The Ichalkovsky forest or in the past the Neidgardt forest is a protected forest area of the Perevozsky forestry of the Buturlinsky forestry near the village of Ichalki. It is best known for its caves and karst sinkholes, which attract hundreds of tourists.
Despite the name (boron is the name of a pine forest) Ichalkovsky bor is a mixed coniferous-deciduous forest, where pines occupy 20-25% of all trees. The forest is home to valuable plant species listed in the Red Book, as well as several species of rare mosses.
Getting to the main caves will not be difficult. True, after the rains, the road from the highway to the entrance to the forest for cars with a low fit can cause problems.
Some sinkholes reach a length of 40-50 m, a width of 25-35 m, a depth of up to 30 m. Sometimes the sinkholes join together and form huge ravines stretching for 1.5 km.
Promotional video:
Thick layers of calcareous rocks belong to the upper section of the Permian system of the Kazan stage. They were formed about 180 million years ago and reach a depth of several tens of meters. Geologist A. N. Mazarovich, who explored these places in 1911, wrote: “Dips are extremely frequent here, so it can be positively said that there is much less flat surface than depressions. In other places, the sinkhole pits are so close to each other that they are separated only by a narrow isthmus. All this is overgrown with a dense coniferous and deciduous forest and extremely dense shrubs … the Neidgardt forest is an alternation of narrow ridges, representing impassable thickets, and a collection of huge and terrible abysses."
In addition to these most famous caves, there are about a dozen little-known and little-visited caves in Ichalkovsky pine forest. And there are about a thousand karst sinkholes.
Ichalkovskie caves are the most visited caves in the Nizhny Novgorod region. They are of interest to speleologists, climbers (for training), and ordinary tourists.
The caves are very accessible for visiting, which makes them the most interesting objects of the Nizhny Novgorod region.
Be sure to watch the video from the caves! it's very interesting there!