They explained to us that there is only one road to Lake Elton. And, seeing a car in the distance, we drove after it.
But unexpectedly we stumbled upon a protected area, and, as it turned out, we had to go a little in the other direction, to the "wild beach".
And this was, as the vigilant guard explained to us, the territory that belonged to the Elton sanatorium, and the most beautiful and comfortable spot for taking medical procedures.
But it’s just impossible for a simple tourist to get here. If only on foot and then with written permission from the management of the sanatorium.
From the place with the booth and the barrier, where the guard stopped us, we could see some strange structures... The kind security guard explained to us that these "pieces of wood" soaked in salt and petrified for centuries are nothing more than the remains of the baths of Catherine II.
Yes, our ancestors (starting with the ancient nomads) had long known about the miraculous power of Elton mud and skillfully used it for treatment.
And in the last century, the Russian nobility, including persons from the royal family, did not hesitate to come to the mud baths on Lake Elton.
After listening to an interesting story and following the advice of the guard, we went further. The dirt road, of course, was very bad: washed out by rain, with large puddles and steep slippery ascents and descents.
After driving a little more, frankly, in extreme conditions, we stopped: the car in front of us was firmly stuck.
We helped them and with the help of a rope pulled them to safe place... Driving further by car was unsafe and risky. We had already prepared to go further (about 2 kilometers left to the lake) to go on foot. Having changed into swimsuits and taking with us a supply of water, we were ready to move on.
But our driver, a real extreme, decided to risk it again. Taking a little to the left, we found a country road and drove further along it.
Finally we are on the lake ...
With the risk of getting stuck, we nevertheless safely reached the lake, on the shore of which there was a gazebo.
A kind of a kind of landmark for tourists and a place from which a walk along the shore of the lake begins.
The lake was amazing. The beauty is indescribable: the sun, clear water, some kind of unreal lunar or Martian landscape.
True, such an unusual sight was breathtaking and, no matter how pathetic it sounds, we were all overwhelmed with a sense of calmness, serenity and complete harmony with nature.
We found what we were looking for: a gentle sun, endless space and silence, a kind of harsh exoticism and beauty of these places.
And here it is, finally, a fantastic lake, merging on the horizon with blue skies and pink clouds. And around the boundless expanses of the steppe.
And the sky above the lake is amazing. The feeling of endless space is enhanced not only by the impeccable surface of the lake, but also by the reflection in the water mirror surface of the blue sky with amazing clouds.
And the clouds are really unusual here. As we approached the village, we noticed unusual clouds on the side where the lake was located. They were pink.
And there is an explanation for this: the smallest microorganisms are unicellular algae with nice name Dunaliella brackish, living in this most mineralized lake in the world, acquire a reddish hue during their flowering period, which makes the lake and the clouds above it unusually beautiful. Only these super-living microorganisms survive in this oily thick salt solution, where all living things instantly die.
By the way, these algae have antioxidant properties and are used in the production of cosmetics and biological supplements.
The bottom of the lake consists of salt deposits and a layer of mineral hydrogen sulfide mud, which makes mud and salty oily water (brine) saturated with a high content of bromine, magnesium and other micro- and macroelements unusually healing and useful.
The lake is not dead, although, at first glance, it seems that there is no life in this huge reservoir. Its surface even when strong wind, remains perfectly smooth and shiny.
We wander along the endless surface of the lake, the surface of which is more like a huge oval mirror, and the smooth and slippery bottom in many places is a real ice rink.
The photograph from space clearly shows that it is almost round, its area is 152 square kilometers, its dimensions are 17.8 x 14 km and it is located 16.2 meters below sea level.
The lake has a life of its own and is constantly changing throughout the year.
In spring, when it is filled with the waters of underground salt springs and rivers flowing into it, it takes on a blue hue.
These rivers (and there are only 7 of them) bring bitter-salty water to the lake all year round. In the spring and during the rainy season, the lake becomes relatively deep. At this time, the percentage of water mineralization due to fresh water drops significantly.
In summer, the hot sun evaporates the water, the lake acquires a pink hue, and its depth reaches only a few centimeters.
The water reached us, approximately, to the ankle. But that was the beginning of June, and before that there were heavy rains.
In areas where the water is completely evaporated, the lake is covered with a salt crust, which sparkles in the sun and creates bizarre figures - "Elton corals" from the stalks of grass covered with salt, accidentally falling into it.
A little more history ...
According to one version, the lake is called Elton, because the Tatars and Mongols called it "Altyn-Nor" ("gold mine").
This version is supported by the fact that by sunset the color of the lake does change from pink to gold.
According to local residents and lucky ones who have already seen this, the sunsets over Lake Elton are fabulously beautiful.
To our great regret, we were not able to fully implement our excursion program for a reason, which I will tell you about later. And we could not see this beauty with our own eyes.
So, back to the origin of the name of the lake. There are other versions that have the right to exist. Well, God bless them, let scientists argue about it.
More important for us is something else, that it is amazing lake is, and it continues to delight us with its extraordinary beauty and useful properties, as well as hundreds of years ago, it fed and treated the population living in these places.
Back in the 18th century, Lake Elton was used for salt mining and trade. And much later, at the beginning of the 20th century, after the cessation of salt mining, this lake is beginning to be considered as a resort and medical sanatorium.
The short excursion into history is over. We return to the lake again.
In the next part of the report, you will find out how we got smeared and how we risked staying on the lake for a long time :)
To be continued…
Lake Elton has been known since ancient times, even then people were well aware of its medicinal properties and regularly used the services of a natural "doctor" in order to improve their health. At the beginning of the 20th century, a sanatorium was founded here. It is a huge salt lake, comparable only to the Israeli Dead Sea, surrounded by the natural landscapes of the deserted steppe. Silt mud, brine and mineral drinking springs are valuable medicinal resources.
Where is Lake Elton
This is the eastern part, located almost on the border with Kazakhstan, in the Volga steppes. The depth of the lake is very shallow, in summer it is no more than 7 cm, in spring it can reach up to several meters. The area is 152 sq. m. A large circle of mirrored surface, to which you need to walk a few meters on a dried salty crust. The required level of the lake is supported by 7 rivers. At the bottom there are saline springs. The lake is located 18 meters below sea level.
It is not very suitable for bathing, since it is filled not with water, but with brine - an oily liquid, bitter-salty in taste. It is oversaturated with a solution of sodium chloride, as well as macro- and microelements. Lake Elton is adorned with another attraction - Ulagan Mountain, which is a constantly growing salt dome.
Another one interesting feature the reservoir lies in the fact that the lake is not dead, algae live in the water, which give it a pink tint.
Climatic features of the region
If you are going to relax on Lake Elton or get medical treatment in a sanatorium, be sure to take sunscreen creams and oils with you. The sun is hot here, almost instantly burns both the face and others open areas body. The wind almost never stops, so sunglasses are useful. They will solve two problems at once: they will protect from the bright sun and the dust carried by the wind. The temperature difference during the day and night is very noticeable, therefore, when going on a long excursion, stock up on warm clothes, it will come in handy if you return in the evening.
The heat is hard to bear here, therefore, when leaving the hotel room, take a hat and a supply of drinking water with you. If you suffer from heart disease, then travel in spring or autumn when the weather is milder.
Today the resort is open 12 months a year, average temperature the air here in the winter months is -11 degrees.
For lovers of new experiences
Natural beauties here are specific, you need to get used to them, especially for a Russian person who loves the sound of the wind in the treetops and the singing of birds. Here you will not find either one or the other. As already mentioned, the neighborhood is a bare steppe, in which a pinkish lake is located. It is not recommended to drive close in a car because of the salty mud, in which the wheels skid, and a large amount of salt spoils metal and rubber. On a sunny day, the eyes are dazzling as from snow, and only in the evening, when the sunset paints Lake Elton in magical tints of red, you can appreciate the beauty of these places.
This is the real kingdom of salt. She frames the lake in the form of a wide variety of crystals. They resemble either flakes of snow or fancy snowflakes: with sharp needles, oval, cubic. It makes sense to walk around with a camera and look for a more interesting shot. The salt gets stuck in the hair, is felt by the entire surface of the skin, settles on the lips ... The wind carries its smallest particles constantly, which makes it seem that it is here that the air can be tasted.
Health Tourism
For this there is a sanatorium on Lake Elton. It is located 6 km from the lake, so tourists receive all the procedures in the local mud baths. Thrill seekers can take a hike to receive the gifts of nature in natural environment on your own, or take advantage of the daily tour. Twice a day, a bus leaves for the lake, which takes out those wishing to take a "wild bath". The advantages of such a trip are that it is here that it works for you. heat, and even the special air of these places. Then, covered with a salt crust, you have to go back to take a shower.
For comparison, fresh mud from the lake is also brought to the sanatorium twice a day. It is applied to the body, after which the patient is wrapped in plastic and covered with a blanket. The procedure lasts 15-20 minutes, then you can go to the shower (without a washcloth and soap). Further, in accordance with the instructions of the doctor, a sweating procedure is performed: the patient is wrapped in several blankets and given hot tea to drink.
Not only the mud, but the "water" of the lake itself is also curative. The brine is recommended for the treatment of many diseases, and the best effect can be achieved by alternating brine and mud baths. It's your choice - to use the services of a sanatorium or the opportunity to plunge into the lake itself.
What is the reason for the therapeutic effect
Lake Elton is very popular among Russians. much closer to Israel, and treatment can be obtained even more effective, since the salt content is 1.5 times higher than their concentration in water Dead sea... Healing mud irritates the receptors of the skin and blood vessels. Organic nitrogenous substances penetrate the skin into the bloodstream and affect the functioning of internal organs.
Mud is a natural source of vitamins, enzymes, hormone-like and other biologically active substances. The mud procedure as a whole affects the entire body, the nervous and endocrine systems.
Magic mud and brine
Every year, hundreds of people are treated at Lake Elton. The procedures bring significant relief, and subsequent therapy will give even more tangible results. Therefore, for chronic diseases, people practice annual treatment at a local sanatorium.
High-salt silt, sulphide, bromine mud is a homogeneous, oily mass, somewhat reminiscent of solid oil. It is also not easy to wash, it smells like hydrogen sulfide. A crust of dirt on the body retains heat well, which is a catalyst for starting recovery processes. Salt Lake Elton is famous for the chemical composition of the mud. It contains magnesium and sodium chloride, bromine, iodine, magnesium and calcium sulfate, calcium silicate, magnesium, aluminum. There is also sulphurous iron, silicic acids, organic substances.
It is because of this amount of impurities that the Elton salt lake is no longer used for the extraction of table salt. Thanks to this, it has retained its original appearance and today it can be a place of healing for many people.
Rapa is an even more amazing substance. When you get to the lake, the salt crust begins to break under your feet and you sink into the mud. Having enjoyed these sensations to the fullest, you can go further. Here the crust already fully supports the weight of a person, and it is covered with an oily liquid in which undissolved salt crystals float. In the hot season, it is completely difficult to immerse yourself in brine, the depth barely reaches 10 cm, but the concentration of salts is such that it begins to corrode the skin. More balanced brine baths will be offered to you in the sanatorium.
They include calcium chloride and magnesium, magnesium sulphide, calcium carbonate and sulphate, organic matter, bromine and boron. During the brine baths, tiny salt crystals settle on the skin, which continue their therapeutic effect after the end of the procedure.
Benefits for your health
Rest on Lake Elton will be useful to everyone, without exception. Eastern this mysterious body of water is most suitable for swimming and enjoying the views. Treatment is prescribed according to medical indications, but it has a beneficial effect on the entire body. Metabolic processes are activated, hematopoiesis is normalized, immunity is increased, the nervous system is strengthened, the condition of the skin improves, efficiency increases, blood pressure normalizes.
Elton mud is similar to the one that comes from the Dead Sea, and brine is 1.5 times higher than its water in terms of the concentration of nutrients. Many people note a pronounced bactericidal effect. Lake Elton mud is used in the form of general and local applications. They are used to treat diseases of the joints, bones and muscles, the central and peripheral nervous system, the gastrointestinal tract, and ENT organs. Diseases of the genitourinary system (both female and male) respond well to mud treatment. In addition, Lake Elton is a real panacea for patients suffering from chronic skin diseases.
Contraindications to mud therapy
Despite the wide range of indications and the undeniable benefits of the wealth of Elton, consult your doctor before going to the lake. If you go to the official website of the sanatorium, you can read rave reviews. Lake Elton easily conquers the hearts of people, but still there are contraindications to treatment that must be taken into account:
- Pregnancy.
- Any diseases in the acute stage.
- Venereal diseases.
- All blood diseases in acute form.
- Tuberculosis.
- Severe forms of hypertension.
- Any bleeding.
- Mental illness.
- Drug addiction and alcoholism.
If you should not use mud and brine baths today, then this does not mean at all that you cannot visit Elton. The lake offers treatment in the form of the purest air, the famous mineral drinking spring, as well as nature itself - calm, unhurried, pacifying.
Road to Elton
You can get to Volgograd by train, car, or by plane. Options for every taste and budget. In the city, you can change to a bicycle or continue your journey by car. It is easy to get lost in the endless steppes, so it is better to stick to the already known route. One of these is the path from Volgograd through the villages of Volzhsky and Leninsk, but a bad steppe road leads to the lake. The second route is longer, it goes through Volzhsky, Nikolaevsk, Pallasovka, but almost the entire route is an asphalt road. Feel free to go on a trip to Lake Elton! Anyone will tell you how to get there. local even if you go astray.
Excursions in the natural park
One of the most popular services is bike rental, which can be used to tour the area. There is something to see here. The excursion usually starts from the lake itself. After hearing stories of miraculous healings, tourists head to Ulagan Mountain. This dome is unique not only in that it consists of salt, but its height fully corresponds to the basin of the lake. But that's not all! Here rocks come to the surface, the history of which begins with the Jurassic period, often with preserved samples of flora and fauna. Fossils of ancient molluscs can be found here on the surface, without excavation. This mountain is also interesting for its stunning views of the entire reserve.
If you are interested in geology, then you can visit Grand canyon, which is located next to the Ulagan mountain. But usually excursion tour runs around the lake. An interesting monument culture is the abandoned village of salt miners, Old Elton, which is located on west bank... Here you will be told about the hard work of the villagers, who were supposed to get and load precious goods, protect themselves from the raids of nomads and deliver the salt unharmed through difficult area steppe. An outpost was created here, which served as a fortress protecting people.
From here, the path runs north, along the bed of the Khara River. The place is enchanting, with a completely extraordinary landscape. Even the plants here are unusual, adapted to the salty soil and mineral water. Perhaps that is why there are so many rare species of trees and herbs that are not found anywhere else. Surprisingly, a huge number of various species of ducks gather on this salty river, even gray cranes fly here.
An obligatory attribute of the excursion is a visit to the Devil's Bridge. It is no longer there, it existed during the days of active salt production on the lake, almost 400 years ago. Now only the ruins of a stone dam have been preserved here. Further, the route runs along the river Khara to Botanicheskaya gully. It will be interesting for connoisseurs and lovers of botany, but for the uninitiated tourist it is just bushes and herbs. About 400 species of plants grow here. Among them you can find trees - apple and buckthorn; shrubs - blackthorn, rosehip, blackberry. Interesting rare species located on the slopes. These are tulips and irises, almonds, asparagus, valerian, tansy, tarragon.
If you are lucky, you can take photos of the insects listed in the Red Book. This is a long-legged kravchik, a motley askalaf.
A walk under the hot sun makes itself felt, and tourists move towards the long-awaited Smorogdinsky mineral spring. The composition of the water resembles the waters of the famous springs in Kislovodsk, although the taste may not be pleasant from habit.
Here, cultural lovers can leave their bicycles and take a trip to the ethnographic museum. It is unique in that it was created and maintained by one person, a history teacher. These are four buildings located side by side. The first tells about Russian life. This is a hut, tidied up according to all the traditional canons. A Kazakh yurt is located nearby, demonstrating the life of a nomadic people. The second yurt is where a real dastarkhan with beshbarmak, baursaks and delicious tea is served on your order. The fourth house is a salt production museum.
The excursion is led by the creator of the museum, a historian who knows and loves his land. He will tell you everything you want to know about Lake Elton. is the real passion of this passionate person.
Visiting Eltonsky natural park can become a real adventure full of new impressions, and a budget one family vacation... Healing baths will improve health and normalize the nervous system. This place is ideal for spending time pleasantly and profitably.
Coordinates: N49 7.674 E46 47.256. By car, you can get there both along the asphalt road and directly along the steppe. In addition, trains stop at Elton station, and there is public transport.
Lake Elton is one of the most interesting natural sites in the Volgograd region. This is a real miracle of nature, the pearl of the Volga steppe - the largest salt lake in Europe, stretching among the flat steppe terrain on an area of 152 sq. km. Among the deserted Trans-Volga steppe - a huge bowl of Lake Elton with water of a golden-pink hue is bordered by a wide strip of snow-white salt crystals sparkling in the sun. It is difficult to find a place that could compare with Elton in beauty and variety of landscapes: shallow lake waters, beaches, salt marshes, picturesque deltas of flowing rivers, gullies, ravines, valleys.
The name of Lake Elton comes from the Kazakh "Altyn-Nur", which means " Golden lake"Because of the purple-red color of its water (brine), casting gold, which happens temporarily, usually in the afternoon, when the sun is leaning towards the west.
Several fresh springs and rivers with bitter-salt water flow into Lake Elton. The hot sun evaporates the water, leaving a salty sediment - brine. In addition to table salt, brine contains other bitter salts. Lake Elton appears to be the largest and richest of all salt lakes known in the world. The thickness of the salt layer has not yet been precisely determined. Research carried out during the construction of the Astrakhan railroad, it was found that the depth of salt occurrence becomes more and more with distance from the coast to the middle of Lake Elton, where it, in any case, reaches several tens of fathoms.
Along the coast lies a deep layer of salty mud, which has high healing properties. At the bottom of Elton there are deposits of salts and hydrogen sulfide mud, which are used to treat the nervous and musculoskeletal systems. The healing resources are: silt mineral mud of Lake Elton, brine, mineral waters of a very rare chloride-sodium-magnesium type, which have a rejuvenating effect, stimulate blood circulation, accelerate skin renewal, improve metabolism and strengthen the nervous system. Silt mineral mud and brine of Lake Elton are not inferior in their medicinal properties to the mud of the Dead Sea. Even the ancient nomads knew about medicinal properties Elton mud. The traditional treatment of that time looked like this: a depression was dug in the coastal layers of soil, where the patient was placed, whose body was covered with mud. An hour later, he was washed in the brine of Lake Elton. Several such procedures, and the ailments receded. The fame of the miraculous lake was spread all over the world by the carriers of salt from the local mines.
At a distance of 3 km from the sanatorium there is mineral spring, the water of which is chemical composition similar to the well-known "Essentuki-17" and Smirnovskaya (Caucasian Mineral Waters). Heals on Elton not only dirt, brine, mineral water... Nature itself heals - calm, unhurried, pacifying.
Elton mud contains impurities of iodine, iron salts, hydrogen sulfide, hydrocarbon, carbon dioxide and amine bases. Elton mud is thicker than Odessa mud and therefore more convenient for export; it is suitable for preparing mud baths and poultices immediately without preliminary processing, as is necessary with Franzensbad, Lipetsk and others. Elton mud retains its external properties and healing properties for more than a year. The spectacular and extremely fast cure of the sick led doctors to the conviction that the Elton mud is, apparently, the most effective of all. Climatic conditions here are very favorable for treatment. The air above Lake Elton is remarkably clean, it is unusually easy to breathe and one can feel a special vigor and burst of energy. Fallout in the morning and evening did not happen here, which is important for patients prone to colds. In the past, rest and treatment on Elton was considered very prestigious and expensive. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the construction of the Astrakhan line of the Ryazan-Ural railway passed through this area, and a mud bath was created on Lake Elton. Representatives of the Russian aristocracy and persons of the royal family came here, in the desert, to strengthen their health. The famous doctor, the founder of Russian gynecology Snegirev wrote about the steppe resort: "I have never seen such brilliant results from treatment with healing springs as in Elton either in Russia, or in the Caucasus, or abroad." The unique combination of natural healing factors brings healing from many diseases. Now Elton is successfully treating diseases of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue, musculoskeletal system, skin, nervous system, respiratory system, genitourinary system, digestive system, the consequences of injuries, metabolic disorders.
They tell such a story that there was a museum of "Abandoned Crutches" at the sanatorium. People came on crutches and after a month or two returned home, leaving the crutches in the sanatorium. After some time, there were so many of them that it was decided to get rid of the museum. One of the residents of the village of Elton made a fence for his house-garden out of the free crutches.
Lake Elton is located on the territory of the Eltonsky Natural Park, which is also capable of surprising tourists with its interesting corners and sights.
Guide: how to get to Elton
Despite the huge tourism potential, Elton has one definite drawback - remoteness from large settlements. And, if the residents of Kamyshin and Saratov are a little lucky, then Volgograd residents often have to make a big detour to get to Elton. All routes end at the eastern coast of Elton, this is due to the fact that there is the most equipped place, the rest of the banks are either overgrown with reeds, or do not have access by car. In addition, it is from the east coast that you can watch colorful sunsets. We will tell you about all possible ways to get to Elton.
How to get to Elton from Volgograd and Volzhsky
1. If you have a car and lack orienteering skills, then it is best to choose an asphalt road to Elton, but in this case, be prepared that you will have to make a serious detour. One of the paths (which, by the way, walks route taxi Volgograd-Elton) lies through Volzhsky, Bykovo, Nikolaevsk (soon after Nikolaevsk we turn right N50 04.839 E45 34.786), Pallasovka (turn right again N50 01.767 E46 51.371), Kaisatskoye, Vishnevka, Vengelovka and the village of Elton. You can shorten the road a little by cutting off the corner at Pallasovka along the dirt road at the irrigation canal (N49 58.970 E46 30.221 - N49 52.064 E46 45.637).
2. To the delight of tourists, in 2010 the construction of a new road was completed, which made it possible to shorten the path to Elton by almost 100 km. To get to Elton along this road, you need to turn off not at Nikolaevsk, but earlier - at Bykovo (N49 45.701 E45 25.041). Passing Krasnye Zori, Krasnoselets, Sadovoe, Gormaki, Prudentov and Zolotari, you can go to Kaisatskoe (N49 44.226 E46 50.002), where you will again continue along route 1. On this moment this road is the optimal travel time to Elton.
3. If you are the owner of an SUV and a navigator, and your soul asks for extreme and impressions, but you can take the risk and go through the steppe. One of the possible routes is through the salt lake Bulukhta. In this case, you need to turn off even earlier Bykovo (N49 25.838 E45 10.704) and drive along the asphalt to Katrichev (N49 23.081 E45 32.931). Then you should move east. Please note that you have to move about 100 km along the steppe roads with salt marshes and without signs of any human life. When traveling in the spring, this is added to the possible encounters of huge fields, flooded with water. In the event of a malfunction or any incident, you will have to rely solely on your own strengths, so try to go as prepared as possible.
It is best to go around Bulukhta (N49 21.765 E46 03.955) from the north, although neither we nor our track claim to be absolutely objective - in the steppe there are a lot of roads leading in all directions. On the way, you may cross two ponds - Finogenov (N49 24.568 E46 19.864) and Hudushny (N49 19.692 E46 37.210), at the first of which you can plan a stop. Once on the asphalt (N49 20.546 E46 44.913), continue along route 1.
4. Another way through the steppe lies along the shortest route from Volgograd to Elton. To get to Elton in this way, moving along the Volzhsky-Astrakhan highway, turn to the northeast immediately after Leninsk (N48 43.069 E45 13.717). Having arrived on the asphalt to Stepnoye (passing the Dawn), we turn to the steppe to the east (N48 55.174 E45 35.618) and move towards Zhitkur (N48 57.101 E46 15.823). At Otgonny, a grader of quite decent quality starts (N48 59.954 E46 31.777), along which you can get to Elton from the south and go through the village of Elton to the eastern coast.
If you return this road from Elton, try not to deviate too south, because there is a military training ground, closed on the south side (i.e., you will most likely not be able to drive directly from Zhitkur to Kapustin Yar).
How to get to Elton via Kamyshin
5. If you are planning your trip to Elton through Kamyshin, then for you the most in a convenient way to get to Elton you will take a ferry across the Volga (N50 05.825 E45 23.382). The ferry runs every 3 hours, the cost of a passenger car crossing is 200-300 rubles. However, you should not rely on the ferry - it often breaks down and then you will have to make a detour to Volgograd or Saratov in order to move to the other side of the Volga.
In a successful case, the ferry will drop you off a little north of Nikolaevsk (N50 04.851 E45 30.110), so after entering the highway and turning left (N50 03.914 E45 33.326), immediately turn right (N50 04.839 E45 34.786) and continue along route 1.
How to get to Elton from Saratov
6. Residents of Saratov are the luckiest of all - they can easily get to Elton along a short asphalt road. The road lies through Engels - then south to Rovnoe - Tsikovo - Lugovskoe - Nov. Kvasnikovka - Upper Eruslan - Kano - Kharkivka - Gmelinka - Pallasovka - Khudushny - Kamyshovka - Kaisatskoe - settlement. Komsomolsky - pos. Vishnevka - pos. Vengelovka - Elton. Unfortunately, we do not have a track with this path, so we would gladly accept it as a gift.
How to get to Elton by train
A railway line goes through the village of Elton in the direction of Astrakhan. There are direct trains from Volgograd here only in summer, but residents of Astrakhan, Saratov, St. Petersburg, Moscow and other cities have the opportunity to safely and comfortably reach Lake Elton on one of the many trains passing through the Elton station.
This unique lake is legendary. But you will be surprised - Lake Elton exists and is located in Russia in the Volgograd region. This is the largest salt lake in Europe, its dimensions are 18 by 14 kilometers. This salt surface was formed 40-50 thousand years ago on the site of the so-called Khvalynsky (Aral-Caspian) Sea. The immediate salt lake basin was formed as a result of gravitational tectonic fracture processes crust, thanks to which the sea water deposited a huge amount of mineral salts in this lake. On Elton, the feeling that you are on another planet does not leave you, and this is really so, everything is unusual here.
The lake is a huge basin, the bottom of which is covered with a continuous dense layer of salt constantly falling out of the solution - this layer is called "novosadok". Due to external physical factors, layers of new sediments alternate with layers of mud that encircle the entire lake in a wide strip. There are powerful salt deposits under the novosad layer. And the immediate uppermost liquid layer of the salt lake is called "brine" - a highly concentrated salt solution. But Elton is not only brine, but also healing mud, the properties of which are simply unique. Elton muds by their composition belong to high-salt silt sulphide muds and are a homogeneous mass of rather dense consistency, retaining heat for a long time, with the smell of hydrogen sulphide. Elton mud is the only one in the world in terms of composition and medicinal properties similar to the mud of the Dead Sea, but EXCEEDING in the content of sulphides and organic substances, environmental friendliness and, accordingly, efficiency. The effect of taking this mud is impressive.
Unlike the Dead Sea, Lake Elton is alive, a number of microscopically small creatures live in it, they include rotifers, brachyonuses and monostila, there are also lower crustaceans Volterstorphy, diaptomus and brine shrimp. But Elton's main wealth is, of course, brine. The total salinity of brine ranges from 260 g / dm³ to 800 g / dm³, which is 2 times higher than in the famous Dead Sea in Israel. Lake Elton surpasses most lakes in the world in its healing salt and mud properties.
Lake Elton stores inexhaustible reserves of mineral salts, brine (dense lake water saturated with salts). Unfortunately, the reserves of natural healing mud are depleted. Since ancient times, people have used the natural resources of the salt lake, and so at the beginning of the 20th century a mud-hospital was built on the peninsula, where, along with mud and brine, they also used the air saturated with the vapor of the lake with the smell of the steppe.
1.
Elton is the most romantic place for sunrises and sunsets. Here sunrise and sunset are constantly different and this is due to external climatic factors - with the weather and winds. 
2.
You can walk barefoot on the lake for hours. Due to the wind and rains, the lake is constantly changing and the brine slides along the salt pit, changing the shape and location of the brine 
3.
Prieltonnye belongs to the Caspian drainless water area, characterized by poor development river system... Nutrition aquatic environment carried out in these places mainly due to underground rivers. 
4.
The lake is huge and you can walk on it endlessly. Some travel to Elton in search of mud or brine, whose healing properties are quite high. In general, Elton attracts travelers and romantics. 
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Salt mineralization on Elton is 2 times higher than the famous Dead Sea 
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Oh yeah. It's really romantic here 
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There is nothing more romantic than meeting the sunset on Elton and wandering around the lake 
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Lake Elton is not only brine and salt, but also mud therapy 
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The old mud baths of the lake. Now it is inactive. But everyone can pick up dirt 
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By the way, a scientific fact. When conducting a comparative analysis of the content of biologically active substances in the samples of medicinal mud from Lake Elton and the Dead Sea, it was found that the content of lipids, vitamins, ascorbic acid, triglycerol, thiamine B1, tocophoropa E1, retinol A in the peloids of Lake Elton is 2-3 times higher than in the Dead Sea. Like this. 
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There was a pier for taking mud baths at this place. Only protruding wooden piles, which sometimes float with salt, have lagged behind the pier. 
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Elton mud 
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It is with such a bucket that dirt is collected, which has a dense composition. The bucket is lowered into the mud and Elton's mud is collected with the help of a cable. 
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Elton mud contains - sodium, potassium. calcium, chlorine, sulfate, iron sulfide, bromine, magnesium, silicic acids and 13 metals, including beryllium, selenium, cadmium, zinc, cobalt, copper, chromium. With such carts they come to the lake to collect miraculous saving mud. 
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People from all over Russia and other countries come to Elton for mud therapy 
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In the warm brine of the lake, you can wash off the dirt 
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Unlike the Dead Sea, Lake Elton is alive. Living salt lake - just think about it? A number of microscopically small creatures live in it. The process of mud formation on Elton is a very complex process, in which a number of living organisms take part. Animals and plant organisms of Elton, after death, deliver abundant material for the processes of decay. Due to the high salt content, a significant amount of various bacteria and proteins is released from rotting organic residues. So some of the products of these microelements are able to decompose protein substances with the formation of hydrogen sulfide and ammonia, others decompose fats, and still others destroy carbohydrates. As a result, all the constituent parts of the body of any organism turn into a mass, which, together with clay, forms Elton's mud. Elton surpasses most of the world's lakes in its healing salt and mud properties. 
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The old pier of the hospital. Now it has long ceased to work and people come here to collect dirt and admire the lake. 
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In Elton one can come across such small brine deposits. The water is warm and you can take a bath here. 
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The depth of the lake is rather shallow and it is impossible to drown in it. 
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The sunsets on the lake are long and always different 
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The main thing is to have time to get to the edge of the lake with the arrival of dusk. 
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Until the very night on Elton, people take therapeutic mud baths 
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You can change here 
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You can wash off dirt in any way. The most effective and only way on the lake is in the photo. 
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White salt and brine turn to mud. Essentially, a mineral mud bath is obtained. 
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Long sunset 
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Here in the last century a narrow-gauge railway of 4 carriages operated at this place, which carried patients to the lake. And this is a few kilometers from the station and the Sanatorium. The train ran from 6 am to 6 pm. Then the railway was dismantled and pulled apart. The road was in a terrible state. But now they have laid slabs here and more or less ennobled the passage. In the future - Sanatorium Elton-2 can build a road for all patients and restore the destroyed communication. 
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Sunsets and sunrises on Elton are always different. As long as I was here, not a single sunrise was the same. The thing is that the brine of Lake Elton is constantly changing and depends on external natural factors - from wind, rain, steppe storm. Today there is mud and water, and tomorrow in the same place there is mineral salt brine. The day on Elton is different. 
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And of course, it was beyond my strength not to test the new full-frame Pentaks K1 II camera. In this post and in the following, you will often see a test of the camera and lenses of this photo of happiness for every traveler and photographer. Cameras from this company are distinguished by their flawless performance on high levels ISO without noise and all sorts of problems. 
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Lake Elton is a whole natural complex rivers flowing into the salt lake. 7 small rivers - streams flow into Elton. Khara, Lantsug, Bolshaya Smorogda, Malaya Smorogda, Quarantine, Solyanka, Chernavka. The largest of them - Khara has a length of about 40 km, Bolshaya Smorogda - 21 km, Lantsug - 13.5 km. All of them cover an area of about 200 sq. km. At the mouths of all these rivers, there are huge deposits of healing mud. 
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Many animals live in the vicinity of Lake Elton. It is truly unique nature reserve... The climate here is hot and dry, which contributes to the recovery from severe ailments. The number of hours of sunshine per year here is about 2,200, which is slightly less than South Bank Crimea, where the sun shines 2200 - 2400 hours per year. 
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A road leads to Lake Elton through a railway crossing and Elton station. View of the lake from the railway crossing 
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The lakes can be seen from everywhere. The trains passing by salute Elton and the history of the railway, which is directly connected with this place, where during the Great Patriotic War the place Elton was marked by historical events. By the way, Lake Elton gained popularity thanks to the construction of the Astrakhan railway line RYAZANO - URAL railway, which brought Elton closer to Russia. On July 4, 1910, Dr. P.A. Mozhaiskin, the head of the medical service of the Ryazan-Ural Railway, was sent a report on the survey of the salt pad of the lake coast and adjacent rivers, and a proposal - on the construction of a new mud baths, treatment schemes and cost estimates ... So Elton became popular in narrow circles as a medical resort of the railway. 
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There is locality, which bears the name Elton, like the railway station, where travel trains stop for only 2 minutes. 
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Elton is a rural-type settlement in the Pallasovsky district of the Volgograd region, administrative center Elton rural settlement. The population of the village is 2723 people 
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Vintage water tower village Elton 
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Heroes who died and were buried during the Second World War in the local village of Elton 
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In Elton, on the territory of the old sanatorium, a new Sanatorium ELTON-2 was built. Thanks to the Health Committee of the Volgograd Region, a special decree of 03.09.2015 No. 512-p. According to the above resolution, between the Volgograd Oblast Health Committee and the Elton-2 Sanatorium LLC, a 3- and 4-star resort with treatment and medical courses was formed. In the next report, I will tell you in detail what serious diseases are treated in this Sanatorium, which has no analogues in Russia, not only in terms of medical indicators, but also in terms of natural properties. unique lake Elton 
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There is a roadway to the lake and any traffic is prohibited here. 
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This is the road leading to Lake Elton. in 1910, a narrow-gauge railway operated at this place, which carried patients directly to the lake. If it were possible thanks to investors - it would be possible from railway station to start up a narrow-gauge diesel railway to this lake for all visitors to Lake Elton. In the meantime, getting to the lake itself is not a cheap pleasure, because renting minibuses here will cost you 500 rubles for several hours. Some go on foot, and this is a lot of kilometers along the open sun of the hot and dry Volgograd climate 
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In the morning, Elton is filled with birds and their cackle and swearing is all over the lake 
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Sunrises on Elton is a separate beautiful story which I will share with you shortly 
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And don't forget. Salt Lake Elton is alive, it contains trace elements and animal world unlike the Dead Sea. And that's all in Russia 
The name of the lake comes from the Kazakh "Altyn-Nur", which means "Golden Lake" because of the purple-red color of its water (brine), casting gold, which happens temporarily, usually in the afternoon, when the sun tilts to the west.
Several fresh springs and rivers with bitter salt water flow into the lake. The hot sun evaporates the water, leaving a salty sediment - brine. In addition to table salt, brine contains other bitter salts. Lake Elton appears to be the largest and richest of all salt lakes known in the world. The thickness of the salt layer has not yet been precisely determined. The studies carried out during the construction of the Astrakhan railway found that the depth of salt occurrence becomes more and more with distance from the coast to the middle of the lake, where it, in any case, reaches several tens of fathoms.
Along the coast lies a deep layer of salty mud, which has high healing properties. At the bottom of Elton there are deposits of salts and hydrogen sulfide mud, which are used to treat the nervous and musculoskeletal systems. The healing resources are: silt mineral mud of Lake Elton, brine, mineral waters of a very rare chloride-sodium-magnesium type, which have a rejuvenating effect, stimulate blood circulation, accelerate skin renewal, improve metabolism and strengthen the nervous system. Silt mineral mud and brine of Lake Elton are not inferior in their medicinal properties to the mud of the Dead Sea. Even the ancient nomads knew about the healing properties of the Elton mud. The traditional treatment of that time looked like this: a depression was dug in the coastal layers of soil, where the patient was placed, whose body was covered with mud. An hour later, he was washed in the brine of the lake. Several such procedures, and the ailments receded. The fame of the miraculous lake was spread all over the world by the carriers of salt from the local mines.
At a distance of 3 km from the sanatorium there is a mineral spring, the chemical composition of which is similar to the well-known "Essentuki-17" and Smirnovskaya (Caucasian Mineral Waters). It is not only mud, brine, mineral water that heals here. Nature itself heals - calm, unhurried, pacifying.
Elton mud contains impurities of iodine, iron salts, hydrogen sulfide, hydrocarbon, carbon dioxide and amine bases. Elton mud is thicker than Odessa mud and therefore more convenient for export; it is suitable for preparing mud baths and poultices immediately without preliminary processing, as is necessary with Franzensbad, Lipetsk and others. Elton mud retains its external properties and healing properties for more than a year. The spectacular and extremely fast cure of the sick led doctors to the conviction that the Elton mud is, apparently, the most effective of all. The climatic conditions here are very favorable for treatment. The air above the lake is remarkably clean, it is unusually easy to breathe and one can feel a special vigor and burst of energy. Fallout in the morning and evening did not happen here, which is important for patients prone to colds. In the past, rest and treatment on Elton was considered very prestigious and expensive. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the construction of the Astrakhan line of the Ryazan-Ural railway passed through this area, and a mud bath was created on the lake. Representatives of the Russian aristocracy and persons of the royal family came here, in the desert, to strengthen their health. The famous doctor, the founder of Russian gynecology Snegirev wrote about the steppe resort: "I have never seen such brilliant results from treatment with healing springs as in Elton either in Russia, or in the Caucasus, or abroad." The unique combination of natural healing factors brings healing from many diseases. Now here they successfully treat diseases of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue, the musculoskeletal system, skin, nervous system, respiratory system, genitourinary system, digestive organs, the consequences of injuries, metabolic disorders.
They tell such a story that there was a museum of "Abandoned Crutches" at the sanatorium. People came on crutches and after a month or two returned home, leaving the crutches in the sanatorium. After some time, there were so many of them that it was decided to get rid of the museum. One of the inhabitants of the village made a fence for his house-garden out of the freed-up crutches.
In the vicinity is Mount Ulagan with a rare form of relief - a salt dome corresponding to the basin of Lake Elton. Translated from the Turkic, its name sounds like "a mountain with gentle slopes". Typical of these formations are outcrops of rocks of different ages, starting from the Jurassic period, with fossil flora and fauna. The Elton region has preserved an almost pristine appearance of virgin feather-grass and chamomile steppes and semi-desert, meadows on estuaries and in depressions, herb and reed bogs in river floodplains and on the coast.
Mount Ulagan is a growing salt dome, which grows by several millimeters every year. Walking along the mountain and practically without making any excavations, you can find fossils of various ancient mollusks, for example, ammonites, named after the ancient Egyptian god Amun, and gryphon shells, so named for their resemblance to the beaks of vultures. Moreover, archaeologists find them far beyond the Elton steppes. And vultures, by the way, were used by the nomads instead of spoons. From the top of Ulagan opens extraordinary beauty view of Lake Elton.
But this is not the end of the amazing sights near Elton. On the other side of the road from Ulagan Mountain is the Grand Canyon.
