DIVNOGORSK DAM

124 m high, 1 km long, 18.4 billion KWH per year, 213,000 ha reservoir: this hydroelectric power plant is the second largest in Russia. Its construction (1956-1972) did not fail to affect the local ecosystem: the surrounding humidity and the permanent temperature of the river (around 13°C) made it uninhabitable for many species. The dam includes an inclined boat lift, which allows boats weighing up to 2,000 tonnes to pass through. All this supplies Krasnoyarsk with electricity, as well as the giant Rusal aluminium plant (the second largest in the world. It alone consumes nearly 70% of the energy produced). The power station can be visited, it even houses a museum. Extraordinary views of the river, the Krasnoyarsk Sea (the reservoir) and the surrounding taiga. Take a look at the small town of Divnogorsk, which came out of the ground in 1956. It is one of the greenest cities in Siberia. Some points of interest on the road: the panoramic monument Tsar Fish (the sculpture of a sturgeon, in homage to the novel by the writer Victor Astafiev, published in 1976), the village of Ovsynka (Siberian wooden houses, the author was born there in 1924), Slava trudu (monument dedicated to the thousands of builders of the dam). The road, on the other hand, is beautiful, especially in the fall, when the colours of the trees intermingle. The site is very popular with Russian and foreign tourists.