In the north of the Astrakhan region in the Akhtubinsky district there is the largest salt lake in Europe and Russia - Lake Baskunchak .
“In the Caspian steppe, not far from Mount Bogdo, there lived a bai. This rich man had many sheep and horses. Bai was proud not only of his flocks and herds, but also of his beautiful daughter.
Among the rich man’s many shepherds was a dexterous, jack-of-all-trades, strong and handsome young man. One day the owner's daughter, walking in the steppe, accidentally met him. The boy and the girl fell in love with each other. From that time on they met often. One evening, the girl ran to her sweetheart and told her that her father had decided to marry her to a rich, old and disliked man. True to his love, the young man jumped on his horse and rushed to the owner's yurt. Entering the yurt, he began to beg the girl’s father to give her to him as his wife. Bai became furious and ordered the servants to severely punish the beggar. The young shepherd soon died from the beatings.
Grieving for him, the girl went to Mount Bogdo, sat down at its foot and began to cry. Without closing her eyes, she shed tears for several days. From her tears a stream flowed into the lowlands of the steppe, from which a salt lake was formed, which now exists under the name Baskunchak.”
And here is another version of the fairy tale:
“Once upon a time, in times long past, it happened that the lake became completely shallow. The bottom of the lake, formed from salt crystals, was revealed and tempted the rider to ride on the snow-white surface. Some reckless driver decided to take the opportunity to shorten the path. Sparing neither himself, nor the horse, nor the dog that accompanied him, he set off along the bottom of the lake. Thanks to running fast and good hooves, the horse happily carried the rider, but the dog, having injured its legs on sharp salt crystals, only reached the middle of the lake. Then it started to rain. The lake was covered with a layer of salt water, and the corpse of the dog, saturated with salt, survived damage for a long time. Since then, for many years, in stormy weather, the head of a dog often floated out from behind the raging waves, which could be seen by anyone who was near the lake. That’s why “baskunchak” (dog’s head in Kazakh) became its name.”
Lake Baskunchak is the saltiest lake in the world. It is located on top of a giant salt mountain. Locals Baskunchak is called the lake of the sun, because on cloudless days its surface flashes with a dazzling light.
Baskunchak is a unique gift from nature. Even its air, saturated with salt vapors, is very beneficial for the lungs and can cure a number of respiratory diseases. Therapeutic mud and clay help with skin diseases and joint diseases.
The water of the lake will give you an incomparable feeling of weightlessness, pushing your body to the surface. If you don't know how to swim, then this is an ideal body of water for you, because... it is impossible to drown in it.
Be extremely careful when taking salt baths. If you take even one sip of water, you will receive a severe burn to the esophagus and internal organs.
Thousands of tourists come to Baskunchak every year, and they are attracted not only by the healing properties of the lake. After all, unique landscapes reminiscent of the landscapes of another planet, beautiful steppes, stunning karst caves and other attractions cannot leave anyone indifferent.
Lake Baskunchak is a unique creation of nature. This is a kind of depression at the top of a huge salt mountain, whose base extends thousands of meters into the depths of the earth and is covered with thin sedimentary rocks. The area of Lake Baskunchak is 106 square meters. km. This is a compensation trough filled with salt and clay deposits of the Permian and Quaternary periods. The lake is a large endorheic basin, which is replenished with water from surface and underground sources. About 25 springs and one small river flow into the lake - Gorkaya. It originates in Kazakhstan, the water in it is bitter-salty, reddish-brown in color due to the ferrous minerals it contains.
Lake Baskunchak, the “all-Union salt shaker” and “dog’s head” is a source of high-quality edible salt. As a result of salt mining, fractures up to 8 meters deep were formed. The depth of salt reaches 6 km. The lake's salt is almost pure sodium chloride (98% NaCl). You can drink beer right on the shore and lick the edge of the shore as a snack: for your own pleasure, and for the amusement of others.
In the brine of Lake Baskunchak, as in any salt lake, only salt-loving bacteria live. Everything else perishes. So you won’t be able to catch fish in Baskunchak. And on the coast there are deposits of medicinal clays - this is a product of the vital activity of salt-loving bacteria.
For the first time, Lake Baskunchak, as a place where “they break salt, pure as ice,” is officially mentioned in the “Book of the Big Drawing.” The book was compiled in the 16th century and supplemented in the so-called “Discharge Order” in 1627:
“And below Balykli beyond the Volga there is a salt lake (Eltonskoe) along 90 versts, and near that lake there are fresh deposits... From the Golden Horde, from the Akhtuba River against the Naryn sands, lies Lake Uskonchak, or Utonchak (Baskunchak), and in the lake there they break pure salt like ice... From Astrakhan down the Volga River to closer salt 70, and to distant salt 100 versts"
In 1780, academician Gildeshtet wrote:
“Soon a picture of salt mining unfolded before me. Three squares of land, two hundred fathoms each, dug in with low ramparts and surrounded by narrow grooves, represented three phases of production. In one complete sea water, the salt evaporated, settling into a pale gray layer with a pinkish tint, shining in the sun. In another, she was raked into piles. The women raking it, with shovels in their hands, trampled knee-deep in shiny black mud, and somehow very deadly, without shouting or talking, their dirty gray figures moved slowly and tiredly against a black, shiny background of greasy, salty and caustic brine ", as this mud is called. Salt was exported from the third square. The workers, bent over the wheelbarrows, stupidly and silently moved forward.”
“The beginning of salt development on Lake Baskunchak dates back to the first half of the 18th century, but then this development, without reaching significant proportions, ceased under the influence of increasing competition from Lake Elton. Resumption of salt development followed in 1867. The removal of salt on Lake Baskunchak is carried out by Kyrgyz workers using ordinary picks, crowbars and shovels; salt is delivered to the shore in camel carts.”
The history of salt production on Lake Baskunchak is dramatic, like the history of any salt production anywhere. They went to “salt” to make money, i.e. earn relatively big money through hard physical labor, accompanied by illness and crime.
“Go to the salt, brother! You will always find a job there. You will always find it. Because this is a backbreaking, desperate business.” M. Gorky “On the salt.”
In plan, Lake Baskunchak has an irregular shape with a general orientation in the north-west direction. The length of the lake along the major axis is 18 km, the width ranges from 6 to 13 km, and the total area is 110 square meters. kilometers. The absolute elevation of the salt surface is minus 21.3 m.
Races to set speed records in racing cars were held here. The natural surface was an absolutely flat, strong salt crust that formed at the bottom of the lake during periods of drying, on which, first, using wooden poles and then strips of brown clay, a straight track 8 m wide was marked. The length of the track prepared for the races reached 13 km. The first record races took place at Baskunchak in 1960 and were carried out until 1963 inclusive. Later, due to the expansion of salt mining on the lake and the subsequent deterioration of the hydrogeological situation, the bottom surface became unsuitable for record races. “In total in 1960-1963. During the races on Lake Baskunchak, 29 all-Union speed records were set (19 of them exceeded international ones), including the absolute all-Union record - 311.4 km/h (1963, I. Tikhomirov, “Pioneer-2”).”
In such armor, the ZIL-112S car was prepared for the speed record, which was to be set at the bottom of the dried salt lake Baskunchak.
August 2012 marked the 130th anniversary of the founding of the Baskunchak salt mine, the successor of which is the largest Russian salt enterprise, Bassol OJSC. The lake is located on the territory of the reserve. Going to the lake, you will automatically find yourself in it. Be sure to explore its territory. Mount Bogdo, which is located near the lake, was consecrated by the Dalai Lama. If you favor Buddhism, you can climb to the top. Be sure to visit this unique lake, the healing properties of which are equal to those of Dead Sea and you won't regret it
“In the Caspian steppe there once lived two heroes: a father and a son. They did not have their own farm, so they grazed flocks of other people's sheep. At that time there was neither a hill nor a mound in the steppe. When the tall grass rose in the spring, no animals or predators hiding in the steppe could be seen behind it. One day, a father and son went to the Urals. Upon returning home, they agreed to take with them Ural mountains on a block of Ural stone. The father took the big one, and the son took the smaller one. The road is long. The path is difficult. The younger hero began to become exhausted. He took off the burden, lay down to rest, but died immediately. Having buried his son, the father moved on. He wanted to bring the block to his native tent. Walking along the shore of a salt lake, he decided to take a pinch of salt into his mouth. But as soon as he bent down to get the salt, the mountain fell on him with all its weight. The hero fell, and the earth around him turned crimson, which is why it is still red to this day.
In this place, above the flat steppe, a lonely block remained, which the inhabitants of the steppe called Mount Bogdo."
Astrakhan region known not only for its unusual salt lake Baskunchak, but also Mount Big Bogdo, located near the famous salt lake.
Mount Big Bogdo is the only real mountain in the Caspian lowland. The foot of Bogdo lies two dozen meters below sea level, and the top is about 150 higher. Every year Mount Big Bogdo becomes higher. The fact is that inside the mountain there is a salt dome, which increases by about 1 mm per year. The height of Greater Bogdo above sea level is 149.6 m, and even more above the surrounding area.
Mount Bogdo has developed above-ground and underground forms of karst relief - beams, funnels, caves, grottoes, etc. Today, the vicinity of Mount Big Bogdo and Lake Baskunchak has more than 30 caves, the largest of which, Baskunchakskaya, reaches 1.5 km .
Mount Big Bogdo brought to us the remains of the Mesozoic era. In the cliffs of the mountain there is a marine Triassic with the fossilized remains of animals that lived 200-250 million years ago - this makes Big Bogdo a real geological paradise. In addition, Mount Big Bogdo is the only place in Europe where Triassic sedimentary rocks, rich in skeletal remains, come to the surface.
The Big Bogdo is unusual in its color - one of its sides has a red tint. This is due to the high concentration of various metals. However, despite the confirmed scientific fact, there is a legend that explains such an unusual coloring of Mount Big Bogdo: according to legend, Mount Bogdo used to stand on the banks of the Ural River, but two Kalmyk saints decided to move it to the banks of the Volga. After long fasts and prayers, the Kalmyks lifted Mount Big Bogdo onto their shoulders and carried it across the endless sultry steppes, but one of them fell under the weight of the burden the minute he saw a beautiful local woman, and a sinful thought flashed through his head. The mountain crushed him and became irrigated with blood, which is why one side of it is still red.
Bogdo among the Mongols and Kalmyks means something sublime and majestic, just as in this sense the Chinese owner is called Bogdo Khan, “the highest khan.” Local population believes that Big Bogdo Mountain is consecrated by the Dalai Lama and they come to worship it. According to another legend, Mount Bogdo was formed from a sacred stone that was brought by Kalmyk pilgrims from the distant Tien Shan mountains.
The foot of the Bolshoye Bogdo mountain is hidden by a trail of screes that were formed during the weathering process. On the rocky cliffs of the southwestern slope of Bogdo you can see spectacular weathering forms of sandstones and other rocks of Paleozoic age. The presence of shallow caves, stone niches and pillars, cornices and numerous depressions similar to giant honeycombs made the Big Bogdo a sounding mountain. The phenomenon is explained by air vibrations between stone pillars and drafts in communicating caves. Therefore, people call the southwestern slope of the mountain “Singing Rocks.”
June 22nd, 2013
Lake Baskunchak and Mount Bogdo are the main objects of the Bogdinsko-Baskunchaksky Nature Reserve, which attracted my attention for photography. In addition, they are located in relative proximity to Moscow, and therefore it will take a little time and money to get to them and thoroughly inspect everything.
The first time I went there was in September 2010. The Moscow-Makhachkala train attracted me with its convenient departure and arrival times and the cheapness of its tickets. However, after staying there there was an unpleasant aftertaste. Creepy
there is dirt and dust in the carriage, the passengers are Caucasian faces. After the train departed, the gloomy and unsmiling conductor doomedly dragged a dirty gray bag along the floor, from which, with sweeping movements, she scattered the same gray and damp bed linen to all the passengers. Fortunately, the journey is not long, but on my next trips in this direction I still preferred another train - Moscow-Astrakhan.
The stop I need is Verkhniy Baskunchak, from there to Astrakhan it’s a few more hours by train. At first glance, the roadside village seemed quite neat and clean. Not far from the station there is a small market where you can buy various smoked fish, which I took advantage of on the way back.
A local taxi driver drove me in 20 minutes to the village of Nizhny Baskunchak, where I planned to spend several days. I settled in a hotel, a small 2-story building, with rooms of varying levels of comfort. There is a split system, which is important during the hot season. The only inconvenience is that the toilet, shower, and kitchen are located separately at the end of the corridor. Considering that at this time of year there are practically no people staying in the hotel, I could use all these benefits unlimitedly.
A hundred meters from the hotel there is a sanatorium-preventorium "Bassol", where I hastened to check in. After a short check and conversation with the doctor, a 4-day plan of wellness procedures was drawn up for me. From early morning I was treated to mud wraps, a halo chamber - a salt cave, a carbon dioxide bath, hydromassage, and a general massage. The daytime was devoted to exploring the village and its surroundings. In the evening - swimming in the brine of Lake Baskunchak. Having reached the hotel, I fell on the bed in pleasant exhaustion and fatigue.
The village is small and the proximity of the salt lake determined the names of its establishments - the Solyanik cultural center, the Solonochka cafe... The museum is quite good, it has many interesting exhibitions dedicated to the history of salt mining and the nature of the area. 
The lake is located a 20-minute walk from the village. On the road to it there are areas with wooden posts sticking out of the salt - traces of salt mining that took place here long ago. 
The salt crust in the coastal part of the lake is quite strong and can withstand the weight of a person. Beneath it is healthy and healing mud, with a complex of macro- and microelements. The further from the coast, the thicker the layer of salt. Railway rails are laid right across the salt, and trains with wagons regularly travel along them, to the mine site and back to the village. In the village itself, the brought salt goes to the Bassol plant, where it is brought to marketable condition. The holes left in the lake after industrial mining are filled with concentrated brine - brine, you can swim in it, but not for long - after all, the salt concentration is very high. In such a body of water you can also calmly lie on the surface without fear of drowning. 
Lake Baskunchak is the largest among European and Russian salt lakes. It has an elongated shape, its length reaches 18 kilometers, its width is 10-12 kilometers, the total area is more than 100 square kilometers. It is a small depression - a kind of crater of a salt mountain that arose in the Triassic, more than 200 million years ago. 
The thickness of the salt deposits reaches 10-18 meters, the thickness of the surface brine - a saturated aqueous solution of salt - varies from several centimeters to a meter. In the composition of lake salt, sodium chloride, or table salt, accounts for over 90% of the composition, the rest is other mineral salts: halite, bromine, iodine, and fluorine salts. A lot of similar beneficial salts are also found in salt mud. The local population and “wild” tourists take advantage of this for their health - smear themselves with healing mud and take short-term brine baths. It turns out to be a kind of sanatorium under open air, for which you don't have to pay...
The surrounding area of the salt lake is a saline desert that does not have much diversity of life. Its formation is largely related to the climate of the area where the lake is located. Sharp daily changes in temperature and humidity, hot and dry summers, and winters with little snow are the main indicators of weather conditions. A salt marsh is a lifeless gray-brown land around a lake on which salt crystallizes. Salt covers the banks and beds of dry streams with a blinding snow-white cover. 
But still, on the salt marshes you can find some plant species that have adapted to the harsh living conditions. These are halophytes - salt-loving plants that cannot imagine their life without salt crystals. The appearance of these plants is unusual because they have to extract moisture from salty soil.
The most common inhabitants of typical salt marshes are saltworts and saltworts. These plants are small, have jointed, fleshy stems and tiny leaves with high stored water content. Plants absorb water from saline soils due to the increased osmotic pressure of cell sap, with maximum water consumption occurring in spring and autumn, when the soil contains less salts. Many salt marsh plants are characterized by seasonal coloring; they are yellow-green in spring and summer, and acquire a brown-crimson color in the fall. 
Two kilometers from the southwestern shore of the lake there is another local celebrity - Mount Big Bogdo.
The mountain is small in size, reaching no more than 200 meters in height. However, this is the only mountain rising in the steppe surroundings of the salt lake. It is clearly visible from afar and serves as an excellent landmark in the endless steppe. 
The western slope of the mountain is long and gentle, the eastern slope is steep and steep. It is the eastern slope that is most interesting to explore. Here, in the cliffs of the mountain, layers of earth rocks come to the surface - layers of red-brown and blue clays, gray limestones, sandstone and crystalline gypsum. Overlapping each other, the rocks create a bizarre palette of colors. 
All layers of rocks differ from each other in their chemical composition; among the elements that make up the rock are brown iron ore, lead, copper ore, native sulfur, quartz and jasper. There are fossilized remains of animals that lived in the Triassic, during the formation of the mountain. Hidden under thick layers of sedimentary rock is a giant monolith of rock salt - the remains of a once-existing sea. In the mountain itself and in the small rocks surrounding it there are numerous caves, voids, and grottoes. They all have the gift of singing. All it takes is a breeze to wander across the steppe, and the mountains begin to play their unassuming melody. It is unstable and depends on the strength and direction of the wind. 
Mount Bogdo has long been considered a sacred place in which the spirits of the mountains and the souls of the dead should be worshiped. Sacred Buddhist rites are still performed here, for which religious pilgrims and a Buddhist lama come from Kalmykia. In general, several legends are associated with this mountain. According to one of them, the Dalai Lama, who came from Tibet, stayed here. To diversify the sparse steppe landscapes, he ordered two of his monks to bring a small mountain from the Urals and place it in the middle of the steppe. However, in the last meters the monks lost their strength, and the mountain collapsed on them with all its weight. The red slopes of the mountain are supposedly the color of the blood of the holy brothers, and the nearby salt lake is the tears of the Dalai Lama who mourned them. According to another legend, Mount Bogdo arose from a sacred stone brought to the steppe by wandering Kalmyks from the distant Tien Shan mountains. There is another name for the mountain - Arslan-ola, which translated from Kalmyk means “Lion Mountain”. The mountain received this name for its great external resemblance to a lying lion. The mountain has a younger namesake - Small Bogdo, which is much lower in height (only 37 meters), and it is located several tens of kilometers from Big Bogdo, on the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
Like Lake Baskunchak, Mount Bogdo is also surrounded by semi-desert and saline soils, rich in easily soluble salts, with steppe and semi-desert plant species that can tolerate low moisture and salinity.
Depending on the season, plants colorfully transform foothill landscapes. In April-May, tulips bloom, cinquefoils, astragalus, sage, and sweet clover bloom - the steppe becomes elegant. Closer to autumn, the grains and wormwood burn out and the steppe takes on a golden hue. 
You can get to Mount Bogdo from the village along the only road laid across the steppe. True, in small village catching a car is quite problematic, but it is possible. At the checkpoint of the reserve, for a small bribe - an environmental fee, you find yourself in the vicinity of the mountain and walk 4 km along a winding steppe road past small singing rocks to the mountain itself. From its height, of course, a fantastic view opens up - a bizarre palette of colors of open rocks, a blinding salt lake and endless steppe. 
I had a chance to visit the mountain and its surroundings in different time of the year. Each of them is beautiful in its own way. In winter - the transparent brine of the ice-free lake and the red and white rocks of Bogdo, in the spring - blooming wild tulips, in the autumn - yellow-brown brine and golden steppe.
Spring in the steppe is, of course, the brightest period of the year, the time of awakening for tulips. Their delicate flowers open, turning the steppe into a colorful carpet. The first types of tulips to bloom are the two-flowered tulip, and a little later the Bieberstein tulips open their buds. The flowering period ends with rare and larger Schrenk tulips. The brightly colorful expanses of the steppe and the air filled with an ethereal aroma leave indelible memories... 
Big Bogdo (Russia) - description, history, location. The exact address, phone, website. Tourist reviews, photos and videos.
- Last minute tours in Russia
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Lilliput among the mountains, sacred place for Kalmyks throughout the Astrakhan region, the most high point Caspian lowland - Mount Big Bogdo (emphasis on the second “o”) is considered one of the most interesting places south of Russia. This is also the only land in our country where the cutest animal called the squeaky gecko lives.
Being only 149.6 m high, it is surprising how this place was even given the status of “mountain”; the hills are even higher. However, given the fact that the entire Caspian lowland is steppe and steppe all around, Bogdo’s honorary status is not accidental. But this is not even what attracts crowds of Buddhist believers, tourists and scientists. For some, the Big Bogdo is a sacred place, covered in legends and traditions. For others, it is one of the most picturesque attractions with fantastic views. Well, the latter admire the amazing properties of the “singing” mountain, which is full of beams, sinkholes, caves and grottoes, and also grows by 1 mm every year.
By the way, the fact of Bogdo’s singing has been scientifically documented. It turns out that over the centuries the steppe wind has worn down the soft rock so much that it has cut out a lot of holes in it - those same caves and funnels. And the air, passing through the holes, emits a hum - singing.
As for the fact of growth, everything here is also scientifically explainable. Big Bogdo is not an ordinary mountain, but the edge of an underground salt dome. Every year it slowly pushes up through the soft limestones and sandstones.
In April-May, the entire nature around the mountain is enveloped in reckless spring blossoms: thousands of tulips and poppies come out into the light, painting the steppe in fantastic scarlet colors.
Climbing
Most often, tourists climb along the picturesque ecological-tourist route No. 2, which starts from the southwestern slope of the mountain to the top, from there to the Surikovskaya gully, then along it to Lake Baskunchak and to the Kordonskaya gully.
At the top of the Big Bogdo there is a “bald spot” with a protruding trigopoint (a geodetic tripod of scientists), to which many ribbons are tied. They are left behind by Buddhists who consider the mountain a shrine (“bogdo” means “holy” in Kalmyk). If you walk along the mountain, in the rock crevices you can see a lot of primitive trestle beds made of boulders. Supposedly, by lying on them, you can be saturated with the energy of the holy mountain.
Big Bogdo
Legends of Greater Bogdo
Climbing the mountain without knowing the traditions and legends of the Greater Bogdo is, at the very 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 that was brought by Kalmyk pilgrims from the distant slopes of the Tien Shan. Another version of the legend says that Big Bogdo once stood on the banks of the Ural River. However, two holy Kalmyk brothers decided to move it to the banks of the deep Volga. Having shouldered the stone, they understood that a long journey awaited them through the endless sultry steppes.
And everything would go well until one brother saw a beautiful Kazakh woman. Despite long days of fasting and prayer, sinful thoughts crept into his head, and the mountain fell on him. Of course, the Kalmyk died, and Bolshoye Bogdo, without ever “reaching” the Volga, remained standing in this very place. And one edge of the mountain was stained with the blood of a dead Kalmyk, and since then it has really had a red tint. The Dalai Lama grieved for a long time at the site of the death of his students, his tears gathered in big lake, but the moisture dried up, the salt remained, and people began to call this place Lake Baskunchak.
Coordinates
Mount Bolshoye Bogdo can be reached via several intricate routes. Most often, travelers begin their journey from the village of Nizhny Baskunchak (or Lake Baskunchak). So, moving out of the village towards the mountain to the south, you find yourself on a rolled dirt road, Lake Baskunchak will serve as a guide, and a little in front and to the right - the “mountains” from the gypsum quarry.
By the way, the quarry itself with its Marble Lake is worth making a photo stop.
Further on, there is a fork in the path - you need to stay to the left, and then drive straight for about 8 km. At the end of the path there is the entrance to the reserve (coordinates N48 08.018 E46 49.094), watchmen and inspectors are on duty at the gatehouse, who need to pay about 200 RUB per person for the entrance. Detailed directions will be given on the spot: how to get to the parking lot, where the singing rocks are, and where the hiking and ecological trails begin.
Prices on the page are for April 2019.
They say that before visiting the reserve it is necessary to obtain 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 by calling: 8-85141-363-13.
The best time to travel 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, all the nature around is embraced by reckless spring blossoms: thousands of tulips and poppies emerge into the light of day, painting the steppe in fantastic scarlet colors. By the end of May, alas, the riot of nature fades away, the feather grass begins to bloom, giving the steppe a hint of gray hair. Just 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 pitiful semblance of the once lush greenery.
If you want to spend the night near the mountain or Lake Baskunchak, you are forced to disappoint: you cannot stay overnight on the territory of the reserve. The closest opportunity to while away the night is in the village of Nizhny Baskunchak, where the Bassol Hotel and the Baskunchak sanatorium are located.
With souvenirs in the protected area, it’s also not so simple: pick flowers or take them away sacred mountain Fossils are strictly prohibited. But you can get to Lake Baskunchak, where you can chop off a few salt crystals for yourself.
One spring evening it was decided to go out 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. It is very, very picturesque in a Martian way, due to the fact that the soil is red.
We set up camp late at night, we didn’t even understand where we were standing and how far it was from the lake. The navigator assured us that we had been in the water for a long time. We woke up in the morning to the barking of a dog, we were disturbed by the 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 not quite wild place, you won’t be alone here - there are traces of people everywhere: a railway stretched along the entire lake, wooden poles with wires, the most important and important thing - they sell refrigerator magnets with an image of this wonderful lake. The thing is that table salt is mined on an industrial scale on the lake. And they promote Baskunchak as a tourist attraction. Here you are for some crazy money on very strange vehicles, essentially a motorcycle with a sidecar, in the company of other 5-7 people will be taken to the lake itself. Outlandish service, in my opinion.
The remains of some buildings in the form of a palisade of wooden posts 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 the very hypertonic solution of the lake itself. Then they lifted it and the salt crystallized. They shook it off and repeated the procedure.
the salt crust allows you to stand on it and shimmers very beautifully
the hole from under the post is quietly covered with salt, the lake is like a living thing - it heals the wounds
a bush drowned in a lake gradually becomes covered with a crispy crust
Baskunchak landscape with Bolshoye Bogdo mountain
salt snakes crawl towards their pillars
Martian landscapes, or maybe Australian ones
Date 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 nose (this is an undoubted plus of civilization), we set off to conquer Bogdo.
To visit the mountain you need to buy admission ticket, you are instructed that under no circumstances should you go down the excursion trail, as this is where they live rare species vegetation and animals.
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 she gives, I’m ready to forgive her for her modest size. The landscape from Bogdo opens up heart-warming...
I became very aware of the true size of myself in this world. A huge space, absolutely flat, like a tabletop, steppe to the horizon! If you wish, you can even notice some bending of the horizon. Or does it seem so?
My eloquence fails me every time I try to articulate my feelings about this place. I didn’t want to leave Bogdo...
To summarize, 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 there and the infrastructure of the “Vasya was here” format was too intrusive, partially destroying the magic unique lake and harmful to 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 the salt lake Baskunchak were in my life.
Taking this opportunity, last week I took a couple of days off, added it to the weekend and went to visit a good friend in Astrakhan - to extend my summer, eat watermelons, swim in the Volga and enjoy the temperature of +35 degrees. There are enough impressions in this short time, but to put it briefly, it is hot, dusty and flat there.
I’ll tell you more about Astrakhan itself, and first, about a trip to the very north of the region to Mount Bogdo and the salt lake Baskunchak, the name of which has been firmly ingrained in my brain since school geography lessons. The mountain is only 150 meters high, but by local standards it’s just Everest, and it offers stunning views of the Steppe. Naturally, it was categorically impossible to miss the opportunity to climb somewhere, even in the conditions of the Astrakhan semi-desert.
In fact, the entire territory of the Astrakhan region is one large flat plain, which in some places even falls below sea level. There are no trees, hot sun, sand, dust and endless steppe roads.
Also, the Astrakhan gas processing plant is not smoking like a child.
All the police this weekend were concentrated in the city, where the Oilman's Day took place, as well as the search for a group of Astrakhan partisans who Lately Four patrols were shot. Therefore, the speed on the highways was controlled by nanotechnological robocops.
Sometimes I came across very serious comrades
Along the highways they sell either meat or fish, as well as watermelons and melons...
And the local cows don’t pay any attention to the cars at all, constantly creating emergency situations.
We drove like this for two hours, and the landscape outside the window hardly changed. But at some point, like a mirage, Mount Bogdo appeared from the haze
The temptation to rush to it directly through the steppe was great, but we decided not to tempt fate and drove along the “normal” bypass road. It turned out to be a gravel embankment several tens of kilometers long.
It’s impossible to drive along it quickly, and it’s a pity for the car, so 20 meters from the road there is a knurled track right across the steppe. Here it is - somewhat reminiscent of the African savannah.
In search of Lake Baskunchak we came to the lake of the same name locality, which, surprisingly, looked like an ordinary village in the Vladimir region.
As soon as we entered the village, two Kazakh children immediately ran up from somewhere and began vying with each other to assure us that only they could show the way to the lake and Mount Bogdo, and we ourselves would not find it and would get lost. We decided to take them on as guides, and at the same time give them the opportunity to earn a little extra money.
They decided not to go to the lake - there was a very complex logistics chain to get to a place where swimming was “allowed”, so they didn’t waste time and went straight to the mountain, especially since it was already very close.
Upon arrival, it turned out that the mountain and the entire surrounding steppe are a nature reserve, entry into which is prohibited.
The issue of entry was resolved by issuing a “ticket” for 140 rubles per person, and now we are already at the entrance to Bogdo.
To get to the top, you have to overcome a fairly steep climb up the steps. Although not high, it was quite difficult in the wild heat.
But once you go up, the view of the white Baskunchak is simply mesmerizing
We can say that this is our Dead Sea - it is located at a level of minus 21 meters relative to the world ocean. Baskunchak is a kind of depression on the top of a salt mountain, whose base extends thousands of meters deep into the earth and is covered with a thickness of sedimentary rocks.
Salt began to be mined there back in the 8th century, and now it accounts for up to 80% of all Russian production. If you look closely, you can see a line in the photo railway, which runs right along the lake.
The lake is fed mainly by springs. Numerous springs flow into it, bringing more than 2.5 thousand tons of salts into the lake during the day. A virtually inexhaustible resource.
You look in any direction and you are amazed.
And our guides are frolicking around
People have always liked this place
The way back
Take another look at the lake...
And again down the stairs to the car
Gradually the weather began to deteriorate, and the long-awaited rain began to fall. And along with the rain came the understanding that Astrakhan horses are as fearless as cows.
The Astrakhan region is famous for the fact that in the area of the modern village of Selitrennoe there was once the capital of the Golden Horde, Sarai-Batu, where Russian princes went for a shortcut to the great reign. Now all that remains of Sarai is a settlement, which is being actively excavated by archaeologists, but this does not prevent the military-historical festival “Itil Coast” from being regularly held in this area, which attracts military-historical freaks from all over the country.
Like any similar event, the festival turned out to be quite an interesting spectacle.
There are a lot of pictures from there, so there will be a separate story about this medieval hacker.
The day after tomorrow I am flying to Ashgabat under the pretext of reading lectures at the Turkmen branch of the Russian State University of Oil and Gas named after. Gubkin, but in reality - to take advantage of the rare opportunity to see one of the most closed countries in the world. I think I will definitely bring back a lot of interesting things from there.
