The blue lakes of Kazan are a place with healing power. Kazan. Blue Lake: to go or not to go

For those who come to Kazan the main sightseeing program is the Kremlin and the water park. But nobody canceled nature either. Moreover, 20 kilometers from the city there is such beauty as Blue Lakes. This is a whole system of reservoirs that do not freeze even in winter (the water has the same temperature all year round, about +6 degrees C). Two hundred years ago, the ground collapsed in these places and the voids were filled with water from underground river. The lake system consists of big lake and several small lakes. You can get here along the M7 highway, next to the village of Shcherbakovo you need to go under the bridge over the Kazanka (to the small lakes).

Blue lakes on the map.

The road down from the bridge is not good, so many people leave their cars on the M7 and continue on foot. But if you decide to go down, then a parking lot is provided further. You will not pass it, because there is no further road. Then on foot, to the farthest lake, go about a kilometer.

The road to the lakes after the bridge.

Stand with a story about blue lakes.

Here is the first lake.

And it has ducks.

Second lake.

Walking road to the last Small Lake.

Here you can always meet lovers of swimming in icy water. The water here is healing - it contains potassium-calcium sulfite-sulfate salts. At the bottom - silt salt mud of blue color. The lake is very transparent and clean, you can see all the smallest details of the bottom.

I know that on the Big Blue Lake divers often come to dive. But even here, on the small, we met lovers of diving.

Divers.

For lovers of swimming, the lake is equipped. There are dressing rooms, benches, footbridges.

Bridges for those wishing to swim.

Path along the lake.

Water from the lake flows into the Kazanka River as a waterfall. There is a bridge over the waterfall.

Bridge with a waterfall.

Bridge with a waterfall.

And here is Kazanka herself. Not clear or blue at all.

We did not get to the Big Blue Lake that day. You can drive up to it by car through the village of Shcherbakovo. They say that it is less known and therefore there are fewer people there. We will definitely go there, and then I will update the article with new photos.

It turns out that you don’t have to go far for a unique natural complex (although, who cares). Please - the Republic of Tatarstan, the outskirts of Kazan, Blue Lakes.

This is a group of three lakes: Big, Small and Protochnoe, which flow into the Kazanka. The lakes do not have their own tributaries. They are fed by springs gushing out of the ground, because of this, the water temperature is almost unchanged all year round at 3-5 ° C. Therefore, the lakes are not covered with ice in winter.

And all three lakes are united common name: Blue Lakes. Why are they called that? Because the bottom of the lakes is covered with greenish-blue silt mud.

Mud of the Blue Lakes of Kazan have a smell rotten eggs, probably, bacteria that produce hydrogen sulfide live in them. Even Karl Fuchs, when describing the Blue Lakes, noticed that these muds can be useful. Today they are widely used for recreational purposes.

In addition to mud, water is also used for medicinal purposes. The water is rich in mineral salts of potassium and calcium. Basically, it is CaSO4. Because of the salt content, the water tastes bitter. It is better not to drink it, otherwise you will earn kidney stones by old age, and if you drink often, you will not have to wait until old age.

The lakes are the oxbow lakes of Kazanka, plus, at a certain stage of formation, karst failures formed, the earth went under the water along with the trees. Until now, the remains of the trunks of these trees stick out from the bottom.

The water in the lake is visually unusually clear - you can see the bottom. The effect of refraction works wonders: it seems that you can literally reach the bottom with your hand, although the depth there is decent, this is due to the transparency of the water.

The blue lakes of Kazan and the adjacent territory have the status reserve. If my memory serves me, there was a question in the GIA, in order to answer it, it was necessary to know the differences between reserve And nature reserve. So here it is reserve differs from the reserve in that in the reserve EVERYTHING, absolutely EVERYTHING is under protection and it is impossible to “touch” it. IN reserve only some species, sites, groups are under protection.

There are no fish in the Blue Lakes of Kazan, the water is salty and cold, it does not allow. But once there was a pike. And the most interesting thing: the pike from the lake could not live in the river. And the pike from the river died in the lake. And hello again, grandfather and his theory of the origin of species. It is quite possible that when the lakes separated from the Kazanka, the fish adapted to the new environmental conditions: low temperature, salinity. And lost the ability to live in river water. This physiological isolation- it is quite possible that formed the new kind. Which, unfortunately, is dead. Most likely due to withdrawal. It is sad. Too late made a reserve.

But the Blue Lakes of Kazan did not remain lifeless. The lakes are inhabited by:

Outwardly, it really has some resemblance to a scorpion: a long tail, forelimbs resemble claws. Mimicry is characteristic of Nepa cinerea. His body is like a withered leaf. He lives and hunts in thickets, among which, thanks to such appearance, Nepa cinerea goes unnoticed. Compared to the milky-white planaria, the common water scorpion is a restored species, that is, it is no longer “rare” and does not die out, but is still under protection. Just like the milky white planaria, it is sensitive to water quality.

Another insect: butterfly mourning house. Of course, it lives not in the lakes themselves, but near them. The butterfly received this name because the color is dark, as if mourning. Like Nepa cinerea, it is considered a restored species. Listed in the Red Book of the Smolensk region.

golden bee-eater- a bright, beautiful bird. Has a wide habitat. The bird is migratory and spends the winter in Africa.

The golden bee-eater feeds on insects of the order Hymenoptera, such as bees, hence the second name of the bird, the beekeeper. For taste preferences, the golden bee-eater is unloved by beekeepers.

Greater Spotted Eagle- an endangered species of the hawk family.

Listed in the Red Book of the Russian Federation. This area is ideal for the Greater Spotted Eagle. He likes to live near water bodies, as he feeds on water voles and frogs, which are represented here in sufficient numbers. The big eagle builds nests in trees. Migratory view. Often uses the same nest more than once.

The Blue Lakes are a place of “pilgrimage” for “walruses”, not only in winter, but also in summer. The water temperature is the same all year round. The lakes also attract the attention of divers. This is perfect place for diving: good visibility, the ability to check the equipment under extreme conditions (yes, here they are quite extreme). And divers even have a tradition: each New Year they put a decorated Christmas tree on the bottom of the Big Blue Lake!

But swimming does not have a very favorable effect on the ecological state of the lakes. Silt rises from the bottom, the water becomes cloudy. Animals inhabiting the reservoir suffer from jumping into the water.

At the beginning of the article, I said that the Blue Lakes of Kazan are a unique natural complex. To summarize, what is the uniqueness of this place:

1) Constant water temperature all year round.

2) Transparency and composition of water. It is close in salt content to the sea.

3) Therapeutic silt mud.

4) The presence of rare animals.

And of course the fact that the place is unusually beautiful.

But the more popular this wonderful place becomes, the more it ceases to be wonderful.

People come to the lakes and litter. Friends, this is not good. Let's not pollute nature. Clean up after yourself, do not throw any nonsense into the water, do not destroy the ecosystem.

Despite all the measures of environmentalists, ordinary people and governments, the Blue Lakes of Kazan are experiencing negative human impacts. This is both pollution and direct harm to the inhabitants of the area. Now there are fewer and fewer such islands of pure, one might say virgin nature. This is a sad fact. After all, nature is what we live in, it is our environment, no matter how much a person separates from it. We depend on it, and we depend more than it might seem at first glance. And the duty of our generation is to preserve and restore nature, not to let it die like this. unique places like Blue Lakes. After all, there are plenty of them all over the country. Every year they lose their "naturalness" and uniqueness. Forests are cut down, swamps are drained. Of course, "after us at least a flood." But the "flood" will not be after us, but before - it is already beginning. And it is in our power to stop it, it is in our power to save nature.

Abkhazia is popular place rest in summer season. Apart from warm sea, the country offers tourists to visit its unique natural and historical attractions. An example of them are: Blue Lake, Lake Ritsa And Stalin's dacha. All of them are on the same route, so you can see them on a one day tour.

The area of ​​the Blue Lake in Abkhazia is 180 square meters. meters. The maximum depth reaches 76 meters.

Blue Lake is located in the region of Mountainous Abkhazia on the territory Ritsa Relic National Park. The lake is famous and named for its unusually bright color of the water. Scientists explain its rich color with layers of the lapis lazuli mineral located at the bottom and walls of the reservoir. The brightness of the color does not change depending on the season and weather conditions. Due to its relatively small width and great depth daylight does not penetrate the water column. People looking into it create a feeling of turbidity, although this is not so.

The coast is very steep. Swimming here is not worth it. Interestingly, fish do not breed in it. There are no algae and phytoplankton. Also, it is not bound by ice in the winter season. It doesn't get hot in summer. Tourists who come to admire the lake note its calmness of the water, even despite the turbulent streams from Mount Akhtsykh that feed the reservoir. nearest major river- Fuck. She and the lake are on opposite sides from the road.

Excursions to the Blue Lake in Abkhazia

Due to its proximity to Lake Ritsa, almost all tourist buses passing through Blue Lake. It is not large, so they make a short stop for photo shoots here. Also, on the way to it, groups usually stop by waterfalls, which are very numerous in Abkhazia. The tour is purchased both in the nearest cities - the resorts of Gagra and Pitsunda, and in Russian Sochi and Adler.

The cost starts from 750 rubles. There is an additional fee to enter the territory. national park- 350 rubles. On the site you can get acquainted with the options for excursions in Abkhazia from Sochi.

Infrastructure

The site for viewing the lake is quite small. Because of a large number tourists there is traffic jams of people and buses. Entrepreneurial Abkhazians installed a stuffed brown bear, with which you can take pictures. For the same purpose, live peacocks are brought here. On the shore of the lake there are rows of shops with food and souvenirs.

legends

Like many amazing sights of Abkhazia, the lake has many legends and tales. They love to tell locals and guides for all visiting tourists. Most often they are associated with karst origin and try to explain the nature of the color of its water. One of the legends tells about the goddess Dzidzlan, who patronized the waters of these places. She had an extraordinary appearance and loved handsome men. Usually Dzidzlan lured them to her, and then released them with gifts.

One shepherd found out about this, who was lazy and ugly. For his own selfish purposes, he began to seek a meeting with her. To do this, the shepherd descended from the mountains and went to bed in a clearing near the stream. Intrigued, the goddess went to see who was so vainly seeking her. Seeing the ugly face of the man, she got angry and threw him on the ground. collapsed in that place underground cave into which the pure mountain river. This is how Blue Lake was born.

An even more tragic story is connected with an old man who lived on the site of the current reservoir. It is said that he devoted his whole life to hunting. In his old age, the hunter decided to move away from the villagers and lead a solitary life in quiet cave. Despite this, many young hunters came to him for advice. In gratitude, they left the skins and meat of dead animals.

On one of the rainy days, the good old man sheltered two robbers who pretended to be ordinary travelers. Seeing his wealth and gifts, they dealt with him. For this, nature terribly got even with the robbers by flooding the cave. Since then, the body of the old man has been resting at the bottom of the lake, and his Blue eyes give the waters their famous color.

How to get there

Getting to the Blue Lake is not difficult. It is located on the road leading to Lake Ritsa. You need to stop at about the 13th kilometer. What is good to go far from the road is not required. The reservoir is located almost next to the freeway, on the left hand side. The place is very popular, so you can use the services of travel agencies or get there on your own in a rented car.

From Gagra

If you leave the city center, you can get there without traffic jams in 40 minutes, moving along the Sukhumi highway E-60 and then turning near the village of Bzypta onto SH11. The total distance is about 30 kilometers.

From Pitsunda

The distance from Pitsunda is a little more. You will need to move to the northeast to the E60 highway. The journey will take less than an hour.

From Sochi and Adler

If you travel from Russian southern cities, you will have to cross the border with Abkhazia. The transition may take Extra time. For such a trip, it is better to plan the whole day and leave early in the morning.

On Blue Lake we went as part of our road trip to Kazan. The route was planned in such a way as to see not only the city, but also the suburbs - Blue Lakes And island city of Sviyazhsk. The details of the route and the whole trip will be later, today I want to tell you whether it is worth spending time on a place that is popular for Kazan, but not quite known to people from other cities.

Blue Lake (12 km from Kazan along the M7 highway) is a real oasis of coolness and tranquility after the hustle and bustle.
When traveling to Kazan, plan your time to walk along the forest paths and see the lake. It is even possible to swim if you are not afraid of the water temperature of about 6°C.
Do not expect supernatural beauty, but relax for a few hours and have a great time in a quiet place, for which your lungs and nerves will say "thank you".

Unique cascade Blue lakes, and that is how scientists and biologists call it, it is called the Pearl of Tatarstan and is protected by the state.

The depth of the reservoir reaches 15 meters. This is the deepest lake in the system of karst lakes on the Kazanka River. The purest spring water enters the lake from underground, this is the reason for the absolute transparency and constant low temperature during the whole year.
Thanks to the crystal clear water, you can see the bottom of the lake and its inhabitants, listed in the Red Book.

In case of depletion of natural resources groundwater, these lakes will disappear on their own.
But until this happens (and it won’t happen in the next decades), you can safely come and admire the natural landmark of Kazan.

2.

3. Immediately after the bridge, along the highway, passing the village of Shcherbakovo, there is a small parking lot for cars. But we saw several parked cars at the entrance to the lake, in front of the barrier, although the exit from the bridge is prohibited.

4. To the first lake, you need to walk 500 meters along a forest path.

5. Don't be afraid, you don't have to go up the hill, such paths remain on the sidelines.

6. Stop at the first lake. Swimming bridge provided.

7. The adjacent water area to the lakes, and the river itself requires, if not major, then at least cosmetic repairs. Remove all the garbage, clear the water of silt and mud, and a place that is not very attractive for tourists will sparkle with new colors.

8. Someone's caring hands made white swans from old tires and launched them onto the "island".

10.

11. But our goal is not them. It is still 500 meters to the main Blue Lake.

12.

13. And now a soft laugh is heard, "splash": someone dived!

Despite the fact that the water in the lake is not more than 6-7 degrees, there are enough people who want to swim on a hot day. Children are especially seen in this fun activity.
By the way, I didn’t even want to wet my legs at all, but Petya gladly plunged victorious three times with an interval of 5 minutes for heating. And then I once again noticed that we have a winner and an athlete. You look, at such a pace, we’ll start walrus swimming)).

14. Cyclists come here and quite a lot of vacationers in specially equipped "barbecue" places.

15. There are changing cabins and wooden gazebos. True, it was not possible to see what they are for and what they are equipped with.

Conclusion: If you are by car and you have a couple of hours of free time - feel free to go to the lakes, you are unlikely to regret it. And for "walruses" generally ideal conditions.

See you somewhere else!