Itchalkovsky Woods

The surprising and fabulous view is opened in front of you in one of the intricate bends of the Piana river, situated 1,5 km to the east from the village of Itchalki. An island of the mountainous taiga on the edge of the Russian steppe: This is how people have described the ancient forest. The wooded thickets are dotted with rocks out of chalk and limestone, which have been sculpted into tunnels, holes and caves some of which remind of one of the ruins of a medieval castle. This island is thought to be formed at pre-gracial period. At the gracial period some part of the massif rose much highter rover the ice-cover, and then later on, it became lower. The proof of thiss is that the basic massif on which Ichalckovsky woods are situated is raised 20-40 m. higher than the Piana.

Another version says that northern and mountaineous kinds of the woods appeaared in after glacial epoch of the Valdai ice. When the climate became warmer these plants became extinct on the territory of Srednerussky lowlands but  here, in active limestone places they remained thanks to dampness and limestone rocks containing small- and big-shelled porous enriched in dolomite limes. These soft rocks were hollowed out by the river Piana for a long period of time, and gradually cavities were formed. The aches of the underground cavities were being ruined under the weight of upper strata and created the natural realm of fantastic forms and reliefs. Numerous craters with a diametre equal to 50-60 m. and 25-30 m. deep, gutters, precipices with cliffs, ditches and ravines are concentrated in the  southern part of the woods on the area equal to 300 hectares. There more than 1000 of these caves in the forest on the whole.

The most picturesque yet dangerous of these limestone caves is Bezymiannaya cave. It’s situated 25 km to the east from Startseva Yama (Pit) and 80 m. to the south east from Kholodnaya cave. Its walls are covered with moss and the peculiar, almost architectural forms inside remind of a deserted castle. In order to get to these secret halls one has first to cross a narrow, dilapidated bridge Known as the “devil’s bridge”. This bridge looks like a picturesque arch, formed as a result of demolishing of the underground gallery which earlier connected two craters.

In summer the path will lead you through the arch to the entrance of the cave. In its southern part there is a big dark grotto, which going down, forms a domed vault 10m high. Once you have got to the bottom of the cave, you’ll see a small lake with crystal pure water. On the bottom of the cave you’ll make an archeological journey to the origin of life on our planet. Here, on the limestone walls of the cave, one can find the fossilized remains of organisms, which lived on earth millions of years ago such as ammonites, belemnites and other mollusks (175 -100 mil. of years ago). Their soft bodies hid in the beautiful shells from 1cm up to 1m in size. Ammonites swam very quickly rockets throwing the water out through the siphon and attacked their preys catching them with their tentacles.

In the caves and ditches on the banks of the Piana one can see the remnants of the other inhabitants-shelffish of the jurassic and lime seas which look like stone fingers. Considering the isotopes in the shells of shelfish the temperature of the northern seas was determined - 28^o C. On land, in water and in the air there were reptiles of mesozoic period (dinosaurs, ichthyosauruses) and a lot of birds and mammals appeared.

One more well-known cave – Studencheskaya is situated 110m. To the south–west from Bezymiannaya cave. Its entrance is situated in the very middle of the vertical wall of the big limestone ravine. First low it gradually turns into a hall where you can stand. Going forward along the village road to the south – east, you’ll see a colossal limestone ravine with vertical walls legends says that this was the place for which the corpses of suicide’s  wrapped in sacks. Another legend says: once upon a time an old man threw his wicked wife into the ravine but missing her very soon came back to take her home. He put out his reins but pulled out a roll of snakes which begged him to take his wife back, because she had made their life impossible.