Olenyi Ruchyi Nature Park

Olenyi Ruchyi - Deer Streams - follows the Serga where it cuts a canyon through Devonian limestone in the Middle Urals, and it is the most visited nature park in Sverdlovsk region because it is close to Yekaterinburg and set up properly: marked trails of varying length, boardwalks, staircases, viewing platforms, suspension bridges and shelters. The features along the river are the Angel of Sole Hope, a small sculpture set on the rock as part of an international peace project; Druzhba cave, a substantial system with ice in the entrance chambers; the Dyrovaty Kamen, a cliff with an arch the river runs past; the Karst Bridge; and Pisanitsa, a cliff with red ochre rock paintings including the deer figure the park is named for, made some centuries ago by the ancestors of the Mansi. Bear and elk are in the forest, and the ticks here carry encephalitis.

What you actually see

• The Serga canyon - Devonian limestone cliffs above a river with marked trails.
• Pisanitsa - red ochre rock paintings including the deer that named the park.
• Druzhba cave - a substantial system holding ice in its entrance chambers.
• The infrastructure - boardwalks, stairs, bridges and shelters throughout.

When to go

May to September; winter brings ski trails and ice in the caves. A day. Weekends bring heavy traffic from Yekaterinburg.

Honest expectations

Very busy at weekends and on holidays - the trails queue in places. Ticks carrying encephalitis are a serious risk from April to July and vaccination is advised for the region. Cave visits need a torch and warm clothing. Rock paintings are faint.

Nearby

Nizhnie Sergi is north; Yekaterinburg is east.