On the territory of the Sverdlovsk region, eighty kilometers from Yekaterinburg, near Mount Shunut, there is a unique attraction - the radon spring of Platonida, according to local legends, the water in the source has miraculous properties.

On topographic maps The toponym is designated as the St. Platonida Tract, it is located in the upper reaches of the Maly Ik River, in the vicinity of the city of Revda. This place can be called a cult place, since it is an object of pilgrimage for believers who gather at the source during religious holidays. Every year the desired object is visited by up to a thousand people: tourists and believers. Among other things, this source is classified as a hydrological natural monument of the Sverdlovsk region.

The spring itself has been fairly well landscaped through the efforts of Orthodox activists, who have established an internal infrastructure with a gazebo, a cross and benches. A trickle of water flows from a stream lined with stones, along a specially installed gutter for easy collection of water.

According to the results of a study of water samples from this spring, it turned out that the source is rich in radon. Water rich in this element has a positive effect on the body and is used for therapeutic purposes in the prevention of many very serious diseases, such as diabetes, kidney and liver diseases, and also has a positive effect on the healing of wounds and skin diseases. Apparently, in the old days, people paid attention to the unusual properties of this source, considering it endowed with miraculous powers.

During the time of the settlement of Old Believer communities throughout the Urals, one of the settlements was founded near the Platonida spring. Over the long years of existence Old Believer community, the spring was popular both among representatives religious organization, as well as residents of surrounding villages. Over time, information about the miraculous source spread far beyond the borders of the neighboring settlements, so Platonida became a major religious center.

As for the origin of the toponym itself, it is directly related to the legends about the hermit who once lived here. For the most objective picture, I will give the two most popular ones.

Legend No. 1

The essence of the legend boils down to the fact that in a Muslim family there lived a girl who decided to renounce her father’s faith and converted to Orthodoxy. Of course, this act was not appreciated at home and Platonida, who was named at baptism, was forced to flee into the forest and set up a monastery. The brothers tracked down the girl and destroyed the relic. Later, at the place where the monastery was built, a spring with miraculous water began to flow.

Legend No. 2

Another legend says that a family of Old Believers lived in the vicinity of the spring. After the sudden death of their parents, the greedy brothers decided to divide the rich inheritance among themselves and get rid of their younger sister Platonida, so they decided to take her to the forest and leave her near a spring. A few years later, the brothers decided to visit the site of what they believed was the death of their sister. However, upon arriving at the monastery, they found her alive and healthy; moreover, despite the years spent in the monastery, she had not aged. In response to astonished questions, the girl replied that she drank and washed herself with water from the source. Rumors about the unique incident instantly spread around the area and pilgrims flocked to the spring.

As it turned out, all these legends are not based on nothing. Thanks to the research of Sverdlovsk local historians, it became known that in the area where the source was located, a hermit from among the Old Believers named Platonida actually lived. Unfortunately, no documentary evidence of her life has been preserved; we were only able to discover information that Platonida died in 1785 and was buried somewhere near her home. According to researchers, this woman was from the village of Krasnoyar, which has survived to this day, presumably from a peasant family.

By the way, according to the recollections of old residents of the surrounding villages, until the mid-seventies of the last century, there was an Old Believer chapel in the area of ​​the spring; twice a year, parishioners from all over the Sverdlovsk region gathered at the walls of the monastery, apparently adherents of the Old Believer religion and held their rituals here. After the chapel burned down, representatives of religious communities stopped gathering at the holy spring. This practice has gained popularity again since the early 90s. The appearance of the cross and numerous religious paraphernalia dates back to that period.

It is worth noting that these days the source has become more of a tourist toponym than a religious one. Foray to Platonida - ideal option for a weekend hike in a walking group or a car trip. However, it is worth considering that the path from the highway to the source is 6 kilometers; you can only get there by car using an SUV. By the way, there is a legend that on a separate section of the road there is a certain anomalous zone, once within the perimeter of which some tourists unimaginably lose their way, although it is quite difficult to get lost there - follow the road and that’s it, nevertheless, such emergencies happen from time to time. Some tourists also say that in the evenings on the forest paths leading to the source, you can meet the ghost of a woman dressed in white. Of course, such stories fall into the category of “tourist tales.”

A trip to the source will allow you not only to come into contact with history, but also to walk through legendary places and taste healing water.

LYUBUSHKIN Andrey // “Mysterious Ural”

The source of Saint Platonida is a place of power, a healing radon spring in the upper reaches of the Small Ik River, near Mount Shunut, the most high mountain in the vicinity of Yekaterinburg (726 m).

According to legend, a long time ago, an Old Believer family lived in these parts, which included two brothers and a sister, Platonida. Something bad happened: my father and mother died, but they didn’t leave a will. The brothers were overcome by greed, and they decided to divide their meager property among themselves, and their younger sister was taken to a distant monastery to certain death. 30 years passed, and suddenly their conscience tormented them. The brothers decided to go to the monastery to atone for their sin at the remains of their sister. But what was their surprise when they saw their sister alive, unharmed and very young, like many years ago. It turned out that “holy water” flowed in the spring at the monastery. Washing with that water, Platonida preserved her beauty and youth... If you swim in the waters of the source, you can be cured of binge drinking, impotence, skin diseases, and chronic fatigue syndrome.

I have a large backpack behind me. The navigator contains the coordinates of the main points. I'm going alone. Bus Ekaterinburg-Revda, half empty during the day. An hour and a half and I’m in Revda.

I’m sitting at the train station, waiting for a bus to Krasnoyar. The bus runs only three times a day. We talked to the man. He is from Krasnoyar local resident. Name is Sergey. He tells me how to get to Shunut and Platonida, otherwise “there are many paths you can get lost in.” Talks about himself. Says that lived before in Yekaterinburg, sold everything and moved to live in Krasnoyar. It is also true that Shunut is a place of power, and that all sorts of people walk here, and there are also sorcerers. Sergei is a healer, healer, also takes people to Shunut and Platonida, and is generally an interesting person.

For those interested, he has a website. I also think you can leave your car in the village if you go on foot to Shunut/Platonida.

I reached Krasnoyar. Left the village. I'm walking along a dirt road. Then I turn into the forest. As usual, the further you go, the worse it gets.

2. The trail to Platonida is marked with ribbons

3. Signs with emotional content

4. There is a logging road through the forest to Platonida; in fact, you can’t get through it even on a steep off-road vehicle.

5. I come across such a thing in the forest. What is this? A manhole cover or part of a crashed UFO?)) In any case, it’s strange to see this far from civilization.

6. I reach a taiga river with the short name Maly Ik.

The territory of Platonida appeared ahead. From Krasnoyar to Platonida 12 km. In essence, the source of Platonid is a spring that comes out of the ground and immediately flows into the Small Ik River. According to legend, the woman’s name was Platonis; when she died, she was buried here, and a spring began to flow from this place. More details are written.

7. It’s the middle of the week and I don’t find a single person here. Without people, the place looks quite strange. Grave. Canopy for protection from rain. Cross.

8. The holy source of Platonidas. The water is delicious.

9. Small Ik River.

10. There is a tradition of bringing a stone here to create a spring and cleanse the soul...

11.

Slowly I climb Shunut. By the way, Shunut has its own spring, and those who don’t know about it bring water here. I also carried two liters kg of water. There are not many people at the top. Just one group of organized tourists with a guitar.

12. And here I am at the top. Height 724 m.

13. Fir trees and larches closely approach the rocks. All around is dense taiga forest.

14. The nature here is beautiful

15. I climb the highest rock and drink tea. The sounds of a guitar can be heard from a nearby rock.

16. It’s almost twelve at night. It's getting dark.

I'm setting up a tent. I'm cooking dinner over the fire. I'm spending the night. You can see more about Shunut Peak.

17.

Wake up at five in the morning. It's cold and I can't sleep anymore. At seven o'clock in the morning I begin the descent from Shunut towards the Old Stone. Walk ten kilometers. It's raining. I reach the cliff.

18. Rock Old Man Stone. Externally, the mountain looks like the head of a gray-haired old man. From this place the Konovalovsky Uval ridge begins, which stretches to the northwest for 15 km. The old stone is like the head of the ridge.

19. Rock and road nearby

After visiting the Rock, I return back to the village of Krasnoyar. Through Platonida, about 15 km.

The trajectory of all my walking movements. The total mileage over two days is 40 km.

That's all. Thank you for your attention.

Quite by accident, I saw a repost in the ecovillage group with an invitation for everyone to go to an intuitive herbal gathering. It immediately clicked in my head that I needed to go, I contacted the organizers and booked a place. Who these people are, what they do, how many participants are on the trip and where they will take us - I learned all this after the fact. Until that moment, I was guided only by intuition, and it did not let me down, but more on that later. I worked all weekend so that on a weekday Tuesday early in the morning I could go on an adventure (no one knows with whom, no one knows where).

As it turned out, the trip was organized by a wonderful couple - Sergey and Mira. They founded the Siberian Way (https://vk.com/sibirput). They take tourists on absolutely incredible hikes, and Mira is engaged in herbalism and makes strength teas from wild plants.

They took us to an absolutely incredible northern forest. Already at the entrance you could feel the incredible energy of this place. I was drawn forward, I wanted to quickly go to where, as it seemed to me, they were waiting for us.

The path lay along the bed of the Malyi Ik River; to our goal we had to walk 5 km.

Sergei immediately explained that it is better to go to the place of power on an empty stomach, so as not to ground yourself. We introduced ourselves to the forest and talked about why we came.

Along the way, Mira shared her knowledge with us, taught us how to properly collect herbs, told and showed us what wild plants we can eat and what they are called.
That's why we didn't have hungry stomachs. We chewed all kinds of herbs to our heart's content.

Wild garlic also grows in those places. The same herb with wide leaves and a garlicky taste. There is so much of it that the eyes can’t see it)

The forests there are deaf, deserted and alive. Either the woodpecker screams, or the squeak of chicks is heard from the hollow of the tree. We also came across poisonous snakes on our way. Sergei found tracks similar to those of a fox. The forest region thrives without people.

A little about the source of Platonida

In ancient times, there was an Old Believer monastery here. Once upon a time this place was very revered by the Old Believers, but now both Old Believers, Orthodox Christians, various occultists, and just tourists are drawn here. First, let's dive into the depths of history and try to understand who this strange woman was, after whom the miraculous spring was named. There are many legends about the hermit Platonis (at least several dozen variations!).

According to one legend, a long time ago, an Old Believer family lived in these parts, which included two brothers and a sister, Platonida. Trouble happened: my father and mother died, but did not leave a will. The brothers were overcome by greed, and they decided to divide their meager property among themselves, and their younger sister was taken to a distant monastery to certain death. 30-40 years have passed and their conscience has tormented them. The brothers decided to go to the monastery to atone for their sin at the remains of their sister. But imagine their surprise when they saw their sister alive, unharmed and very young, like many years ago. It turned out that “holy water” flowed in the spring near the monastery. By washing herself with that water, Platonida preserved her beauty and youth. The rumor about Platonida spread far and pilgrims flocked here...

Legends are legends, but there are few reliable facts about Platonidas. It is not known for certain what her real name, surname was, when she was born and what family she came from, etc. Many researchers, not without reason, assume that before becoming a hermit, she lived in a peasant family in the village of Krasnoyar located here. The famous local historian Vladimir Trusov was able to establish from archival documents that Platonida lived in the distant 18th century and was buried near her monastery around 1785. (