Shulgan-Tash Cave

Shulgan-Tash, also called Kapova cave, opens in a limestone cliff above the Belaya river, and in 1959 a zoologist working in the reserve found paintings deep inside: mammoths, horses, a woolly rhinoceros, bison and geometric signs in red ochre, dated to roughly the Upper Palaeolithic and among very few such sites east of Europe's Franco-Cantabrian region. Their presence here changed the map of Palaeolithic art. Conservation is the problem - human breath, temperature and humidity damage the pigment - so the original chambers are now closed, and visitors are shown full-size replicas in an accessible part of the cave and a museum, which is the honest arrangement rather than a disappointment to argue with. The reserve around it exists for a second reason: bortnichestvo, the tradition of keeping wild honey bees in hollowed living trees, still practised here, with the Burzyan bee population protected.

Highlights

• The replicas - full-size copies of the Palaeolithic paintings in an accessible chamber.
• The subjects - mammoth, horse, rhinoceros and bison in red ochre.
• The closure - original chambers shut to protect the pigment from breath and humidity.
• The wild beekeeping - bortnichestvo in hollowed living trees, still practised in the reserve.

When to go

May to September; the road is poor in the rains and winter. A day including the long drive. Guided visits only.

What to expect

The original paintings cannot be seen - only replicas, and that is permanent. The cave is cold and wet. The drive from Ufa is long on rough roads. Photography inside is restricted.

Nearby

The Belaya river is rafted through the reserve; Ufa is far to the north-west.

Key facts