Tour of Lake Elton and Baskunchak

Tour dates: April 23-28.

Your impressions.

• You will visit two unique salt lakes Elton and Baskunchak. The salt concentration is much higher than in the Dead Sea and reaches 300 grams per liter. The unique landscapes of these lakes are often compared with the Bolivian salt marsh Uyuni.
• Enjoy the best sunrises and sunsets in southern Russia.
• Visit the Bogdinsko-Baskunchak Reserve, which is home to many wild birds, plants and animals.
• You will see a very beautiful river, painted in crimson color, from an excess of iron in the water.
• Climb to the highest point of the Caspian lowland - Mount Bogdo.
• Study the production of salt.
• Try the national Kazakh cuisine.
• Visit Mamayev Kurgan, in the panorama of the Battle of Stalingrad and walk along the embankment of the hero city of Volgograd.

Tour programme

Day 1

volgograd

Arrival of the group members in Volgograd. Hotel accommodation. Then you will go on a tour of the central part of the city, walk along the beautiful embankment, visit the Museum of the Battle of Stalingrad and closer to the evening climb Mamaev Kurgan.

Day 2

Lake Baskunchak

Breakfast. At 9:00 transfer to Lake Baskunchak (approximately travel time of 3 hours). Placement in a sanatorium. Lunch at the cafe. First encounter with the lake. You walk on its surface, see the remains of old salt replicas, infrastructure for the extraction of salt, feel the atmosphere of the famous salt marsh. Dinner will be hosted by a local resident today. You will be offered dishes of national Kazakh cuisine. Talk to the hosts, ask any questions about local traditions and way of life. Anyone can be photographed in national costumes. Night at the sanatorium.

Day 3

Mount Bogdo - Bogdinsko-Baskunchak Reserve

Breakfast. Today you will spend the whole day on the territory of the Bogdinsko-Baskunchak Reserve, as well as visit Mount Bogdo. You will see endless deposits of pure salt, bizarre relief forms, numerous flora and fauna, Martian landscapes and endless steppes with eagles and hawks hovering above them, hunting for gophers, which the local places consider their home.

The program of visiting the reserve in our program is exclusive, since access to its territory is strictly prohibited due to being in the border zone and the presence of a wide variety of fauna and flora under protection. Together with the directorate of the reserve, you will visit a unique source feeding the lake - the Bitter River, the waters of which are painted from bright orange to purple shades due to the large number of iron oxides in the water. You will also see traces of erosion in the form of huge beams with cracked soil structure from the heat. If you are lucky, you can see saigas and nests of birds of prey. If desired, you can swim in the salt lake, having experienced the effect of "floating" as on the Dead Sea.

Day 4

Baskunchak - Elton

Meeting the dawn on Lake Baskunchak, a walk along the railway tracks running along the lake itself. Compositions transporting salt directly to water make a huge impression! Breakfast. Transfer by train to Lake Elton (travel time 1 hour 20 minutes). Placement in a sanatorium. Transfer to the lake. If the weather is clear, you will see the legendary Elton sunset! Sunsets on Elton are a brand of lake! The sky merges with the water surface and creates a single colorful canvas, in which you want to immerse yourself entirely. Dinner. Night at the sanatorium.

Day 5

Lake Elton

Breakfast. All this day you will spend on the lake, exploring its artifacts and sights, visit the mineral spring and hydrogen sulfide lakes, observe the fauna of this region and, of course, experience all the healing properties of therapeutic mud, which surpass the composition of the Dead Sea in their indicators. In the evening, traditionally spend the sunset, which is the highlight of any day spent on Elton. Dinner. Night at the sanatorium.

Day 6

Elton - Volgograd

Breakfast. Departure from the sanatorium. Transfer to Volgograd (travel time is approximately 5-6 hours). End of program.

1. Accommodation in comfortable, double rooms with meals in sanatoriums (Elton and Baskunchak) and hotel 3* (Volgograd)
2. Meals: 1 day without food; 2,3,4,5 days – breakfast, lunch, dinner; 6 day – breakfast
3. Transfer throughout the route; excursions in Volgograd
4. Guide services, entrance tickets to museums and reserve