(Source: http://ru.esosedi.org)

The residents of the South Urals love Iremel. They are proud of Iremel. They invite people to visit Iremel. It is a beautiful place, besides it is successfully adapted for full-value recreation by the nature itself. 

But the incredible popularity of Iremel nearly turned into a disaster with time: mass Russian tourists have bad impact on the environment. They woke up almost in time: the natural park “Iremel” was founded not long ago, in 2010. According to Rayan Shagimukhametov, the director of the young park, the need for a special status arose after people began riding quad bikes almost to the top. So Iremel is a mountain range, Iremelevy Mountains.

There are several summits: Bolshoy Iremel (Big Iremel) and Maly Iremel (Small Iremel), Kabanchik and Zherebchik. But the main of them is, of course, Bolshoy Iremel (1582 m), the second highest mountain in the Southern Urals after Yamantau. But this “second place” turns out to be very advantageous: one of the best views to the South Urals Mountains opens from the top of Bolshoy Iremel: on the one hand - to Yamantau and Zigalga ridge and on the other hand - to the ridges of Nurgush and Avalyak. It is known that the Ural Mountains are the oldest on the Earth. Therefore, they relatively low. This also makes them particularly attractive for tourism. 

People without special mountaineering skills can also climb to the top of Bolshoy Iremel. But a good sports training will be helpful: you will have to go 14 kilometers up the mountain and the same distance back across country. On the way to the mountain tops you will be able to see the change of geographical belts with the naked eye. The forests at the foot are light, mixed, with many scenic meadows and flowers.

A wall of spruces and larches stands a bit higher (the age of some trees approaches 500 years). The closer to the top, the faster the landscape is changing. The way goes through alpine meadows, where the heady scents of herbs spread in summer. And the main reward for climbing is the view to the tops of Iremelevy Mountains.

The best time for a visit

Iremel has all opportunities for year-round recreation. However, many people believe that the winter season is even preferable than the summer one: the most part of the way to the top can be made on a snowmobile, and just a couple of kilometers will be left to go by foot.

Snowmobiles make several trips per day, so even if tourists who overestimated their strength descend from the summit exhausted, the snowmobiles will bring them to the tourist centre with comfort . Particularly resistant tourists preferring to go all way by foot can follow the trails of a snowmobile – thus, it’s easier not to lose the way. But in the summer tourists, unfortunately, often get lost. The local climate is characterized by abrupt changes in weather, strong winds, frequent rain and fog. In winter blizzards are frequent, and the snow does not melt until mid-June.