Kolokolnaya Cave

Kolokolnaya Cave (Russian: Пещера Колокольная, "Bell Cave") is a karst cave in the Katav-Ivanovsky District of Chelyabinsk Oblast, on the right bank of the Sim River about one and a half kilometres south-east of the village of Serpievka. It belongs to the group of Serpievka caves known as the Serpievka Cave Town and lies within the Serpievsky nature reserve. The cave is best known for the prehistoric drawings found on its walls.

What to see

The entrance faces south-east: an arch about 3 metres high and 4 metres wide, 11 metres above the river. The passages are about 213 metres long in total, with a depth of about 4 metres. The cave runs north-west as a single main gallery 2 to 5 metres wide, so it is hard to get lost. The ceiling ranges from one or two metres to 6–8 metres high.

Where cracks cross the gallery, grottoes with high vaults have formed. The Metro passage runs parallel to the main corridor for about 40 metres; it is narrow, with smooth walls and a rounded ceiling. Side crawls branch off it, one leading to the Stalactite Hall, which in turn connects to the Far Grotto. The Far Grotto has organ pipes up to 10 metres tall and plenty of flowstone, stalactites and stalagmites. The narrow crawls off the gallery mostly end in dead ends. Deeper inside there is a small underground pool.

In many places the walls are blackened by the torches and fires of earlier visitors. Bats live in the cave.

History and rock art

In 1982–1984 an archaeological expedition that included V. T. Petrin, S. E. Chairkin and V. N. Shirokov found several groups of drawings in the cave. They are attributed to the Palaeolithic. Few caves with Palaeolithic paintings are known in Russia, so the find at Kolokolnaya became important for the study of the Urals' early inhabitants.

Legends

Local beliefs surround the cave. According to one, in ancient times teenagers were brought here for an initiation rite to test their courage. According to another, if you crawl through a narrow hole called the Bull's Head and make a wish, it will come true. There is no evidence behind these stories.

Getting there

Serpievka is about 14 kilometres from the M-5 Chelyabinsk–Ufa highway, with the turn near Kropachevo. The cave is one and a half kilometres from the village. The trail starts on the right side of the road before the bridge over the Sim and follows the right bank of the river.