Tavdinsky caves are an array of several caves of karst origin. They are located in the area of the village of Izvestkovy, Maiminsky district, on the left bank of the Katun, near the Arzhan-Suu spring. In this place, the border of the Republic of Altai comes close to the Katun, after which it goes further down the river, therefore, the main part of the complex is located in the Altai Territory.
Tavdinsky caves (of which there are more than thirty) are considered a Natural Monument. Their total length along the coast is about five kilometers.
They are located at an altitude of about 200 meters above the river, while many of them have several entrances and they are connected to each other, forming a huge interconnected system. To get to the Tavdinsky caves, you need to cross the toll bridge over the Katun. Then drive along the asph alt for a few more kilometers. The entrances to them can be seen in the gaps of the trees, there is also a sign by the road.
Talda caves got their name from the settlement of Talda, onceexisting in this place. The Taldushka River also flows here, which is called Tavdushka in the atlas of Altai. It is also surprising that the complex is called "Tavdinsky Caves" in various sources.
Altai is an amazing land, about which there are legends. According to an old Altai legend, the evil, cunning and strong khansha Tavda once lived. In addition to all her shortcomings, she was also distinguished by amazing greed and did not give any life to her subjects, constantly robbing them to the last thread. At that time, what kind of requisitions and dues were not invented! The poor people were deeply unhappy, songs were completely silent in the regions, carefree children's laughter disappeared. But at some point, a mysterious couple, Katyng and Manzherok, arrived in Tavda's possessions. Manzherok knew how to make wonderful dishes from clay, while Katyng wove incredibly strong nets for fishermen. The people instantly fell in love with their wife and husband, their fame reached the greedy khansha. Immediately, Tavda assigned the spouses an unbearable dues. Manzherok then offered the khansha a wonderful jug - it contained such an amount of koumiss as the people brought her. Katyng, on the other hand, wove a new magic net, which made it possible to catch all the fish from the surrounding lakes. Only Tavda found those gifts not enough. She turned her husband into a lake and her wife into a river. The khansha herself hit the ground in anger and disappeared. It was at this place that the path to the Tavdinsky caves opened.
More than one hundred years have passed since those amazing events,but this complex is still interesting as a unique natural structure. At the moment, many excursion tours are organized in the Tavdinsky caves. Gorny Altai (photo can be seen above) is famous for the tourist routes that run in this area and certainly include visiting the caves. Consequently, in the summer, streams of tourists tend to get here. The main number of routes passes through a small observation deck. It offers a stunning panorama of the river valley. Katun. It should be noted that visiting the caves by a huge number of tourists caused them great damage.
