Stone bowl (Samara region). How to get to the source of Nicholas the Wonderworker

On the Volga there is a peninsula formed by a large bend of the river. It is called the Samara Luke. Here, in the Zhiguli mountains, there is the Stone bowl - a depression in the form of a boiler, created by five ravines and slopes of mountains. This natural formation is a landmark of a national nature reserve. The tract "Stone Bowl" in the Samara region has become popular with local residents thanks to a spring, which is considered to be one of the oldest sources of the Zhiguli mountains.

How to get to the Stone Bowl

The places here are really reserved - the Volga River, picturesque forests overgrown with Zhiguli mountains. Excursions to the Stone bowl of the Samara region have three routes:

• The first - by bus to reach the village of Shiryaevo, then through Shiryaevsky ravine to the mountain source. The path is 10 km.
• The second is to drive from the city to the village of Solnechnaya Polyana, then pass the pass on foot. The walking tour takes a little over 1 hour. This is the shortest way.
• The third is to cross a ferry across the Volga to the village of Shiryaevo, then through the ravine to the source of St. Nicholas.

The magnificent natural landscape will allow you to brighten up all difficulties of the pedestrian crossing. Back road will seem shorter, as all time will have to go downhill. You can get there by car to Shiryaevo or Solnechnaya Polyana.

Popular route

Those wishing to make their visit to the Stone Bowl unforgettable and get a lot of fun, you can advise the route Samara - Solar glade - Stone bowl of the Samara region. The duration of the route is the whole day. The route begins from the river station in Samara, from where it is necessary to swim to the village of Solnechnaya Polyana. Here you have to buy a ticket to visit the reserve (50 rubles.) And go on foot to the Stone Bowl. A river trip along the beautiful Volga River, magnificent scenery and a forest trek along the path will bring a lot of pleasure for those who like foot crossings.

Miraculous Source

Hikes to the Stone Bowl in the Samara region are conducted to visit a mountain spring, which believers consider sacred. It is said that his water has the power of healing from many diseases, gives health and empowers people with energy. There are three springs here. One of them is considered miraculous and was named "The Source of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker."

The spring begins with a spring in a forest ravine. Around him a large number of heaped stone blocks. A small jet of water breaks out from under the stone crest, falling on a stone slab, drains over a water-washed groove and forms a small, half-meter diameter, body of water. Water, accumulating, flows down the chute.

The second time the spring appears about a hundred meters away. It flows out from under the stone blocks of the left corner of the cave. Its jet is more watery and flows into the supplied trough.

Further on the mountain appears a wall, which has a lot of cracks, from which appears water. There are two entrances to the cave, in the floor of which two streamlets flowing from the clefts, merging into one. Sticking to the stone ledges, they fall into a wooden trench. All the water of this spring, which breaks through the rocks, gathers along the gutters.

Other sources

As mentioned above, the Stone Bowl in Samara Luka was formed as a result of the merger of several ravines formed in the Zhiguli mountains. On the southern side in different ravines there are two more springs that are in the thickets of the forest. Slopes are steep, so the path to them is quite difficult. Emerging from the rocky crevices, they flow into the ravine with the strange name of the Deck.

As scientists believe, the water-bearing and water-resistant layers from which the springs flow were formed by the ancient seas: Akchagyl and less salty Khvalynsky. This is reflected in the composition of the water in the springs. In some sources, water with a high content of chlorides, in others - a smaller composition of carbonates and chlorides.

The name "The Stone Bowl"

Doing a trip to the Stone bowl in the Samara region, many want to know where the name of this natural boundary came from. There are two versions of his appearance. According to one of them, this name was given to the tract by the boiler-like mining formation, which appeared as a result of the merging of ravines.

According to another version, such a name occurred as a result of the transformation of the Turkic word "chashma", which in translation means "spring", "source". Both versions seem plausible.

Chapel of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker

Many believers who live near the Stone Bowl made pilgrimage to the springs with miraculous water. For a long time there has been a rumor about the strength of the water originating in the Zhiguli mountains. In the nearby village of Solnechnaya Polyana there is an Orthodox church in honor of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. The source is named after him. The Archbishop of Samara and Syzran Sergius blessed the inclusion of the visit of the source in the pilgrimage routes to the holy places of the Samara region.

With his blessing in 1998, a wooden chapel was built here, burned by vandals in 2000. Believers of Zhigulevsk and Togliatti built a stone chapel on the site of the arson, which organically blended with the natural landscape. The building materials were brought to the foot of the mountain, and every believer going to the bowl had to carry up some part of them. There was also built a wooden room for ablution, tables and benches were built.

The legend of the "Stone Bowl"

During the excursion to the Stone bowl (Samara region) one can hear a legend about the appearance of this spring. According to her, in the days of Stepan Razin, he had an associate who was named Fedor Sheludyak. He was surrounded by the tsarist troops, not wanting to give up, rushed from the steep cliff to die, crashing against the rocks, but they parted before him. He fell into the possession of the beautiful Mistress of the Zhiguli mountains.

She left him in her dungeon. For a long time he lived in her mansion, but he missed much without sunlight, sky and earthly beauty. He was not happy with the wealth of the Mistress, nor the comfortable life. He died with great anguish. It was then that springs appeared, which are the tears of the Mistress of the Zhiguli, still mourning his untimely death. Of course, this is just a legend, but still beautiful.