The pillars
Rock towers.
ZankaM — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Николай Максимович — CC BY 3.0 · Hardscarf — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Sandy Balfour — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Николай Максимович — CC BY 3.0
The Lena Pillars are a natural rock formation along the banks of the Lena River in far eastern Siberia, in Russia's Sakha Republic (Yakutia), about 160 km southwest of Yakutsk in a straight line. The Lena Pillars Nature Park has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2012. The pillars are 150 to 300 metres high and were formed in Cambrian-period sea basins, from alternating layers of limestone, marlstone, dolomite and slate shaped by weathering. They are densest between the villages of Petrovskoye and Tit-Ary. The climate is sharply continental, from as low as −60 °C in winter to +35 °C in summer. Grey and brown rock pillars rise like towers and walls above dense pine forest, mirrored in the wide river. From the top of the cliffs the view opens over the calm river and its sandbanks. River trips to the pillars are arranged from Yakutsk, less than a day by boat. Trails on the cliffs are steep and sometimes precarious, amenities in the area are few, and summer is the best time. The UK Foreign Office advises against all travel to Russia, and non-Russian bank cards may not work, so read the current advice before you plan.
Rock towers.
Wide and calm.
From the clifftop.
Banks of the Lena River, Sakha Republic (Yakutia), Russia
By river trip from Yakutsk.
Summer.