A delightful journey to Baskunchak lake and Bogdo mountain. Mount Bogdo and salt lake Baskunchak (Astrakhan region) Baskunchak salt lake g Bogdo
Yes, the distance from the regional center is serious, the road in both directions went almost 800 kilometers. But it was worth it. I'll tell you and show you everything.
The views are already on the rise, the most stunning:
An even more stunning view opens up from the top:
I went downstairs and walked to the lake. From the top of the mountain, the distance seemed very modest, in reality it turned out to be about 20 minutes on foot. The distance was brightened up by the next stunning views:
Then begins the salt lake Baskunchak, which healing properties not inferior to the Dead Sea in Israel. The water is oily and very bitter.
The return trip was accompanied by no less beautiful landscapes:
Summary: Going is a must. The virgin nature made a strong impression on me - you understand that all this has been worth thousands of years in almost the form in which it is now. A huge charge of positive energy - you leave the reserve with an absolutely bright head, in a very good mood, with the feeling that at least a little, but your soul has become cleaner. The energy there is very good.
Photo and text: Alexander Ralnikov
Lake Baskunchak and its immediate surroundings are without a doubt one of the most fascinating places in the southern part of the country. In my opinion this business card stunning and diverse Astrakhan region
And remember that each picture can be clicked for a better view (Sony a7 camera)
You need to focus on the village of Nizhny Baskunchak. The road leading to it is a dead end (a branch from the Volzhsky - Astrakhan highway), asphalted and of very decent quality. Then you yourself can not waste time looking for the entrance to the mountain. Firstly, in order to leave the village in the right direction, it’s true not to drive into it at all, and secondly, there are so many forks inside Nizhny Baskunchak itself that it’s easier to put a special boy offering services in a car and he will show you the right exit. At first, he will charge you 300 rubles for his super-guide services, but in the end it easily drops to 100-150 rubles. So, take it with you, drive 500 meters and then everything is clear. Time is usually more expensive
The road to the checkpoint in the Bogdinsko-Baskunchaksky Reserve looks something like this. After the village, along a well-rolled steppe road, another 15 kilometers
You run into a barrier, an aunt comes out, says 190 rubles per person. You need to go out, issue a pass and listen to the briefing. After the barrier is raised, you need to drive about 4 kilometers along a road resembling a high-mountainous Tibetan one. It's like you're in Nepal
Fascinating pictures
If you are lucky, then in such places you can hear the singing of the wind due to a certain relief and the direction of movement of air masses.
You can stop, take pictures, breathe
But it is forbidden to approach the rocks, as it were. And it is right. Firstly, the reserve, and secondly, the place in the world geology and geography is unique and later I will explain a little why
Pictures are different. But in fact, this does not fit in the head - how in the middle of the steppe, which stretches for many hundreds of kilometers in the most ordinary even canvas, such mountains rise sharply ..
In fact, the heights are not extreme. The base of Mount Bolshoye Bogdo is located at an altitude of minus 20 meters above sea level, the top - plus 130 meters above sea level. It turns out that the height of the mountain is only 150 meters, but in good, clear weather without haze, this hill can be seen for 50-70 kilometers. Amazing steppe effect
After 4 kilometers you reach the parking lot, from where you can see the view towards Kazakhstan. For tens of kilometers
Initially, there are three routes:
1. On Mount Big Bogdo
2. On the hills around the mountain (2.5 km)
3. To Lake Baskunchak and around it (more than 50 km)
Now only the second one is open. It is impossible to climb the mountain because an endangered species of lizards listed in the world Red Book was recently discovered there, and the third route is opened on July 15, which is quite officially stated on the reserve’s website
Route start. No special training is required, there are no steep climbs. And it seems visually that the trail is less than 2.5 km
The northeastern slope of the mountain has a reddish tint. This place is called a mecca for photographers. And also for historians, geologists, geographers and many more. By the way, Buddhists consider this mountain sacred and every Kalmyk should at least once come here on foot and bow to the holy mountain. So, red is red clay, which is 300 million years old. Just think about this number! In preparation for writing this material, I came across good comparison that Christianity is only 2,000 years old, and this earth is 300 million. In this place, especially if you are not surrounded by crowds of tourists (in my case there was no one else at all), in general, in a short time you can understand what earthly problems are still insignificant in their essence .. The best psychotherapy is not a good neuropsychiatrist or therapist, it's a trip to places like this. I don’t understand why people go to Bali for six months when there are places nearby
Stunning landscapes. The trail along route number 2 is fairly well landscaped, although, as for me, these railings are not needed here.
Everywhere information boards with the history of the place, its legends, the characteristics of Lake Baskunchak - one of the largest salt lakes in Europe
No color enhancement, all natural. AT different time days the shades are different. It gets even redder
Zen landscape opens from the tops of the hills. On the left is a piece of Lake Baskunchak
Viewpoint. You can’t believe that you are at an altitude of only 100 meters. The effect of the steppe is that any mountain seems huge
Cloud shadows
Salt has been mined on Lake Baskunchak for many years. The dead-end branch of the railway line goes directly to the lake, from where then freight trains disperse throughout the country. The first mentions date back to the 8th century, when salt was also mined here and rolled along the Great Silk Road.
A separate word in support of the tourism department of the Astrakhan region. Just great guys! Without undue intrusiveness, trying to preserve the reserve, people here have created excellent conditions for a pleasant pastime. On the example of the Saratov region, I can say that there are no less unique places in the region, but they are in an extremely neglected state and do not smell of any tourism. Why all these benches and railings - you ask? The answer is simple - talk to the locals. They will tell you about what kind of dirt and devastation was in these places before they created a protected area. Now at least some control and cleaning
Lake Baskunchak- this is salt lake in the Astrakhan region(Akhtubinsky district), which, together with the nearby Mount Bogdo, an anomalous zone.
The area of the lake is 115 km², the distance from it to Caspian Sea — almost 300 km, and to the Volga - 50 km. Since the 90s of the last century, it has been organized here Bogdinsko-Baskunchak State Reserve.
The lake and its surroundings are place of pilgrimage for tourists who are attracted here healing salt water: due to the high concentration of salts, a person can freely lie on the surface of the lake without making any effort.
The lake has a whole range of healing factors:
- Healing clay deposits(similar in composition and usefulness to the mud of the Dead Sea), thanks to which it is possible to take mud baths and bathe in brine;
- Healing air containing a high concentration of bromine and phytoncides.
People who come to Baskunchak to improve their health get rid of many ailments such as diseases of the musculoskeletal system, nervous system, skin diseases and many others.
Many people who have visited Baskunchak note special energy, present in this space. Perhaps this is related to unique geological structure of the lake.
Baskunchak is special a depression on top of a salt mountain that goes thousands of meters underground covered by sedimentary rocks.
Since ancient times in Baskunchak mined salt. Interestingly, unlike many other salt deposits, Baskunchak can recover lost stocks thanks to the natural addition of salts from the springs feeding the lake. Many centuries salt mining was hard hard labor: the only tools of the salt workers were a shovel and a pood pick, with the help of which people, standing waist-deep in salt water corroding the skin, loosened the salt plates and loaded salt onto carts.
Camels took out the extracted salt, as the horses could not withstand the harsh conditions.
Forty thousand workers worked in Baskunchak, providing over 25% of the salt production of the Russian Empire.
Having visited Baskunchak, you should definitely visit on Mount Bogdo (height 149 meters above sea level) located on south shore of the lake. This elevation is the only mountain natural origin in the Caspian lowland.
There is many legends about the origin of the amazing mountain Bogdo, rising alone above the steppe. According to one of them, living in these places hero, who was engaged in herding sheep, decided that he needed a mountain to watch over his flock. He went to the Urals and carried a huge mountain on his shoulders. However, approaching Baskunchak, the hero wanted to take a pinch of salt in his mouth; he bent over and was crushed by his burden. The mountain remained standing at this place, and the blood of the hero colored the earth around in red.
Especially beautiful Bogdo in spring when its entire surface is decorated with carpets of multi-colored tulips. The mountain is also famous mystical sounds reminiscent of singing. They arise from a multitude of small caves, penetrating the Bogdo rock massif, and winds blowing in these parts. There are folk legends according to which in these caves the legendary Stenka Razin hid his treasures.
For the Kalmyks professing Buddhism, Bogdo is a sacred mountain, that is how its name is translated. This place was revered as guardian of the souls of the dead.
Buddhists prayed on the slopes of the mountain and in a special chapel, which, unfortunately, has not survived to this day. It is believed that in order to to recharge the energy of the mountain and strengthen your strength, you need to lie down on its land.
According to psychics, Bogdo and Baskunchak are places of power. here repeatedly UFOs were observed.
The easiest way to get to Baskunchak and Bogdo is from Akhtubinsk using a fixed-route taxi.
Big Bogdo (Russia) - description, history, location. Exact address, phone number, website. Reviews of tourists, photos and videos.
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Lilliput among the mountains, a sacred place for the Kalmyks of the entire Astrakhan region, the highest point of the Caspian lowland - Mount Big Bogdo (emphasis on the second "o") is considered one of the most interesting places south of Russia. And also this the only land in our country, where the cutest animal called the squeaky gecko lives.
Being only 149.6 m high, it is amazing how this place was given the status of a “mountain” at all, the hills are even higher. However, given the fact that the entire Caspian lowland is steppe and steppe around, the honorary status of Bogdo is not accidental. But even this is not what attracts crowds of believing Buddhists, tourists and scientists here. For some, Big Bogdo is a sacred place, covered with legends and traditions. For others, one of the most picturesque sights with fantastic views. Well, the latter bow before the amazing properties of the “singing” mountain, which is full of beams, funnels, caves and grottoes, and also grows by 1 mm every year.
By the way, the fact of singing Bogdo is scientifically recorded. It turns out that the steppe wind over the centuries has so worn away the soft rock that it cut out a lot of holes in it - those very caves and funnels. And the air, passing through the holes, emits a hum - singing.
As for the fact of growth, here, too, everything is scientifically explainable. Big Bogdo is not an ordinary mountain, but the edge of an underground salt dome. Every year it slowly bulges up through soft limestones and sandstones.
In April-May, all nature around the mountain is covered by reckless spring flowering: thousands of tulips and poppies crawl out into the light of day, coloring the steppe in fantastic scarlet colors.
ascent
Most often, tourists climb the picturesque eco-tourist route No. 2, which starts from the southwestern slope of the mountain to the top, from there to the Surikovskaya beam, then along it to Lake Baskunchak and up to the Kordonskaya beam.
At the top of the Big Bogdo there is a “bald head” with a protruding trigopoint (a geodesic tripod of scientists), to which a lot of ribbons are tied. They are left by Buddhists who revere the mountain as a shrine (“bogdo” in Kalmyk means “holy”). If you walk along the mountain, then in the rocky crevices you can see a lot of primitive trestle beds made of boulders. Allegedly, lying on them, you can feed on the energy of the holy mountain.
Big Bogdo
Legends of Big Bogdo
Climbing the mountain without knowing the traditions and legends of the Big Bogdo is at least stupid - no romance for you, which so picturesquely paints your stay on the mountain in mystical tones. So, if you believe the legends, then Bogdo was formed from a sacred stone, which was brought by Kalmyk pilgrims from the distant slopes of the Tien Shan. Another version of the legend says that once Big Bogdo stood on the banks of the Ural River. However, two holy Kalmyk brothers decided to move it to the banks of the full-flowing Volga. Throwing a stone on their shoulders, they understood that a long journey awaited them through the endless sultry steppes.
And everything would have gone well until one brother saw a beautiful Kazakh woman. Despite the long days of fasting and prayer, sinful thoughts crept into his head, and the mountain fell on him. Of course, the Kalmyk died, and the Bolshoi Bogdo, having never “reached” the Volga, remained standing in this very place. And one edge of the mountain was stained with the blood of the deceased Kalmyk, since then it really has a red tint. The Dalai Lama grieved for a long time at the site of the death of his disciples, his tears gathered in a large lake, but the moisture dried up, the salt remained, and people began to call this place Lake Baskunchak.
Coordinates
Mount Big Bogdo can be reached in several intricate ways. Most often, travelers start their journey from the village of Nizhny Baskunchak (or Lake Baskunchak). So, moving out of the village towards the mountains to the south, you find yourself on a rolled primer, Lake Baskunchak will serve as a guide, and a little in front and to the right - the "mountains" from the gypsum quarry.
At the very quarry with its Marble Lake, by the way, it is worth making a photo stop.
Then there is a fork in the road - you need to keep to the left, and then drive straight for about 8 km. At the end of the path - the entrance to the reserve (coordinates N48 08.018 E46 49.094), watchmen and inspectors are on duty in the gatehouse, who need to pay about 200 RUB per person for entry. Detailed CC will be given on the spot: how to get to the parking lot, where the singing rocks are located, and where the tourist-ecological trails start from.
Prices on the page are for April 2019.
They say that before visiting the reserve it is necessary to issue a pass, since Bogdo is located only 14 km from Kazakhstan, that is, in the border area. It is better to explain the detailed rules for visiting the reserve for yourself by calling: 8-85141-363-13.
The best time for a trip to the reserve and the sultry Astrakhan steppes is April-May, when the sun is already hot, but still quite tolerable. But during this period, reckless spring flowering embraces all nature around: thousands of tulips and poppies crawl out into the light of day, coloring the steppe in fantastic scarlet colors. By the end of May, alas, the riot of nature comes to naught, feather grass blooms, giving the steppe a shade of gray hair. Literally a couple of weeks, and the sun will become merciless, turning the earth into a scorched desert, and the grass into a yellow, withered and miserable likeness of the once lush greenery.
If you want to spend the night near a mountain or lake Baskunchak, you are forced to disappoint: you cannot stop overnight on the territory of the reserve. The next opportunity to pass the night is in the village of Nizhny Baskunchak, where the Bassol Hotel and the Baskunchak Sanatorium are located.
Not everything is so simple with souvenirs in the protected area either: picking flowers or taking fossils from the sacred mountain is strictly prohibited. But you can get to Lake Baskunchak, where you can chip off a few salt crystals.
One spring evening, it was decided to pull into the wide Astrakhan steppes to look at the salt lakes.
Baskunchak was chosen, which is a local tourist mecca. With all the consequences. It is quite possible to swim in the lake itself, although it is difficult, since it is almost a dead sea and the water actively resists your presence in it. Picturesquely very, very Martian, in view of the fact that the soil is red.
The camp was set up late at night, we did not even understand where we were standing and how far to the lake. The navigator assured us that we had been in the water for a long time. We woke up in the morning from the barking of a dog, we were disturbed by a local watchman - it turns out that we are standing in a closed area. Later it turned out that almost the entire shore surrounding the lake was privatized by some cunning organizations.
Baskunchak 1 is not a completely wild place, you will not be alone here - traces of a person are everywhere: Railway, stretched along the entire lake, wooden poles with wires, the most important and important - fridge magnets are sold with the image of this wonderful lake. The thing is that edible salt is mined on an industrial scale on the lake. And they promote Baskunchak as a tourist attraction. Here you will be taken to the lake itself for some crazy money on very strange vehicles, in fact, being a motorcycle with a sidecar, in the company of other 5-7 people. Terrible service in my opinion.
The remains of some buildings in the form of a palisade of wooden columns torn by salt. I read that the pillars were needed for a kind of salt production - a net was attached to them, which was lowered into a highly hypertonic solution of the lake itself. Then they raised it and the salt crystallized. She was shaken off and the procedure was repeated.
the salt crust makes it quite possible to stand on it and shimmers very beautifully
a hole from under the column is quietly covered with salt, the lake, as if alive, heals wounds
a bush drowned in a lake is gradually covered with a crispy crust
Baskunchak landscape with Big Bogdo mountain
salt snakes crawl towards their pillars
Martian landscapes, and maybe Australian
Phoenix left its mark
Large Baskunchak salt
Having washed off the salt in the open-air shower for a modest 50 rubles from a human nose and 30 rubles from a dog's (this is an undoubted plus of civilization), we set off to conquer Bogdo.
To visit the mountain, you need to buy an entrance ticket, you are instructed that in no case should you go on an excursion trail, as rare species of vegetation and animals live here.
Here, in fact, is Bogdo 2. Yes, she is exactly that, Martian color
The mountain stands almost on the shore of Lake Baskunchak and, in fact, is a hill, not a mountain. But for the look that she gives, I am ready to forgive her for her modest size. The landscape with Bogdo opens up heartbreaking...
I felt very keenly the true size of myself in this world. Huge space, absolutely flat, like a tabletop, the steppe to the horizon! If desired, you can even notice some bending of the horizon. Or does it seem?
My eloquence betrays me every time I try to formulate my feelings about this place. I did not want to leave Bogdo ....
Summing up, I will say that Baskunchak is a very picturesque place, and Mount Bogdo is simply fabulous, but there are a number of disadvantages. It seemed to us that there were too many people and too intrusive infrastructure of the “Vasya was here” format, partially destroying the magic of the unique lake and harming the local ecosystem. These disadvantages are so significant for me that I won’t come here a second time, but I’m damn glad that Bogdo and salt Lake Baskunchak.