Brief Facts

Climate of  Southern Ural is continental with cold long winter and warm summer. This region possesses natural, historical and cultural places of interest : more than 200 protected territories, including world-famous Ilmen natural reserve, historical - landscape park Arkaim ( peer of Egyptian Pyramids ) ; rare and unique geological and botanical objects. The most well-known parks are national parks " Taganai ", " Zuratkul" and " Porogi". 
Average winter temperature is 10 - 20 degrees below zero, summer temperature is 25 degrees above zero. 

Kinds Of Tourism

Southern Ural is a perfect place for hiking and study of Russian landscape. Mountain mass in the centre of this region maintained a life evidence og historical epoques : freezing and warming. One will find here a great variety of plantation : from tundra one to steppe.Boundless space and fascinating scenery will ensure your spiritual harmony. Extreme and adventure lovers will have an opportunity to make an ascent of one of the highest tops of Southern Ural - mountain Big Shatak ( 1271 metres above sea level ) , visit mineral healing sources and see unique natural objects - Kinderlinskaya Cave , " sacrificial " rock " Ukli-Kaya ", mysterious Askinskaya Ice Cave.
One of the most popular kinds of tourism is a horse tour. It will help you to get back to the times of nomadic tribes and feel the unity with nature. It is like a feeling of flight above the ground without taking off. Thanks to horse tours, people have an opportunity to go to far away places. Good-natured horses will become your true helpers. These nooble animals are the best mean of transport on the paths of valleys and mountain ridges of Ural. Horse tours are meant for people with different levels of preparation - they are perfect for both beginners and experienced riders.If you are sure of yourself, you can choose routes of high complexity. Horse tours also include visits of Saint sources and villages, bathing and fishing. 

You can take combined tours and enjoy three unusual means of transport : sledges, horses or horse-drawn vehicles. You can choose winter or summer tour.
If you like frost and snow, then Southern Ural will be the best place for you. Ot is the perfect place for winter rest. Fresh air and covered with snow mountains won't leave you indifferent.
There are exotic horse-sledge tours along the mountain ridges of Kraka-Tau and in flood plain of the rivers Kaga and Agidel. Winter lovers will be impressed by swift horse run, snow whirlwinds and fast change of surrounding nature. After the ride old cosy house, warm stove and hot flavoured tea with honey will be waiting for you.
Besides, you can supplement the tour with skiing and skating. 

Another winter tour includes snowmobile riding across the passing Ural-Tau.You'll  get acquianted with the village Mukhametovo, where you'll be surprised by unique beauty of the wooden mosque. In the evening you'll enjoy a dinner, made in the stove and sleep in sleeping bags like true adventure seekers. Horse-sledge passage is prepared for the next day, when one can see the mountain ridges of Krak with its pine and birch woods. What is more, you'll get a rare opportunity of night skiing and sleeping in a real Russian peasant's log hut.
 In summer tours sledge is replaced with a catamaran. This programme is worked out for adventure and nature lovers, as you'll be able to visit three nature reserves of Southern Ural ( Southern Ural State Nature Reserve, State Nature Reserve of Bashkiriya and national park " Shulgan-Tash" ) , raft with catamaranes on the river Belaya and have a horse ride in the national park " Bashkiriya".
If you want to see as much as as possible, you can take a tour, including three rivers : Belaya,Nugush, Zilim. You'll see beautiful rocks and visit famous waterfall " Kuperlya". After the rafting part you'll take a bicycle and travel to heling mineral sources.
If you're fond of rafting, you'll be delighted with this travel. The rafting is rather long - 160 kilometres. It is very fast and dinamic as one uses kayaks instead of catamaranes. It is recommnede for the persons who are short of time. All the beauties of the river will be there for you.
Southern Ural is various in its landscape. Beside rafting and horse-riding, this region can offer a possibility of rock climbing. The most popular place of rock climbers is rocks of Shikhan, rising above the lake Arakul. It is a giant rock range with many routes of different level of complicacy.

 
Shikhan is notable for the numerous nature beauties, surrounding ot. You can see here a lake with various fish and crawfish, mountains. From the rocks of Shikhan one will admire marvellous views. There is a alke in the mountain circle, sparkling like an emerald. In 1969 Arakul was announced to be the monument of nature. 
Southern Ural has a few peculiarities of adventure tourism. One of them is widespread horse riding, another one is an opportunity of setting to speleotourism. What are the main features of this kind of tourism? There are many of them : complexity of underground routes due to the variety of cave reliefs ( subterranean rivers, wells, obstructions etc. ) ; high relative air moisture ( up to 100 % ) ; absence of natural lighting.

Speleotourism requires strenght, stamina, dexterity, ability to use means of life support under ground and safety means, to swim and dive, experience of rock climbing. Route usually consists of two parts : subterranean and surface. Complicacy and conditions of the first part ( hiking, skiing, by boat )depend on the cave location, its remoteness from towns and villages, season etc. Of course, most tourists are inexperienced people, but that doesn't mean that they can't make a speleotour. Caves differ in levels of complicacy, so one can easily go to the cave marked as " not dangerous ", but it is better to do with instructors.

There are more than thousand caves and grottos in Southern Ural. Most of them maintain traces of ancient epoques. The most famous ones are Kapovaya and Ignatievskaya caves, well-known for its precious potrait exhibitions.

 
         

sources:

http://x-adventure.ru/index.php ; http://парус74.рф/

Alexandra Dibizheva