YAKUTSK, March 4. /TASS/. The Lena Pillars National Park opened a tourist season. Visitors will see an upgraded ecological trail and an ice town at the foot of Yakutia's one of the main symbols, the park's Director Arkady Semenov told TASS.
"The Lena Pillars tourist season started with the rite of blessing - Algys," he said. "Today, we have also opened the Legends of Yakutia ice sculpture festival. This year, we are introducing an upgraded ecological trail with a more comfortable ascent. We have arranged additional recreation areas. The route has been traced twice not to disturb earlier unknown locations of rare and endemic plants."
Hundreds of plant species grow in the park, including more than 20 plants on the Red Data Book, like, for example, the endemic lady's slipper orchid. "The Pennsylvania lily also grows in the park. Its Yakut name is sardaana. It is a favorite flower of the Sakha people, and they revere it as a symbol of long-awaited summer, joy, happiness and well-being," he continued.
The national park is home to 38 species of mammals, more than 180 bird species. Some animal species are listed in the national and regional Red Data Books.
The park plans to expand tourism infrastructures and to build guest houses. "In the summer, we will make a pier on the Lena Pillars coast," he added. "By far, the idea to introduce flights from Yakutsk and other districts to Lena Pillars remains pending."
The park expects to welcome 40,000 tourists by the end of the year. "This is an ambitious forecast," the park's director continued. "Last year, we hit all records, even though we had to close the trail to have it upgraded."
The park plans to participate in a competition to build tourist infrastructures in national parks under the Ecological Well-Being National Project. "We have filed an application worth more than 200 million rubles ($2.24 million) to build the ecological trail's second and third stages. We want to have it fully equipped with lighting, video surveillance systems, Wi-Fi access points, and to organize recreation areas. We plan to build small and medium-sized architectural forms on top of the Lena Pillars, and also to finalize the construction of a chapel for weddings," the park director added.
Natural heritage
The park's main mission is not tourism, but the preservation of the unique natural, cultural and scientific heritage of the Lena Pillars. These days, the park's specialists finalize work where they study animals on winter routes. The specialists walk along 5-km routes to record animal tracks, measure the snow density, and they use drones to count animals. "They come in very handy," Inspector Spiridon Maksimov said. "Earlier, inspectors had to walk around assigned territories. The park's area is huge - over 1.2 million hectares."
The park has installed more than 300 cameras and obtained many unique photographs.
Earlier, the park studied behavior of brown bears having put a GPS collar on an animal. The study featured specialists of the park and of Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences' Institute of Biological Problems of the Cryolithozone. They learned the habitat size, seasonal movements, activities, and the time the animal went to a den for winter. The park's specialists will continue the research.
About the nature reserve
The park is on the UNESCO World Heritage List. It is an outstanding example reflecting main stages of the Earth's history, including traces of ancient life. Academician Rozanov has initiated a museum of the Cambrian Period in the region. Local authorities have supported the idea. One of the options viewed now is to have the museum at the inter-university campus, due to be built in Yakutsk for the Northeastern Federal University, the Arctic State Agrotechnological University and the Arctic State Institute of Culture and Arts.