On Krasnoyarsk Pillars you can now only walk along equipped trails

New visiting rules were introduced in the Krasnoyarsk Pillars National Park from December 1, 2025.

You can now only walk along equipped trails that have passed an examination and received passports approved by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Ecology of the Russian Federation. In total, at the moment, only three tourist routes and four eco-trails located in the recreational zone of the national park have received permission in the park:

• Route “Laletinsky” (total length 9.6 km) – a walk from the entrance to the national park to the Berkutovsky stream (behind the Pass) and back;
• Route “Nature is a great sculptor” (circle 2.5 km) – a walk from the Pass through the rocks “Elephant”, “First Pillar”, “Grandma” and “Grandfather”, “Grandfather”, “Lion Gate” and “Feathers”, “Fourth” and “Third Pillars” back to the “First” and to the Pass;
• Route “Legends of Takmak” (6 km) – a walk from the Eastern entrance to the Pillars through the “Chinese Wall”, “Storozhevoy”, “Beard”, “Ermak” and the return descent to the Granite Quarry;
• Eco-trails “Reserved Siberia” and “White Path” (300 and 200 meters) on the territory of the Narym meadow;
• Eco-trail “Book of Nature” (1.2 km) – a boardwalk running parallel to the road along the Laletino stream from the chapel to the First Transverse;
• Eco-trail “Nature and Climate” (1.16 km) in the Bobrovy Log area.

The route passports indicate the maximum permissible recreational load per route per day. For example, Laletinsky is expected to carry 1,067 people in winter and 778 in summer. On the Legends of Takmak route, the recreational capacity is 338/302 people (winter/summer), and on the circular route along the central Pillars – 276 and 246 people per day, respectively. The document states that these figures may change in accordance with environmental monitoring data.

“All unapproved routes, including those located in a special protection zone (formerly a buffer zone, Wild Pillars), as well as those including climbing rocks, are closed to the public. Employees of the state inspectorate for environmental protection of the national park were given appropriate instructions to monitor these areas,” the press service explained.

All guides who conduct excursions in the national park are required to have a certificate of certification as a guide and enter into an agreement with the directorate. Upon entering the park, the group will be required to register and pay a recreational fee. If there is no registration or tourists follow a route that is closed to the public, the national park staff promise to take action, including a petition to revoke the guide’s certification certificate.

The national park says that they do not plan to introduce a fee for ordinary visitors (it is paid for residents of the region from the regional budget), but they can also only visit routes with passports.

The reserve management promises to talk about the innovations in more detail in the near future.