Many are deservedly attracted to their banks by the Siberian taiga beauty - the Mana River. The Krasnoyarsk Territory, through which it flows, is rich in various water bodies, but this tributary of the Yenisei gathers crowds of fans of wild beauty, lovers of extreme rafting and nature reserves.
Location and characteristics of the waterway
The right tributary of the Yenisei is the Mana River, originating in the ridges of the Krasnoyarsk Territory, in the Mansky and Kuturchinsky white mountains. It carries its waters from Lake Manskoye along the northern slope of the Eastern Sayan, mostly in the direction of the northwest, crossing the taiga massifs and flowing into the Yenisei 30 km upstream of the capital of the region - the city of Krasnoyarsk. Its total length is 475 km, and the speed of the current varies from 7-8 km/h in the upper reaches of the river to 4 km/h in its lower reaches. The Mana River receives more than 300 tributaries of various sizes into its basin. The largest of them are Mina, Krol, Kolba, Zherzhul, Beret, Urman. In its mountainous part, the river flows underground for almost a kilometer. The upper reaches are quite winding and rapids, the lower reachesshipable.
Natural conditions
The Mana River flows through a large area of karst rocks, characterized by good solubility. Its upper reaches are fed mainly by snow and rain waters, downstream, underground saturation with the purest cold (up to 10 degrees Celsius) water rich in minerals (bicarbonate) is of greater importance. Such numerous springs with natural drinking enriched water are present throughout the entire basin.
The shores are rich in vegetation similar to the forests surrounding the city of Krasnoyarsk. The Mana River will delight lovers of coniferous air - on the coastal territory you can see pine, larch, cedar, spruce, and fir. Of the deciduous trees, birch, aspen, willow, mountain ash and bird cherry are often found. The waters of the river are rich in taimen, sterlet, lenok, pike, grayling, burbot, perch, ruff, roach, dace, loach, gudgeon, minnow and round goby.
Not far from the mouth (20 - 40 km) along the right bank is the border of the Stolby nature reserve.
Nature Conservation Landmark
The Mana River is known for a very interesting natural formation to be protected, located on the northwestern spurs of the Eastern Sayan along the right bank in its lower reaches.
This reserve is known all over the world, thanks to four rocky ridges with impregnable walls - Mansky Pillars, belonging to syenite remnant rocks. For millions of years, wind and rain have sharpened the stone, creatingpicturesque sculptures resembling huge (up to 100 meters high) animals, fabulous grottoes and through arches. Many rocks in this state reserve have their own names - Berkut, Feathers, Vultures, Grandfather and the like.
Tourism
Most of the outdoor enthusiasts come here for river rafting. From May to September, numerous rapids of different difficulty levels attract crowds of extreme tourists. The entire basin lies within a mountainous area, which gives the channels of the tributaries a threshold and creates an abundance of waterfalls, narrow valleys are characterized by steep slopes, the water surface is full of islands, rich in sharp turns, the bottom is dotted with pitfalls, rifts and shoals, there are shivers. The upper reaches have two thresholds related to the 3-4 category of difficulty - Soboliny ("Pipe") and Bolshoy Mansky, where the local championship in water slalom is held every year. You can raft on sports boats only from the Yulyevsky mine, the lower reaches are accessible for small jet transport.
For adherents of a more peaceful pastime, the Mana River offers an appropriate vacation - you can go hiking, swimming, fishing, spending the night by the fire, for which hundreds of citizens flock to the rocky isthmus of Perekop for the weekend.
Man-made monument of history
Another landmark testifying to the heroic labor past in the difficult war years is a winding section of the railway, called the “courage track”, laid in the difficult year of 1942, after which laborsome of its builders-developers was equated with a feat on the front line.
The route has a complex trajectory - it crosses the river three times, stretching the reinforced concrete arches of railway bridges high and entering the Mansky tunnel, which has the longest length on the Abakan-Taishet branch.
Thus, the Mana River, which adorns the Krasnoyarsk Territory, is rightfully considered a tourist resort, attracting not only residents of the regional center, but also guests from other regions.
