Holy Stone Tract (Aleutas)

The Holy Stone tract (Mount Aleutas) is a place sacred to nomadic peoples and a geological nature monument in the Sol-Iletsky Urban District of Orenburg Oblast, Russia. It is a cluster of dark brown Jurassic-period quartz sandstone blocks up to 2.5 metres high, standing on a hilltop amid open steppe. It lies 2 km north of the former settlement of Prokhladny and 10.5 km southeast of the village of Perovka, between the Kuraly and Berdyanka rivers. The site's elevation is 284.9 metres above sea level.

Geology

The blocks of the Holy Stone are the remains of a ferruginous lens from the Jurassic period of the Mesozoic era, roughly 150–200 million years old. The sandstone is coarse-grained, cemented with limonite (iron), which gives it its characteristic dark brown colour; imprints of ancient plants survive on the surface of the stones. The tract lies at the junction of three geological structural zones, where depressions up to 500 metres deep formed during the Jurassic period and were filled with sand, clay and sandstone. The blocks cover an area of about 15 by 8 metres on the surface.

A Sacred Place

Mount Aleutas has been revered since ancient times by local people, Kazakhs especially, as a sacred place. Nomads considered the stone monolith the centre of a religious cult and brought offerings here. According to tradition, pearls or coins were left by the stone as symbols of human tears and hopes. Today tourists follow the custom, tying ribbons to a birch growing beside the stone and making a wish.

Legend

A legend about Aleutas tells of a girl of unearthly beauty and a young man in love with her who was turned into an eagle. Their tragic story ended in both their deaths, and the stone blocks — the Holy Stone — grew up on the spot where the eagle fell. The cycle of life and death embodied in the stone gives the place a special atmosphere.

Nature

Around the tract lies typical steppe with birch groves, wild rose and St. John's wort-leaved spiraea. In mid-May the hillside is covered with wild tulips listed in the Red Book — a rare and striking sight. The best time to visit is early to mid-May, when nature awakens and the steppe comes into bloom.

How to Get There

There is no paved road to the tract — access is along a dirt track, over bumps and potholes. You can reach it from Orenburg (about 80 km) or from Sol-Iletsk (about 50 km). In winter, and in summer after rain, the road becomes washed out or disappears entirely, so a four-wheel-drive vehicle and dry weather are recommended. Not far from the tract stand several decommissioned gas wells with plates dated 1982 — an additional landmark.