The history of the blue lake in the CBD. The Blue Lake in Kabardino-Balkaria turned out to be deeper than thought
One of the most popular and beautiful places Kabardino-Balkaria can be considered Blue Lakes, which are located in the Chereksky district of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic. Group of blue lakes - a natural phenomenon, interesting not only for CBD, but also on a national scale. The lakes belong to the group of reservoirs of karst origin and are located among beautiful nature— mountain deciduous forests and flowering subalpine fields. Above and below the lakes are sheer cliffs, and at the very bottom, at the bottom of the canyon, Cherek Balkarsky carries its waters with noise and roar.
BLUE LAKES
The first stop is at the most popular of the reservoirs - Lower Blue Lake. It is located directly next to the highway and is of greatest tourist interest.
The lake is called Tserik-Kol or Cherek-Kol. For a long time The exact depth of the lake remained a mystery. Even Jacques Cousteau ⛵ could not reliably identify it. It is now known that the depth of the lake is 279 meters, although there are still crevices that lead lower, but the bathyscaphe could not squeeze through there, so the final depth of the Lower Blue Lake is not yet clear. This is the second deepest karst lake in the world, only Red Lake in Croatia is deeper (281 m). Karst is a hole in the rock, somewhat reminiscent of a well.
The color of the lake is variable. In clear weather it is gently blue, and in other weather conditions changes to azure. The water is crystal clear, transparent, the walls of the lake can be seen to a depth of 22 m. The water surface of the lake is calm, it seems to have frozen, frozen in its mysterious, enigmatic beauty.
The shore of the lake is a real Balkar bazaar. Here you can buy souvenirs, knitted items, jewelry, toys and other things that tourists like so much.
Time for inspection: 30 minutes
Cherekskaya Gorge
The bus climbs the serpentine road to the tunnel in the Cherekskaya Gorge. Walk through old road, carved into a steep rock, is the most exciting moment of the excursion. Here you can feel the enormity of the river's work. Behind the tunnel begins the path to the Zylgi fortress, clinging to a steep cliff, like bird home. A whole defensive system created in the Middle Ages begins with the rock fortress; The Balkarov Tower, the Amir Khan Tower, the Kurnayat fortress, the keshen in the villages of Kurnayat and Shkanti and many other monuments open to tourists the distant world of the past, closed in the Rocky Range.
Upper Balkaria
Upper Balkaria, near the Russia/Georgia border, about 60 km from Nalchik. The village of Upper Balkaria is a combination harsh beauty Cherek Gorge, mountain hospitality of the Balkars and the breath of antiquity, which is felt even before entering the village. But the most amazing sensations will wash over you when you find yourself at the confluence of two rivers - Cherek Balkarsky and Ishkirti. Tourist infrastructure the village is not developed. However, Upper Balkaria is an attractive destination for tourists. A number of attractions of the republic are located here: architectural and natural monuments.
Time for inspection: 1 hour.
Aushiger Hot Springs
On the way to the Blue Lakes you can stop by the Aushiger hot spring.
The site is located on the southwestern outskirts of the village of Aushiger, on the right bank of the Kheu River, on the territory of the Aushiger sanatorium, 25 km from the city of Nalchik. The natural and climatic conditions of this area belong to the foothills of the republic with a temperate continental climate.
The place is distinguished by the presence of unique sources of nitrogen-thermal low-mineralized hot water on the territory of the health and recreation complex.
When designing a health and recreation complex, the fundamental task was to attract the maximum number of vacationers, regardless of their standard of living. On this moment There is a fairly developed infrastructure on the basis of the Aushiger sanatorium, which includes a recreation, bathing and living area with a building for 100 people, a utility area with greenhouses and a juice bottling workshop, and a complex of engineering structures.
Arrival time: 40 min.
There is an additional fee for entrance to the springs: 100 rubles.
*Tour program and times are subject to change .
They have a number of unique features and unusual properties, and beautiful legends about their origin remain forever in the memory of those who are lucky enough to visit these places in person.
Each lake in Kabardino-Balkaria has a story to tell, since none of them is like the others.
Blue lakes of Kabardino-Balkaria
The most famous outside the republic are the Blue Lakes of Kabardino-Balkaria (clarification takes place, since this topographical term is very popular in the territory Russian Federation). This is a group of five beautiful karst reservoirs with incredible clean water, standing out among other lakes of Kabardino-Balkaria with a number of unique features.
Some distinctive features of these water formations still remain a mystery to researchers. For example, from which underground sources are they filling? And why do the Blue Lakes of Kabardino-Balkaria not freeze even in winter, maintaining a stable water temperature of 9°C?
There are five such lakes in total: two Upper, Lower, Secret and Sukhoe. They are located in the Cherek Gorge with varying degrees of accessibility, but you can visit them all if you wish. Find out about characteristic features A brief description of the Blue Lakes of Kabardino-Balkaria will help.
Another name for the Upper Blue Lakes of Kabardino-Balkaria is Western and Eastern. Also, due to the peculiarities of their structure, they were called interconnected: with the presence of a connecting dam, the waters of the Eastern Lake feed the Western Lake. Also Upper Lakes Kabardino-Balkaria, unlike others, is rich in fish.
The largest, most famous and mysterious, as well as the most deep lake in Kabardino-Balkaria - Nizhneye, also known as Tserik-Kel (called “rotten lake” due to the saturation of its waters with hydrogen sulfide). Despite repeated attempts by scientists to find out the depth of the Lower Blue Lake in Kabardino-Balkaria, this mystery is still not solved and there are only assumptions reaching up to 385 meters. Even the famous Jacques Yves Cousteau dived into the waters of Lake Tserik-Kel in Kabardino-Balkaria, but he also failed to find out the truth. This gave rise to calling Tserik-Kel a “bottomless lake” in Kabardino-Balkaria.
Secret lake has a telling name, as it is not easy to find and see. The lake is located in a karst sinkhole hidden by beeches, so only particularly attentive tourists will be able to admire its waters.
Finally, Dry Lake, which once almost completely “escaped” from the karst sinkhole that it used to fill. This happened due to seismic activity, not uncommon in the regions in which they are located mountain lakes Kabardino-Balkaria. This lake is considered the most inaccessible, since you cannot get close to it without climbing equipment.
Those wishing to visit the Blue Lakes of Kabardino-Balkaria will have an easy and short journey from Nalchik, as well as a well-established tourism sector right on the shores of spectacular reservoirs. In particular, the Blue Lake Hotel offers its services of national hospitality with the soul of Kabardino-Balkaria.
Shadhurey
Named after the nearest settlement, the Upper and Lower Shadhurei lakes of Kabardino-Balkaria are known as places of special energy and amazing beauty. original name has the meaning “round pool”, which is completely true: along with Tserek-Kel, Upper Shadhurei is the second deepest lake in Kabardino-Balkaria, the exact depth of which is also unknown, but in assumptions local residents it reaches more than three hundred meters.
Tambukan
The lakes of Kabardino-Balkaria are organically complemented by Tambukan - a real treasure trove aesthetic and health pleasure, characterized by impressive size and venerable age. The abundance of medicinal mud, actively used in local medicine, owes its origin to the vital activity of many microorganisms.
Bylym Lake
Lake Bylym in Kabardino-Balkaria differs from the vast majority in its artificial origin. Formed as a result of the construction of a dam, it served for some time as a storage facility for waste from the mining complex. To date, the enterprise has ceased its activities, but the waters of the lake are still full of harmful elements such as tungsten and molybdenum. However, this factor does not diminish the dizzying beauty of the reservoir, which attracts entire tourist groups to its shores.
The location of the lakes of Kabardino-Balkaria in places where there are practically no permanent settlements contributed to their preservation in their original form and made them a truly vivid experience in the life of every tourist. Certainly, these pristine bodies of water, full of unsolved mysteries, are worth admiring.
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I can’t help but show you the way to the Blue Lakes of the CBD. She is not just beautiful, but incredibly picturesque.
Blue Lakes are located 60 kilometers from Nalchik, the capital of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic. From Pyatigorsk to the Blue Lakes of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic is about 160 kilometers.
Unfortunately, we didn’t see Nalchik, as we were driving along the edge of the city.
But we saw the triumphal arch of Nalchik, erected for the 450th anniversary of the union of Russia and Kabarda.
Road to Blue Lakes in winter
Most tourists see this road in the summer. In warm weather, the Blue Lakes are a place of real pilgrimage for lovers of real beauty. North Caucasus. And in winter there are not so many people here.
The road to Blue Lakes is very beautiful
Chereksky district greets us with fluffy trees.
Winter in Kabardino-Balkaria gave us a snowy fairy tale
They open from the road beautiful views to the snowy mountains.
In Kashkhatau there is a large bowl on a pedestal.
Kashkhatau
In Balkar, Kashkhatau means “Bald Mountain” - this one really towers over the village.
Kashkhatau hydroelectric power station on the Cherek River
The village of Babugent is surrounded on three sides. Here the heights are up to 966 meters above sea level. There are wolves and bears in the surrounding forests.
Babugent
In Babugent, cows walk on the roads without any fear of cars.
But motorists are wary of driving around the horned ones.
At every turn I wanted to get out of the car and photograph all this beauty. But in the mountains in winter it gets dark early, and for us on this day big plans: lakes, Cherek Gorge and Upper Balkaria. Therefore, I took all the photographs of the road while driving from the car.
The gorge behind Babugent
Kabardino-Balkaria is beautiful in winter
The road leads to the very shore of the famous Lower Blue Lake.
How to get to the Blue Lakes of Kabardino-Balkaria. They are located in the Cherek Gorge. Drive by federal highway P217-Caucasus before settlement Urvan. There will be a right turn (if you drive from Nalchik). Then we drive along the P-217 highway. From the turn to the Blue Lakes there are 39 kilometers.
Our video with the road to the Blue Lakes of the CBD and pleasant music lasts just over two minutes.
After watching it, you will be able to appreciate how beautiful the winter route there is.
Did you like it?Road to the Blue Lakes of Kabardino-Balkaria in winter?
© Galina Shefer, “Roads of the World” website, 2016. Copying text and photos is prohibited. All rights reserved.
(function(w, d, n, s, t) ( w[n] = w[n] || ; w[n].push(function() ( Ya.Context.AdvManager.render(( blockId: "R-A -142249-2", renderTo: "yandex_rtb_R-A-142249-2", async: true )); )); t = d.getElementsByTagName("script"); s = d.createElement("script"); s .type = "text/javascript"; s.src = "//an.yandex.ru/system/context.js"; s.async = true; , this.document, "yandexContextAsyncCallbacks");On the day we visited the Chegem waterfalls, we also visited two interesting places. The Caucasus is full of secrets and wonders...
We are driving through Kabardino-Balkaria from the Chegem Gorge to Blue Lake.
There are five karst lakes in Kabardino-Balkaria, but we saw the largest and most beautiful - Blue Lake.
In appearance it is much smaller than Lake Ritsa in Abkhazia, however maximum depth it is 368 meters! It is the second deepest karst lake in the world.
The water of the lake is crystal clear, and you can see the bottom at a distance of more than 20m. The color of the water is variable. In clear weather it is pale blue, and in other weather conditions it changes to azure. The water surface of the lake is calm, it seems to have frozen, frozen in its mysterious, enigmatic beauty.
Cherek-Kol - translated from local means “rotten lake”, as there is a slightly faint smell of hydrogen sulfide. Despite the crystal purity of the water, there are no fish in the lake, but only the small crustacean Gammarus, and there is some algae.
It’s a pity, the foliage wasn’t very autumnal yet... it would have been more beautiful.
People do not swim in the lake; even in the hottest season, the water temperature in it does not rise above 10 degrees, and usually it is 9 degrees.
Not a single river flows into it; the lake is fed only by underground springs. However, the water slowly flows out of the lake, forming a small pond nearby, and from there it flows into the river Cherek.
Englishman Martin Robson ended up in intensive care after making a record dive of 209 meters in Blue Lake in the mountains of Kabardino-Balkaria. ITAR-TASS reports this with reference to the diving center on Blue Lake in the Chereksky district of Kabardino-Balkaria.
“The record-breaking dive to depth continued for about nine hours. Robson emerged safely from the depth, recording a mark of 209 m. However, in the evening and at night he became ill, he was hospitalized in the Republican Clinical Hospital in Nalchik,” said a representative of the diving center. http:// www.newsru.com/sport/20jan2012/diver.html
3January, a scuba diver died while diving into the lake Andrey Rodionov, who was part of the group of famous diver Martin Robson. A Russian diver became ill after diving to a depth of 60 meters. When the diver was taken to the hospital, he was no longer breathing.
And below the Blue Lake, 16 km along the road, on the banks of the Cherek River, into which water flows from the Blue Lake, there is the Kabardian village of Aushiger with a thermal iodine-bromine spring...
The village is famous for its hot springs, which flow from a depth of about 4,000 meters. The springs were discovered in the 1950s during an expedition to search for oil.
Sodium chloride water of low mineralization, weak alkaline reaction and high temperature- 50 degrees or more. Gas saturation mineral water allows us to classify it as nitrogen-carbon dioxide water, it can be drunk.
We arrived in the evening. A visit costs 100 rubles. We changed clothes in the changing room and went into the water!
There were already quite a lot of people in the large pool... We talked with one girl. She has been coming here for about the tenth time - apparently the problem is serious, but it didn’t help right away... She rents an apartment in the village and goes swimming every day. In total you need to take 10 baths, and the session lasts 15-20 minutes.
Done more or less, but without invention. This is not Hungary with its famous resorts, or at least Poland...
The pool is very shallow. At the bottom there were stones covered with something slippery, it was unpleasant, I swam more...
I wish we could make this pool in the form of a Jacuzzi bath, or at least some part of it. And so we ONLY have a large diameter pipe from which water flows. There are especially many people in this place, everyone is warming up.
But it’s impossible to get closer under the jets of water - local young horsemen stand in a semicircle and stare at the women... They have already taken root there, because I was in the water for 20 minutes, and they had no intention of coming out.
In the area around the pool there are shops selling souvenirs and selling mud, and there are also places to eat.
You can take baths in the indoor pool for several people, but the payment is different. You will also get a massage there.
A good place to improve your health. I would really like to have such a source in my Crimea...I would visit it.
