Unique places of Sakhalin. Sakhalin Regional Museum of Local Lore. Museum of Railway Engineering

Sakhalin is the largest island in Russia, washed by the Sea of ​​Okhotsk and the Sea of ​​Japan. Amazing natural monuments attract hundreds of tourists to the Sakhalin Region, both from our country and abroad.

The beautiful landscapes seen here will remain in memory for many years. The treasury of the nature of the Far East gives rapid development to tourism. The direction of ecotourism is especially developed here. Travel companies offer interesting routes, entertainment and sports programs.

Acquaintance with the Sakhalin Region is best to start with the museum. It is one of the oldest cultural institutions Sakhalin region. The Sakhalin Regional Museum of Local Lore has gone through a difficult path of its formation and development. Now the museum plays the role of the custodian of the culture and history of Sakhalin.

The activity of the museum is primarily aimed at expanding knowledge about its native land bringing this knowledge to the visitors. Every year the museum is visited by about 70 thousand residents and guests of the region.

The museum has a basement, first and second floors. On the ground floor there are permanent expositions of historical geology, fauna of the Far Eastern seas. On the ground floor there are halls of flora and fauna, the hall "In the depths of the ocean", an exposition ancient culture and Indigenous and Exhibition Hall.

At the second, visitors get acquainted with the post-war period and the present, the pre-war period and the Second World War, the hall "Sakhalin - a hard labor colony of Russia", as well as "Discovery and development of the islands". The museum hosts traveling exhibitions and holds various competitions. The day off is Monday, the rest of the working hours: from 11 to 18-00.

Location: 29 Communist Ave., Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.

"Mountain Air" - ski resort Sakhalin Island

In the period from 1905 to 1945 on the territory of the modern complex " Mountain air"was a tourist base. Sports competitions in ski jumping were held there. In the winter of 1960, a Soviet ski resort. It was from that time that the competitions took on a traditional character, they were held every year on the last December Sunday.

On the territory of the complex, services are offered for equipment rental, luggage storage, accommodation, you can choose an individual tour for relaxation, use the services of instructors, go on a walking route.

There are a lot of trails, different categories of difficulty. There are lifts on the slopes: chair, gondola, tow. There are three cafes on the middle and upper grounds of the complex. "Mountain air", "Liana", "Height". The opening of the winter season, as well as in the distant 1960, will take place on December 23. In the summer, various competitions are held here, such as photo contests, kite festivals, summer mountain climbing. Working hours: on Thursdays and Fridays from 12:00 to 19:00, on Saturdays and Sundays from 10:00 to 20:00, three days off - Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

All Russian cities can boast of picturesque parks, alleys and gardens. Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk is no exception. This glorious city has unique park where people can relax and have fun in the natural environment. It's called

Children will really like walking in the park, as there are about 40 attractions. And for lovers of shooting, there are various shooting ranges in the park. At the entrance to the park, guests and residents of the city are greeted by a sculpture of the first cosmonaut of the Earth.

Health Alley is very popular among people who prefer a healthy lifestyle. Fresh air, tall trees, a paved road, many benches and lighting - all this is on the alley of health.

A couple of years ago, a health promotion called "Morning Physical Exercise" started here. Everyone can come on Saturday at 9 am to the alley and enjoy the joint exercise and cheerfulness of the morning. And also spend time in a pleasant company of friends and get positive emotions and a boost of energy for the coming week.

Location: Children's street - 1.

The Sakhalin Zoobotanical Park is an open-air museum, and its exhibits are alive. For residents and guests of the city, the zoo has become a place where you can have a great rest both with friends and family.

Here you can learn something new from the life of animals and enjoy communicating with them. The zoo has a huge number of inhabitants, representatives of amphibians, mammals, mollusks, insects, arachnids, birds, reptiles, fish, arthropods. Small children especially like the petting section of the zoo, where you can pet interesting animals such as rabbits, ducks, guinea pigs, pigeons, kids.

The Zoo is open from 10-00 to 19-00, on weekends and holidays until 20-00.

Anton Pavlovich Chekhov - the great Russian writer, made a long journey across the country, heading to Sakhalin Island, soon after which he wrote the book "Sakhalin Island". The community of the island decided to create a museum to commemorate this great event.

Items, furniture that belonged to the Chekhov family, personal belongings of the writer were purchased. The museum was opened in 1995. It tells in detail the writer's life, creative path and journey to Sakhalin. The museum also hosts various events

exhibitions, competitions, various excursions are offered, master classes are held that introduce people to folk art. Opening hours: Tuesday, Wednesday - 10.00-18.00, Thursday, Friday - 10.00-19.00, Saturday, Sunday 11.00-18.00, Monday - day off.

Location: Mira Avenue - 104, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk

In Aniva Bay Sea of ​​Okhotsk, in the southern part of Sakhalin Island there is a seaport, the port of Korsakov and the settlement of the same name.

Navigation in this largest port Far Eastern basin continues all year round. The work of the port is extensive, it is the repair of ships, fish production, its processing, passenger transportation, transshipment of large cargoes, such as timber, coal, metal, equipment, oil products. The development of inbound tourism in the Sakhalin Region depends primarily on the port of Korsakov, because it is through it that with the help of ferry service Foreign tourists can get to Russia. The observation deck in the port deserves special attention. It offers an excellent view of the sea, the port itself and the whole city. And at night it is even more beautiful thanks to the many lights in the port.

Location: Portovaya street - 10, Korsakov.

Lenin Square is located in the very center of the city of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. Walking along it, you can see the fountain, and around it are wonderful flower beds. There are many benches installed here, which allows you to enjoy the beauty of the park for quite a long time.

Next to the fountain is a monument to V.I. Lenin. On holidays, the square gathers many residents and guests of the city, it is here that cultural events are held.

It is best to take a break from the noisy city by going to Lake Busse. Amazing views, a good fish catch, an unforgettable experience - all this is a vacation on Lake Busse.

Nature lovers admire the birds that live here, admire the large lilies that grow here, as well as the night starry sky. And the most important thing is the abundance of fish and oysters, which can be cooked immediately after the catch. It is better to stay on the lake for a few days. Glades on the banks are convenient for location, nature fascinates with its beauty, perfect place for family holidays.

Yacht club "Vodnik" in the city of Kholmsk

To diversify your vacation, you can visit competitions in sailing. In the Sakhalin region, they are held in the city of Kholmsk, in the Vodnik yacht club. In this place you can see dozens of sailing yachts sailing on the waves.

Anyone can watch the competition. The sailing season starts in mid-April. Fans of water adventures will be interested in watching experienced yachtsmen, as well as beginners who are engaged in the first year. The most memorable experience will give a visit to the yachts on the opening day of the season, dedicated to the Day Victory.

The lighthouse serves as a guide for ships going to sea. In every port city worth such an assistant. The lighthouse of the city of Kholmsk, like all other lighthouses, shows the sailors that the land is very close, that their home is already close. Inside the lighthouse there is a spiral staircase, climbing the steps of which gives vivid emotions.

From the top of the lighthouse you have a wonderful view. In addition to it, there are 4 more lighthouses in Kholmsk, but the main lighthouse, opened in 1958, is of the greatest interest to tourists, thanks to the best views surroundings.

The top of Chekhov Peak is very popular among mountain lovers. And it is located very close to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, only 15 km from it, which makes visiting this natural monument accessible to many. In these beautiful mountainous places there are insects and birds listed in the Red Book.

The vegetation is represented by dwarf birch, bamboo, blueberry bushes, mountain ash, wild rosemary grow here, and cedar grows higher in the mountains. And at the top of the stones and clouds. All this gives this area a unique beauty. From the top you can see the Sea of ​​Okhotsk, the Aniva Bay, the mountains of the Kamyshovy Ridge, and the city of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk itself. When traveling around the Sakhalin Region, you should definitely spend a day at Chekhov Peak.

Sakhalin is rich in natural attractions. Mysterious landscapes attract tourists from all over the country. In the south of Sakhalin, when driving beyond the village of Okhotskoye, you can see Cape Velikan. The places here are very picturesque.

Right along the entire coast of the Sea of ​​​​Okhotsk from Cape Bird to Cape Velikan there are many grottoes, caves, standing right in the sea, arches, pillars, and birds on them. admire natural beauty recommended in dry weather, as at such times the road to road transport more accessible. Most of the routes are by car, but walking takes a lot of time. And, although the journey takes considerable physical strength, the benefits of it are much higher. After all, the best vacation is a vacation spent in nature.

There are mysterious places on our planet that hold many mysteries. People associate legends with them, visit them in the hope of unraveling the mysteries. In the Sakhalin region mysterious place is considered a small island Moneron, located between Russia and Japan. By origin, he dormant volcano, with an area of ​​about 30 sq. km, and sea fog often hides it from prying eyes.

Most likely this a natural phenomenon became one of the main causes of mystery. The first secret: once the island was part of Japan, and for some reason they began to actively develop it. A lighthouse was built, communications, telephone communications were installed, a weather station was built, and much more, and most importantly, all this in the shortest possible time. This led to the idea of ​​submarines hidden here, a school for combat swimmers, and even buildings for the isolation of leprosy patients.

During the Second World War, the island passed to Russia, the island was deserted, visiting it was limited, but tourist groups can afford to visit it.

The second secret: the graves, by the decoration of which one can judge that they belong to the period of Soviet power, because of the monuments with a red star. Where they come from is unknown. The third mystery: the mystery of the downed South Korean airliner, on board of which there were almost 300 people, their bodies were never found. The fourth mystery: did anyone live on this island in antiquity, and if so, who? Objects resembling the creations of human hands, reminiscent of places for ceremonies, were found here. The fifth secret: the secret of the nature of the island, because it is inhabited by animals that are unique to this area. Here the purest water and the cleanest air.

Secrets are created by people themselves, in most cases, legends appear from lack of information, in order to prove or disprove them, it is necessary to visit this mysterious place at least once. More and more tourists come here, and in memory of this intriguing place, each of them can take the found semi-precious stone for themselves.

Bears and fairy tales about them are familiar to everyone since childhood. And any mention of Russia by foreigners is associated with a bear. The Sakhalin region is visited by many tourists from neighboring countries, and it will be interesting for them to visit one of the best bear museums in Russia. The museum clearly shows and tells about the life of Russian residents.

Here is a Russian hut like in the fairy tale "Three Bears", national masterpieces of art, such as Tula samovars, clay and wooden toys, Khokhloma, Gzhel, Dymka, figures of bears made in various techniques. In addition to viewing fascinating exhibits, the museum offers visitors interesting workshops: wood painting, folk doll making, pottery workshop and many others. An excursion to the museum will interest both adults and children.

Location: 2nd Centralnaya street - 1B, City Mall shopping center.

In 1945, Soviet soldiers died in the battles for the liberation of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk and the Kuril Islands during the Russo-Japanese War. A memorial was erected in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk in memory of their feat. The sculpture of a soldier, strong and brave, points forward with his hand, which means to Victory. A soldier is installed on a granite pedestal, which is decorated with the words: "Eternal glory to the heroes." The authors of the monument are sculptors Tyurenkov A.A., Loveyko I.I., Bronzov A.P. Making the first walk through the streets of the city, it is worth going to the memorial Soviet soldiers and honor their feat in the name of the life of future generations.

Sakhalin island

Like most other places in the east of our country, Sakhalin is more remarkable for its nature than man-made objects. Such outstanding natural monuments Sakhalin does not contain, like Kamchatka, however, even those available are enough for several weeks or even months of hiking trips. There are mountains, beaches, waterfalls, lakes, thermal springs, and the island nature itself, which is so sharply different from the mainland, is quite an attraction.

Its main features are: dense and lush vegetation, which turns almost any forest into a difficult jungle (giant burdocks that reach human height are especially striking) and rich fauna (fish, crabs, seals, bears, snakes, foxes) - a source of mortal danger and at the same time good way food.

From man-made structures interesting roads and railways passing through beautiful places(including abandoned railways, one of which I will talk about separately), lighthouses, tunnels and bridges located in picturesque places. Cities on Sakhalin are not very interesting - most of the buildings belong to the Soviet era and, with rare exceptions, they are not very interesting to look at.

Japanese heritage occupies a special position on Sakhalin. The Japanese owned the southern half of the island for forty years - from 1905 to 1945 - and left behind many original buildings, monuments, military installations. Many roads and railways were originally built by them, and then saved or abandoned by the Russians. And today, the Japanese leave their vehicles as a legacy to the people of Sakhalin: 90% of cars running around the island are used Japanese foreign cars.

The main disadvantage of Sakhalin, which sharply distinguishes it from a number of other regions, is high prices. Accommodation, food, transport - almost everything here is one and a half to two times more expensive than the average for Russia. Other disadvantages are typical for most Russian regions and do not carry anything specific: bad roads, poorly developed transport connection, absence tourism infrastructure etc.

In the local bookstores you can buy good maps of the island, including a detailed topographic atlas with a two-kilometer scale. Keep in mind that maps, even those recently released, may be out of date or contain inaccurate information. Let's say I wanted to drive along the road from Korsakov to Aniva, which runs along the coast, and only on the spot found out that the bridges on it were washed away ten years ago, it was impossible to drive along it, and in order to get to Aniva, I would have to return to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. Or the maps may not include the village of Kuznetsovo, located in the middle between Cape Crillon and the village of Shebunino.

I also tried to read the book by A.P. Chekhov "Sakhalin Island", but did not master it. After a cheerful and interesting start, telling about the history of the island and the first impressions from the trip, Anton Palych goes too deep into uninteresting statistics: how many inhabitants are in each settlement, how many of them are women and men, what do they do, etc. Reading this is boring and even descriptions of the fate of convicts look rather monotonous. In addition, I was recommended Doroshevich's book "Sakhalin (Katorga)" - I have not read it yet, I can not say anything.

There are two main ways to get there: air and water.

As for the air, there are three passenger airports on Sakhalin - in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Zonal and Okha. Of these, there are regular flights to different cities on the mainland, including Moscow, Khabarovsk, Komsomolsk-on-Amur, Blagoveshchensk, Vladivostok, Sovetskaya Gavan, as well as various cities in China, South Korea and Japan. Sometimes there are sales and special promotions - for example, recently it was possible to fly Aeroflot from Moscow to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. Two airlines fly from Moscow to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk: from Sheremetyevo - Aeroflot, from Domodedovo - Transaero. The local airline operating flights to different cities of the Far East is Sakhalin Airways.

Keep in mind that there are no flights to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk from Zonalnoye, but you can fly from it to Sovetskaya Gavan and Khabarovsk. This can be done with the help of Amur Airlines, whose website for some reason I could not find. Recently open airport in Nogliki, as I found out, it only accepts charter flights with workers and specialists traveling to oil projects.

By water you can get from Vanino ( Khabarovsk region) in Kholmsk (Sakhalin Region). These ferries are daily and year-round. They go without a clear schedule, and the price rises every year, significantly outpacing inflation, plus it jumps depending on the season (expensive in summer, cheap in winter).

The cheapest way to sail to Sakhalin is from February 1 to June 15. At this time, the cheapest base rate. The ferry runs from 12 to 24 hours depending on the weather, the availability of fuel and the mood of the captain. When I sailed, the ferry went both there and back for about 20 hours. It's better to book tickets in advance. A day before the departure date, you need to call the port and find out the time of arrival of the ferry - then the loading of passengers and cargo begins, and the ferry itself leaves about three hours later.There is a canteen on the ferry (each passenger is given a voucher for one free lunch plus he can buy something else - the prices are not too high).

Separately, it must be said about getting to Vanino, from which ferries go to Sakhalin. The first way - from Khabarovsk along the road through Lidoga - either by car or by hitchhiking, because scheduled buses not here. The second route is the railroad. Vanino is one of the terminal stations of the Baikal-Amur Mainline, and trains from Vladivostok, Khabarovsk and Komsomolsk-on-Amur go here. For lovers of original routes, I can recommend the following combination: take a meteor from the river station of Khabarovsk to Komsomolsk-on-Amur (departs at 7.00, arrives at 12.50), walk around the city for several hours, and then leave it by train to Vanino (departs at 16.56 , arrives at 5.31).

Around the island: roads, buses, trains, planes

Intra-island air communication is available only on one route - between Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk and Okha. You can also fly away from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk to Yuzhno-Kurilsk. All this can be done with the help of the already mentioned Sakhalin Airways company.

Buses connect almost all major cities of the island. However, as I understand it, it will not work to drive through it from north to south by bus. Judging by the schedule of regional buses posted at the Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk bus station, bus service reaches north from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk to Poronaysk, and then begins already in Tymovsky. However, it is possible that there are some minibuses between Tymovsk and Poronaysk. If not, you can take the train. Also, please note that prices for bus tickets here twice as high as on the mainland. Say, a minibus from Kholmsk to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk (90 km). So hitchhiking here can really help save a lot of money.

The railway passes through a small section on the island's west coast and much of the east coast. They are connected by a railway line in the Ilyinsky area. The railway from Noglik to Okha, where freight trains used to run, is now almost completely dismantled. Most of the roads are narrow-gauge, laid by the Japanese, and Japanese cars go along them. True, now the railways are being expanded to meet the all-Russian standard, and, perhaps, domestic locomotives and wagons will soon run here.

There is no inland water transport on Sakhalin, but from here you can sail to other places. In addition to the above-described ferry from Kholmsk to Vanino, there are regular steamers to Wakkanai (Hokkaido, Japan) and to the Kuril Islands (bypasses several islands). All of them depart from Korsakov, but tickets for the Igor Farutdinov steamer, next to Kurile Islands, can be bought only in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk at the Maritime Company of Sakhalin-Kurils CJSC at 21 Kommunistichesky pr., tel. 76 25 24.

Hitchhiking on the island is possible, many locals, if necessary, also move in this way (albeit for short distances). Just keep in mind that Sakhalin residents seem to have more developed Moskvophobia than in any other region, and Muscovites will have to hear a lot of curses and jokes in relation to themselves and their fellow countrymen. There are many problems on the island, and some drivers believe that it is Moscow that is to blame for them - and not only the political leadership located there (with which I agree), but also all other residents. One Sakhalin resident told me that Bin Laden should be paid to drop a bomb on Moscow, another hoped that there would be a new Hitler who would reach Moscow and burn it to the ground.

By the way, hitchhikers rarely get to Sakhalin, and most of the locals do not immediately understand your essence. Drivers at first think that you are a local resident getting to your home, and they are very surprised when you say where you came from (especially if it is somewhere in the European part of Russia). When communicating with such desperate travelers, Sakhalin residents are very hospitable and responsive, including even with hated Muscovites. So don't be surprised if a Sakhalin man who has just scolded Moscow invites you home for dinner.

Some places on Sakhalin can only be reached on foot. From mountain routes the most popular route is through the Zhdanko ridge, passing east of the Tikhaya and Tsapko railway stations, and the route to Mount Lopatina - the most high point islands. How exactly they can be passed, I do not know, ask on the spot. In addition, there are several routes along the Sakhalin coast. The road to Cap Crillon along the west coast is described below, but it can theoretically be reached by car or hitchhiking. Other routes, say, from Cape Crillon along the east coast to Aniva, or from Uglegorsk to Aleksandrovsk-Sakhalinsky, seem to be possible only on foot.

Hotels

Like many other things on the island, the hotels here are quite expensive. Budget options accommodation can be found in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk: there, cheap hotels are concentrated in the vicinity of the station. The cheapest - "Far East" at the address. Lenina, 179, where you can spend the night in a 3- or 4-bed room). More or less sane prices in Kholmsk. In other cities, prices are inadequately high.

So it is best to spend the night camping, in a tent. The only difficulty is that the island has a rather difficult terrain, especially in the southern half, and it is not always possible to find a flat place to sleep. And if you put up a tent on the shore, then do not put it right by the water - there are quite strong tides here, and the tent can be filled with water at night.

Public catering

Catering on the island is one and a half to two times more expensive than on the mainland. From foreign cuisine, Korean is the most popular - some of its dishes (say, "pyangse" - a kind of manti with cabbage) are sold even in canteens. Sakhalin residents say either in jest or in earnest that somewhere you can even try a signature Korean dish - a dog. I don't know, I haven't seen it myself.

Dealing with food prices was more difficult. They are now growing all over Russia day by day, and sometimes seeing completely ridiculous price tags in stores, I did not know exactly who to blame: the financial crisis or the specifics of Sakhalin. Some products are clearly more expensive, some seem to be the same as on the mainland.

Separately, it is necessary to mention the seafood of Sakhalin production. It would seem that here they should be incredibly cheap. It is both so and not so. On the one hand, in shops the prices for caviar and frozen fish are quite continental, as if you are not on the coast of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk, but somewhere in the Tambov region. Locals love to talk about how, while in Moscow, they went to the local hypermarket and found that Sakhalin fish is cheaper there than on Sakhalin itself. This is an interesting and inexplicable feature of our economy. By the way, the same thing happens with gasoline, which is often more expensive in oil-producing (and even oil-refining) regions than in neighboring regions that do not have a drop of black gold (examples are Bashkiria and the same Sakhalin).

On the other hand, fresh fish and caviar can be bought cheap, directly bought from anglers or caught by yourself. The legal aspect of this is not quite clear to me: they say that any unlicensed fishing is prohibited, therefore, apparently, both the first and, especially, the second are a crime. But the severity of Russian laws, as you know, is compensated by the optionality of their implementation, so any Sakhalinian knows where you can get the product you are looking for. To make the order of prices clear, I will give two examples. One of the drivers who brought me up agreed on the phone with a poacher friend that he would sell him a bucket of fresh caviar for 1.5 thousand rubles - it, however, then had to be salted and packed in jars. And another truck driver, passing by one village, bought two liter cans of already salted caviar from an old woman for 250 rubles. a piece. Apparently, it was possible to bargain even cheaper, but he waved his hand: "Okay, I have a lot of money, but she has a little."

In general, if you are planning a trip to Sakhalin in summer or autumn, grab some fishing gear - local fauna can serve as an excellent subsistence on the road. From the recipes of local hikers - fish baked in burdock. The recipe is simple: fish is taken, dressed with spices, wrapped in several layers of burdock and covered with smoldering coals. Burdocks, obviously, have good thermal conductivity, because they do not even change colors, and the fish is ready in 30-50 minutes. In addition, there are many crabs, mushrooms, berries and other gifts of nature on Sakhalin. Many here therefore say that they are not afraid of any crises: if you are not lazy and know where to look for something, nature itself will feed you.

Population

A little more than half a million people live on Sakhalin. Most of the inhabitants are Russians. However, there is an interesting ethnic feature that stems from the history of the island - a large percentage of the Korean population. The fact is that during the Second World War, the Japanese, who owned the island, brought Korean prisoners of war here to work. After the war, the Koreans were either not allowed to go home, or they themselves did not want to go to their homeland, devastated by the Japanese occupation and torn apart by civil war - in general, they remained on the island and completely assimilated with the local population. Purely visually, it seems that Koreans make up 5-10 percent of the population. Few of them know the Korean language - only very old people, and maybe teenagers who studied under some kind of international program.

In addition, a small number (several thousand people) of the indigenous inhabitants of the island, the Nivkhs (they are Gilyaks) and the Ainu, have survived on the island. They live in the north of the island, I did not come across my eyes. The main occupations of the local population are work in the oil and gas industry, fishing and fish processing, woodworking, and navigation. Agriculture exists, but, apparently, due to the difficult terrain, it is not very developed - vegetable gardens and fields are extremely rare.

Danger and Trouble

Here, of course, the symbol of Russia is beyond competition - the bear. If it is almost impossible to meet him in the European part of the country, then the farther to the east, the more real danger he imagines. On Sakhalin, every inhabitant of the island encountered a bear several times. Everyone will tell stories on this topic, scare, give advice, show pictures of bears taken from the car window. And although the advice is sometimes quite different, including the opposite in meaning, nevertheless, most of them add up to a certain pattern of behavior, which I used. I will not open America to experienced tourists, but it will be useful for beginners.

First of all, it is worth saying right away that in 99% of cases a bear will not attack a person if the latter does not provoke him. Unless it is dangerous to encounter a rod bear in the spring or a bear that has not settled down in a den for the night at the beginning of winter. In the rest of the year, the bear has enough food, and the person is not at all interesting to him. The two fundamental rules are as follows: sharp movements cause aggression in a bear, sharp sounds - fear. Hence the conclusion: when meeting with a bear, you should not move, run away, etc. - most likely, it will chase you. But sharp sounds - screams, whistles, etc. - need to be made louder and more often, because the bear is frightened of them and prefers to retreat.

The only case when I had a chance to see a bear occurred near the village of Kuznetsovo on the way to Cape Crillon. Immediately after the village, the road departs from the coast and goes about ten kilometers along a mountain pass overgrown with dense forest. The last car dropped me off at the village, there were no other cars for half an hour, so after resting a little, I decided to go on foot. And then, about five hundred meters from the village, around the corner, I saw a bear cub the size of a large St. Bernard. I stopped, the bear cub looked at me with fear and immediately gave a tear into the forest. I didn’t feel like moving further into the forest: I stood still for half a minute and decided to go back to the village out of harm’s way. Well, there, an hour later, a passing car drove off - it was no longer so scary to move through the mountain pass in it.

When I came back, there were no passing cars in this section, so, having gathered all my will into a fist, I took out a whistle and, every half a minute announcing the surroundings with a sharp whistle, went along the road. In two hours I passed the entire pass without seeing a single bear, and there a passing car had already gone and picked me up. Other dangerous animals are snakes and ticks. Precautions are the same as in other Russian regions: look under your feet and inspect clothes from time to time.

Cities, roads and sights of Sakhalin

Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. The capital and largest city of the island. There is not much interesting here, so it makes no sense to linger in it. Unless you need to buy maps, atlases and travel equipment - here, of course, there is more choice than in other cities. Main attractions: children's railway in the park. Gagarin; three museums - local history, art and books by A.P. Chekhov "Sakhalin Island"; ski slope near the city; new Resurrection Cathedral. Another peculiar attraction in the vicinity of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk is the village of Zima, where foreigners live who work on oil and gas projects. Indistinguishable from the American suburbs - neat houses, lawns, signs with street names dubbed into English, kids playing in the playground and speaking loud English, a tennis court and the best pool with a sauna in all of Sakhalin. True, getting into this paradise is not easy for mere mortals - there is a pass regime and if you are not a guest of one of the local residents, you will not be allowed here.

Kholmsk. A small but pleasant city, which is not missed by those who come to Sakhalin by water. There are few sights - except perhaps the St. Nicholas Church, converted from the building of the former cinema.

Railway Kholmsk - Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. It was built by the Japanese and was actively used by the Russians until the 80s. But then it became too expensive to maintain tunnels and bridges in good condition, and it was abandoned. Now it's interesting walking route, where both the surrounding nature and the remains of the railway, tunnels, bridges, ruins of stations and other infrastructure are of interest. You can go through it in its entirety, but I only visited the section from Nikolaychuk station (to it from Kholmsk at 9.20 in the morning leaves suburban train) to the village of Chaplanova, where the railway intersects with the Kholmsk - Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk highway, and from where you can hitchhike.

There are nine tunnels and three bridges in this section. Some of the tunnels are quite long, so don't forget to take a flashlight - somewhere you will go in pitch darkness. The bridges are all well preserved, however, you need to walk on them more carefully, focusing on metal, and not on wooden structures (already slightly rotten). The first half of the way will have to go along the rails, the second half - in the place where they were. Nevelsk. A city hit hard by the earthquake in 2007. Almost half of the buildings are small low-rise buildings in which refugees live. They look nice, but they are built, according to the locals, almost from plywood, so they are not very durable.

Cape Crillon. In my opinion the most interesting route on Sakhalin - from the village of Shebunina ( extreme point, to which minibuses go from Nevelsk) to Cape Crillon, the most southern point islands. A unique road that runs right along the beach, where either a good SUV or a domestic truck can pass. If you do not have such means of transport, you will have to get there on foot or hitchhiking. The latter type of transportation does not help much, because 2-3 cars can pass here in a day - but most likely, all of them will stop and give you a ride.

Before the village of Kuznetsovo, the traffic is better, after - it almost disappears. Interesting objects along the way: Kovrizhka hill with a cut top, Cape Kuznetsova with the village of the same name, a 10-kilometer mountain pass, two waterfalls immediately after it, the remains of the Luga steamer, which ran aground off the coast sixty years ago, earthen ramparts and ditches left from the ancient fortress of Siranusi, and in the end - Cape Crillon itself, on which the border outpost, lighthouse and weather station are located and from which good weather you can see Japan. Korsakov. The most boring provincial town. It is interesting only as a starting point for traveling to the Kuriles or Japan. Near the city there is the village of Prigorodnoye, where a gas liquefaction plant has been built - an impressive sight, especially at night, illuminated by lights.

Highway Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk - Okha. Trans-Sakhalin highway running from the south to the north of the island. Asphalted only to the village of Vostochny. And from Gastello the track departs from the coast and goes far from the sea. This section is the most dreary sight on Sakhalin. A dull plain, monotonous forests, a dusty dirt road and abandoned villages - and all this is several hundred kilometers away. The only section that may be of interest to history buffs is between the villages of Smirnykh and Tymovsky. The border between southern (Japanese) and northern (Russian and Soviet) Sakhalin passed here from 1905 to 1945, and here the offensive of the Red Army began during the Soviet-Japanese war.

You can see the ruins of military fortifications and monuments dedicated to these events, as well as listen to the stories of local residents about the heroic Red Army soldiers and the desperate Japanese who fought here not for life, but for death. Otherwise, this route is of no interest and I don’t recommend going here - it’s better to turn left somewhere and return to the south of Sakhalin along the route that runs along West Bank. I didn't ride it myself, but others praised it a lot.

Aleksandrovsk-Sakhalinsky. It used to be the capital of the island - it was here that Chekhov came during his trip. Now a small and dirty town. On a hill there is a new city - several streets with Khrushchev houses, a little lower and closer to the coast - Old city, consisting of wooden buildings, including centuries ago. Anton Chekhov stayed in one of them during his trip to Sakhalin - there is a museum there, quite standard and formulaic. Several interesting sights are located south of the city - these are the Three Brothers rocks, Cape Zhonkier and the tunnel laid through it, the bay behind it with the lighthouse and the Three Sisters rocks.

Hot Keys. Hot springs 30 km north of the village of Nogliki, to the right of the highway. There is no pointer to it, only a sign "Protect nature". At the beginning there is a large clearing where Sakhalin residents set up tents, then there are booths with baths, bathing in which, they say, improves health.

Conclusion

Today's Sakhalin is Russia in miniature. Here are the same contrasts, problems and achievements as in the rest of the country, only in an even sharper form. People come here to work from all over the country - and local residents leave for the mainland, complaining about the lack of work. Large-scale construction is underway in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk and its environs, while remote northern villages are falling apart and rotting, abandoned by local residents. IN coastal zone oil platforms are being built, a modern gas-liquefying plant has been created near Korsakov, and Soviet enterprises and coal mines have been abandoned and forgotten. Between the cities in the south of the island there are excellent roads by Russian standards - and a disgusting dirt road leads to the north, where trucks slow down to 20 km per hour.

The same combination of poverty and wealth, the contrast between major cities and small towns, the same large-scale projects for the development of oil and gas reserves, but disregard for all other areas of the economy, the same corruption of the authorities and the apathy of the people, the same rich Natural resources and the same mindless squandering. As in the rest of Russia - the same great and heroic and at the same time terrible and dark past, the same strange present, in which it is not clear what is more - successes or failures, and the same vague and unclear future.

This region is a real pearl of Russia, which attracts travelers from all over the world with its beauty. The sights of Sakhalin are very diverse and interesting, and therefore worth seeing. The main one is luxurious nature, against which a person seems to be just a small cog in the grandiose picture of the universe.

There is an island in the ocean...

Before describing the sights of Sakhalin, let's pay a little attention to the island itself. It is located in the Far East and is the largest in our country. Its shores are washed by the Sea of ​​Japan and the Sea of ​​Okhotsk, Laperouse and Tatar.

From the moment Sakhalin became part of Russian Empire, it became a place of exile and hard labor. The same tradition was continued by the Soviet Union. But not only the dark past attracts tourists. The fantastic nature of Sakhalin is what it is worth coming here for! Healing mineral springs, ski resorts and numerous museums with unique expositions will reward the traveler who has overcome the difficult road.

Holidays on Sakhalin

Natural wonders are the main attractions of Sakhalin. First of all, I would like to mention Mount Vaidu and its cave. The peak itself is low - only 900 meters above sea level, but in its bowels you can see real miracles, including stalactites and stalagmites.

Therapeutic mud and mineral springs are the pride of the island. For example, under the capital there is a source of Sinegorsk with a rare type of natural mineral waters. They are suitable for the treatment of radiation sickness, disorders of cellular metabolism, diseases of the hematopoietic organs.

Dagin thermal springs are shown to people suffering from diseases of the musculoskeletal system and skin ailments. These objects are also a natural monument. Just imagine: against the backdrop of an amazing landscape, a picturesque pond floats in which swans swim.

Skin diseases are successfully treated in balneological health resorts located on the banks of the Tatar Strait.

On the outskirts of the island capital there is a ski base "Mountain Air". It has ten kilometers of modern, well-equipped trails as part of its territories. different levels difficulty, snow park, tubing chute. The resort also has a gondola chairlift and a drag lift.

The island capital and its museums

Many sights of Sakhalin are located near the island capital. Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk is the main one in Russia, which is completely based on the islands (there are already 59 of them). The city stands on the banks of the Susuya River in the Susunai Valley, at the foot of the Russian Mountain.

The capital was founded in 1882. Today it is a unique modern city in which life is in full swing. The most famous museums of Sakhalin can be found here. This is the Museum of Local Lore, which will tell the visitor the history of the settlement of the island, tell about the indigenous people, about the flora and fauna, about the war with Japan. The building was erected in the teikan style and has a flat roof made of tiles, lanterns-windows in the ceiling, kazari.

The Sakhalin Regional Art Museum is located in the center of the city. There are many rich diverse expositions here, and besides, within the walls of the institution you can attend concerts, musical and poetry evenings. Of particular interest are also the museum of railway equipment and the city literary and art museum of the book of A.P. Chekhov.

There are emerald parks in the city, a memorial complex to fallen soldiers with an eternal flame. The City Park of Culture and Leisure is a favorite vacation spot for the inhabitants of the capital. It has a lake, lush flower beds, green lawns, benches, a children's railway, a tennis court and the Kosmos stadium. In 1995, the Resurrection Cathedral was built in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.

Some more useful information

The natural monuments of Sakhalin will not leave indifferent any of the travelers. What are the rocky arches of Cape Velikan on the coast of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk, the inaccessible Cape Aniva with the abandoned lighthouse of the same name, Mount Spamberg with unique mountain lakes on the plateau (eighteen pieces), the Three Brothers rocks, the Devil's Bridge. The nature of Sakhalin is so beautiful that the inhabitants of these places composed legends that could explain its incredible beauty.

How to get there?

You can get to the island either by air or by sea - there is no land connection with the mainland on Sakhalin. The airport of the capital accepts domestic and international flights. Small air stations are available in the cities of Nogliki, Okha, Shakhtyorsk and the village of Zonalnoye. If the traveler decides to get here by water, then he should head to the Vanino-Kholmsk ferry crossing, which operates every day throughout the year. And in the village of Vanino, located on the mainland, you can get by train.

Go to fairy island Sakhalin - and you will fall in love with it once and for all!

Sakhalin has not always been separated from the mainland. At the dawn of civilization, the water level in the world's oceans steadily decreased, as a result of which so-called "bridges" arose in the strait. Presumably, it was along them that the first people moved here (about 300 thousand years ago). In the Middle Ages, the main inhabitants of Sakhalin were the Nivkhs and Ainu - small peoples who constantly migrated between the island and the Asian part of the mainland. Later, Tungus-speaking tribes were added to them. The very name "Sakhalin" appeared due to a geographical error. Due to an oversight, the Manchu name of the Amur River - Sakhalyan-Ulla - was correlated with the territory of the island. By the way, the literal translation of the word is “Rocks of the Black River”.

Until about the 50s of the 19th century, China ruled Sakhalin Island. At the same time, officially the territory did not belong to the Celestial Empire. In 1855, the governments of Japan and Russia signed the Treaty of Shimoda, according to which both states declared Sakhalin joint possession. However, after 20 years, Russia annexed the island, paying for it with Japan with the northern Kuriles. However, the joy of expanding possessions was short-lived. After losing the Russo-Japanese campaign, South part islands again departed to the Land of the Rising Sun. It was possible to finally decide the fate of Sakhalin only after the Second World War, when Russia completely regained the island, and with it the previously lost Kuriles.

Economy and population

A little less than 500 thousand people live on Sakhalin, about 200 thousand of which are residents of the regional center, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. The vast majority of the population is Russian, although among the local inhabitants you can meet both Koreans and people from the former Soviet republics. But there are very few representatives of indigenous peoples here: only 1% of the total.

The economy of the region is unevenly developed, which is why the standard of living of the population in different parts of Sakhalin differs. For example, the northern part of the island, including Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, subsists on oil production, while the remote and western regions, in which production stopped during the collapse of the Soviet Union, are forced to literally fight for existence. Ultimately, unemployment and a low standard of living led to the fact that most of the inhabitants of the Sakhalin periphery turned to poachers. Illegal shooting of wild animals, extraction of red caviar by barbaric methods are slowly but surely causing irreparable damage to the nature of the great island...

Climate and nature

Going on a trip to Sakhalin, it is better to prepare in advance for weather surprises. Since the climate of the island is temperate monsoon, the weather here is not stable. Local snowy and frosty winters are actively "helped" by atmospheric whirlwinds, bringing strong snowstorms with them. Spring here is long and cold, but summer is relatively warm, but short and often rainy. Another weather problem on Sakhalin is frequent and unpredictable cyclones, bringing with them devastating typhoons and floods.

Sakhalin is an island with a unique ecosystem that was formed in a certain isolation. The terrain is formed by small mountains, low mountains and, to a lesser extent, low-lying plains, while 2/3 of the territory is occupied by taiga. By the way, there is no shortage of fresh water on Sakhalin: 17 rivers and over 16 thousand lakes provide animals and animals with an abundance of life-giving moisture. vegetable world islands. Despite the fact that the flora and fauna of Sakhalin is somewhat poorer compared to the mainland or the nearest Japanese island of Hokkaido, it has something to surprise wildlife lovers. About 136 species of animals and almost 133 species of local plants are listed in the Red Book. In addition, here you can meet endemic (growing or living only in a specific place) representatives of the animal and plant world.

For real paradise Sakhalin has become for fans of fishing and hunting. The abundance of fish and game in local forests and reservoirs is difficult to describe in words. The Sakhalin taiga is also rich in mushrooms and berries. To collect a tasty "tribute", it is not necessary to delve into the impenetrable jungle. Lingonberries, blueberries, cranberries, redberries can be found here almost under every bush. However, it is not entirely reasonable to go to the other side of the country solely for the gifts of the forest, especially since the natural resources of the island are not limited to berries and fishing spots. There are also thermal springs, bathing in which can get rid of chronic diseases, and fabulous caves filled with stalactite crystals, and sites of ancient people. True, it is worth noting that most of the local entertainment is suitable for those who are easy-going and ready to show at least minimal physical activity. Rafting, windsurfing, skiing skiing and snowboarding, kayaking, climbing and paragliding, descending into mountain caves and unforgettable bike rides - this is not a complete list of activities that Sakhalin is ready to offer to supporters of an active lifestyle.

Sights of Sakhalin

The main and most valuable attraction of Sakhalin is its amazing nature. It is customary to come here not for high-quality European service and glossy sights, but for a delightful atmosphere of complete unity with nature, outdoor activities and an amazing feeling of complete freedom.

reserves

The most convenient and correct way to get acquainted with the wildlife of Sakhalin Island is local reserves, the most interesting of which is the Vostochny State Nature Reserve. You can get here only with a special permit issued by the Department of Forests, but the red tape with a pass is more than paid off by the impressions of the visit. It is here that you can meet such a rare phenomenon for the island as dark coniferous taiga, see how pink salmon, chum salmon and coho salmon go to spawn and take pictures of vacationers on coastal rocks clumsy sea lions. To get acquainted with the Sakhalin wild grouse and reindeer, it is better to go to the "Nogliksky" reserve. In autumn, reindeer races are held here, so if your visit to the island coincided with the autumn season, do not miss the opportunity to visit this unusual event. Well, the most interesting thing to watch bird "bazaars" is in the Poronaisky nature reserve, which occupies the eastern part of Sakhalin and the Patience Peninsula.

Volcanoes

Infernal vents filled with lava splashing in all directions are not about Sakhalin volcanoes. Here, craters spew out… land mixed with water. The Pugachevsky and Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk mud volcanoes even look non-trivial. Regular circles, devoid of vegetation and dotted with miniature "pores" of craters, resemble space landscapes from a fantastic blockbuster. By the way, the last major ejection from the Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk volcano occurred in 2011, as a result of which a new mud field formed in its vicinity.

thermal springs

Sakhalin nature not only pleases the eye, but also heals the body. If you find yourself on the island, be sure to swim in the Sinegorsk mineral springs, because water with such a unique composition is found only in Sakhalin and Adler. Today, there are 4 mineral wells in the Sinegorskoye deposit, the water from which is used for drinking, as well as for the treatment of diseases of the cardiovascular and musculoskeletal systems.

In the northeast of Sakhalin Island, in the Nogliki district, there is another unusual place- Dagin thermal springs, which are funnel-shaped depressions in silty soil. Healing water with a high content of alkali, as well as silicic acid and a temperature of up to +40 ... +45 ° C, helps in the treatment of infertility and joint diseases. Once on the adjacent territory there was a balneary, but then the place gradually fell into disrepair. Today, only a modest dressing house reminds of the former glory of the natural resort. However, less healing springs they didn’t, and the place is still popular with both the local population and tourists.

lakes

One of the largest lakes on Sakhalin Island is Tunaicha. Located in the vicinity of the village of Okhotskoye, this beautiful reservoir is famous for the fact that about 29 species of fish live in it. In addition, it is in Tunaichu that the Sakhalin salmon comes to spawn. Officially, industrial fishing is prohibited here, but from August to September, amateurs are allowed to sit on the shores of the lake with a fishing rod.

Those who like more secluded places should book a tour to the South Reed Range, where the fabulous lakes of Mount Spamberg are lost on a picturesque plateau. 18 the purest reservoirs, which were born as a result of rock falls, have their own, partially isolated ecosystem. The plateau area is also known for the fact that numerous springs and waterfalls of the Sakhalin region originate from here. Here you can also find the main waterfall of the island - Shuisky.

caves

Sakhalin is one of the most successful places for beginner speleologists. Acquaintance with local caves should be started from Mount Wajda. Fantastic multi-level dungeons, decorated with bizarre sinter formations, abound here. The intricate network of wells, underground passages and halls of Vaida has been assigned an average level of difficulty, so during the caving tour you will hardly have to complain about the mediocrity and monotony of the excursion. A trip to the cave of "Bear Tragedies" will bring no less impressions. The gloomy stone hall, which has become a kind of cemetery of bear remains, will remain in your memory for a long time. Sometime during archaeological sites objects of ancient worship were found here, as well as tools of labor of the first people.

Moneron Island is located 43 km from Sakhalin, in the Tatar Strait. Today these lands are empty, although the first settlers appeared here in the first millennium BC. For some time, the island belonged to the Japanese, who seriously degraded its ecology by destroying most coniferous forests. A reminder of this era is the lighthouse, which remained here in memory of the Japanese colonization. Today Moneron has the status natural park and is frequently visited by travelers. About 37 species of plants listed in the Red Book grow on the island, but Moneron is better known among tourists as a place of bird "bazaars", as well as rookeries of sea lions and seals.

Hunters and fishermen

At the disposal of tourists who come to Sakhalin to sit with a fishing rod and shoot local game, there are several recreation centers at once. As a rule, these are hotel-type houses, located in especially picturesque and at the same time inaccessible places on the island. You often have to use special equipment to get to them, but for real adventurers this is by no means an obstacle. "Upper", "Moguchi", "Lower" - each of the bases offers a similar range of services, including fishing, hunting, a Russian bath and other "brutal" pleasures. You can also get hold of hunting trophies in special farms. For example, the hunting tribal economy "Geeva" in the village. Nogliki invites his guests to "go" for a bear or an elk. 50 km from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk is the Okhotsk farm, where anyone can shoot at hares and ducks, as well as try to catch chum salmon, pink salmon or taimen.

Skiers

On the outskirts of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk is the main ski slope of the island - tourist complex"Mountain air". You can relax here with the whole family and at any time of the year, however, the base gathers the maximum number of guests during the winter months. Skiing, snowboarding, tubing - for each sport there is its own type of equipped trails with a total length of about 10 km. On the territory of the complex there is a rental of sports equipment, in addition, all the slopes of the camp site are equipped with special lifts. In the summer it is customary to come here to paraglide or rent a bike to explore the surroundings.

Mineral springs, volcanoes, ski slopes - all this is certainly interesting, but not entirely original. If you are one of those who crave unusual sights, welcome to the Krasnogorsk yew forest. Such a green massif, entirely consisting of century-old yews, is not found in any other corner of the planet. You can get a lot of positive emotions and as many spectacular photos on Tyuleniy Island, where the largest rookery of marine mammals is located. Fans of anomalous places, covered with mystical legends, should look into the remnant of the Frog. Well, you can taste the delicious gifts of Sakhalin nature at Uspenovskie cranberries. A vast treeless space, completely covered with a berry carpet, will appear in your dreams for a long time to come.

Museums

Despite the fact that Sakhalin is considered to be the land of nature tourism, some cultural entertainment is also available here. Art connoisseurs will be interested in visiting the exposition of the art museum, which is located on Lenin Street in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. You can get acquainted with the history, as well as the flora and fauna of the island in the local history museum, located in a colorful Japanese house on Communist Avenue. If you are traveling with children, be sure to take the time to visit the zoobotanical park, where you can see rare and endangered species of local animals. interesting and educational excursion offers its guests the Museum of the History of the Sakhalin Railway, which contains the rarest examples of railway equipment.

How to get there

You can get to Sakhalin relatively quickly and comfortably by plane. The Russian company Aeroflot operates several direct flights from Moscow to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. A standard flight usually takes 8 to 9 hours. An option for those who are not looking for easy ways, - Vanino-Kholmsk ferry crossing. To get to the port of Vanino (Khabarovsk Territory), you must pre-purchase a train ticket on the route: Moscow-Khabarovsk or Moscow-Vladivostok (the trip lasts from 5 to 6 days). It is better to get from the Khabarovsk railway station to Vanino by taxi. The final stage of the journey is boarding the ferry and a 14-hour voyage through the Tatarsky Strait.

First of all, these are beautiful local landscapes. One has only to look at the photos to appreciate the beauty of this amazing land in absentia.

Unusual sights of Sakhalin

• Cheremshansky waterfall: this 13-meter waterfall is located northwest of the city, on the Zheltaya River and is a rather inaccessible place (it is advisable to go on a trip in good weather in a reliable SUV). Anyone who gets here will be able to find a great place to relax at the foot.
• Pugachevsky mud volcano: is a group of three mud circles (the diameter of the largest is 4 km). The eruptions are accompanied by a strong rumble and the ejection of large pieces of dirt from the crater.
• Torii: is a white marble gate with Japanese characters. This is the last Japanese monument left on Sakhalin Island (near the village of Vzmorye). Previously, there was a Shinto shrine behind them, and now there are terraces with the ruins of columns and marble slabs.

According to positive reviews, travelers around Sakhalin will be interested in visiting the Museum of Railway Engineering (guests are invited to view the exhibits in the form of a Japanese snowplow, a Kikha diesel train car, an old two-axle covered wagon, tanks, diesel locomotives, mini-steam locomotives of the Soviet period) and the Bear Museum (in addition to the figures of bears from different materials and countries, objects of Russian life, history and art of the 17th-20th centuries are subject to inspection; guests are involved in games, quizzes, tea drinking, participation in a fairy tale and master classes in clay modeling, wood carving, birch bark weaving).

Tyuleny Island is a place where you will have to get a pass for free (for this you need to go to the Sakhalin Border Guard Department of the FSB Coast Guard, located in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk on Pobeda Avenue, 63a). A visit to the island, with a length of only 636 m, is possible only as part of an excursion, during which you will be able to see sea birds, sea lions and fur seals.

Fans of thermal springs should go to the Dagin thermal springs (their temperature is +40-54˚C). They help with inflammatory and gynecological diseases, skin ailments, neuritis, joint diseases and radiculitis. The only equipped source is the "Patriot" - near it there is a house and a staircase leading to the reservoir.

It is recommended to go to the Gagarin Park (a map of the park is available on the website www.sakhalin-park.ru) for sculptural compositions“Muse” and “Two Bears”, Bridge of Lovers, “Wishing Tree”, Health Alley (on Saturdays from 9 to 10 am, “Morning physical exercises” are held here), tennis court, Sakura Alley (saplings of sakura and azaleas are planted on it), Lake Verkhnee (services for renting a pleasure boat and a catamaran Swan are provided; yoga classes are often held on the site near the lake), the Kosmos stadium, a dance floor, attractions Puss in Boots, Frog, Emelya, “Fast and the Furious”, “Galaxy”, “UFO”, “Adventure River”…