(Source: http://www.nomer-doma.ru)

The name of “Zyuratkul” is often translated as “Heart Lake”, but this is true only in part. Until early XX century, the Lake had been called differently: Yurak Kul, and the neighboring Ridge was called Yurak-Tau, “Heart Mountain”. Then somehow the name unnoticeably transformed into Zyurak Kul, and then to Zyuratkul. Zyuratkul has been actively inhabited by people since antiquity.

The investigation of Lake Zyuratkul by the expedition of G. Matyushin (1969) discovered 8 man sites dating back to the XIII-XII millennia BC and a site of the Iron Age of VII-III millennia BC. Household items were found at all sites, and remains of ancient dwellings were found at only two of them.

The dwellings contain all sorts of silicon and jasper crafts, fragments of vessels with ornaments. A total of 12 monuments of archaeology were discovered here in late 1960-s. All of them belonged to the Stone Age - Mesolithic and Neolithic periods (8th -5th millennia BC). The most ancient man site of Mesolithic period was found on the “Dolgiy Elnik” Cape.

Its age ranges from 15 thousand to 6 thousand years BC. Apparently, this was the first attempt of the Stone Age people to penetrate into the mountains and learn the territory of Highlands inaccessible till that time. The Chelyabinsk writer and historian A.P. Moiseev researched the history of Zyuratkyl in the footsteps of the toponymy.

This “Earth language” retains the memory of the ancient sanctuaries, especially in the names of mountains. If the mountains are called “witch’s” or “damned” — they used to be sacred. This is the way pagan shrines were desecrated both by Christianity and Islam.

Local Peculiarities 

Highlands leave their mark on the climate. Summer is not very hot (although sometimes temperature rises up to +38° C), winter is not severely cold (although sometimes temperature falls to -50° C). The wettest month with a lot of rain is November. The best time to visit the place is summer. However, the Park is naturally not closed for winter, you just need to prepare for the visit in another way. The ecological path may be swept by snowfalls, there is a risk of getting lost. Climbing to the ridge of Zyuratkul is steep in some places, that is why winter climbing requires studded boots or reliable sticks.

Traveling on the territory of “Zyuratkul National Park” is not free: there is a tollgate and a cash register at the entrance. The Administration of the National Park is committed to preserve the purity and beauty of the local nature, therefore picking plants, flowers, berries and mushrooms is prohibited on the territory of the Park. Nevertheless, fishing is permitted.