhere at the monastery. Pilgrims come constantly – 60 people a week. They come from all country. <…> Sunday services bring together up to 500 people, and for big holidays as for Christmas, – to 900 (people)", – the archdeacon Matfey told.

There are also the hotel for 120 places, school, and the refectory in the monastery, which isn't of a lower quality dishes of cafe. However, everyone will be able to get acquainted with local cuisine since the summer – tourists have a lunch here according to the plan.

The route of the first day comes to the end in the geographical center of the Tomsk region – Kolpashevsky district, one of the main sights of which is stone Church of the Ascension in the village of Togur. It will celebrate the 200th anniversary next year, at the same time everything – from overlappings to icons – remained perfectly.

"God didn't leave this place", – one of participants of the group whispered.

In the footsteps of Stalin

The second day began also at 8:00: organizers are forced to hurry tourists as the road takes a lot of time.

This day organizers suggest to visit the village Narym of Parabelsky district. First of all this settlement is known as the place of the exile: both Decembrists, and participants of the Polish revolt were banished to Narym, but Joseph Stalin was the most famous exiled. Thanks to this circumstance, the museum was founded in the late forties in Narym.

Now the Narymsky museum of political exile is located in the house of the Alekseev family where future "Father of Nations" lived.

"Still unknown Joseph Stalin lived here in 1912 from July 22 to September 1. His bed was near the furnace – the warmest place. The fir-tree chest at the bed also belonged to him (Stalin)", – the employee of the Narymsky museum of political exile Pavel Kovrikov told journalists.

According to him, hosts helped Stalin to run from the exile: Yakov Alekseev took him out by the boat on September 1, 1912 and Stalin was in Moscow in 12 days.

But Stalin's house is not the only thing that can be seen in Narym. There is a museum of local lore in the village where it is possible to learn history of the village based in six years before Tomsk, to get acquainted with "involuntary inhabitants" of Narym, and also to see household items of Selkups – the people living in the territory of Parabelsky district even before arrival of Russians.

Tourists get gastronomic surprise. Imperial fish soup from three species of fish was served for lunch to the Tomsk journalists in the museum.

Hunting a bear

Next day we went to the village Podgornoye of Chainsky district. The third day of the travel is hard – the fatigue from movement by bus affects. However, walk on ice of Ob gave necessary loading to numb legs and back.

Podgoronoye is the regional center of Chainsky district which main sights are the mountain Kulayka, which gave the name to the kulayka archaeological culture (the 5th century BC – the 5th century AD) known for the bronze cult casting.

"Welcome to the museum of archaeological culture of the mountain Kulayka. We will get acquainted with this culture in the exposition now, but you need to pass a clarification ceremony before it: there is a birch bark from the mountain Kulayka, we will kindle sacred fire with it help. This fire will clear you of bad energy", – the employee of the museum Zinaida Reshetnikova welcomed guests.

After all threw a piece of birch bark into a bowl with fire, group of journalists were led to the museum where the exposition devoted to culture of kulayets is located.

Further, everything was as in the adventure movie: legends of the heavenly world the Kulayka deities, about the world of dead, and "a ceremony on good luck" – a ritual prayer to spirit of Elk, and after that we had a trip to Kulayka – "mountain of spirits" as it is called by locals.

At the door of the mountain we heard a bewitching drumbeat. Almost real Kulayka village is located on a glade at Kulayka's bottom – there is a tent fitted by skins of animals and men in national suits engaged in preparation of bows and arrows and women manufacturing skins and cooking venison soup – lunch for tourists.

Organizers didn't just recreate the atmosphere. They offer a scene from kulaysky life: men get up from a fire with weapon – hunting for a bear is begining now. "A bear was sent to the earth by God the Father. It forgot about an order of the father and attacked people because of hunger and midges. It became mortal and was forced to die that its soul came back to the sky", – the guide explains the events.

Hunters leave and come back with a skin – the animal is obtained. Now "kulayets" dance in frenzy under a drumbeat that the bear to forgive them for their crime. We stand and look, without closing a mouth. Something wild and attracting in these ritual dances and ceremonial fight between men at the skin of the animal at the ancient "mountain of spirits" is felt.

After lunch it is time for us to come back to Tomsk. We hardly stand on the feet, but we come back to Tomsk rested.