Tulip Festival in Kalmykia opening. Kalmykia: April flowering of steppe tulips and other joys - Cheaptrip - Carpe Diem - Carpe Viam — LiveJournal. Where to stay in Elista

Hello, my little lovers of regional studies. I want to start today's post with the phrase that the dedicated person ended his post with: in the 2015 tourist attraction rating, Kalmykia ranks 82nd out of 86 regions of Russia.

1. This is the best tulip I found at the 2016 festival.

Kalmykia had a great chance to improve this situation for the better, thanks to the tulip festival. Having visited it last year, I, like many other people, strongly recommended it as one of the brightest and I would even say, to some extent, unique events in the south of the country. At the festival, one could see the most beautiful fields of tulips, get acquainted with Kalmyk culture, taste national Kalmyk dishes and shish kebab traditional for the whole country.

2. Judging by the regions that I saw on cars and buses, people came to the festival from all over the country, both from the nearest regions: Stavropol, Rostov and Astrakhan regions and the Krasnodar Territory, and from rather remote regions - Moscow, St. Petersburg, Ryazan and Tver region.

With great enthusiasm, I was looking forward to the festival this year, as you can see from my posts. And of course he set off on the road on the very first day of the festival. Already on the way, we suspected something was wrong. If in 2015 on the way we met separate islands of tulips, then this time we did not notice a single tulip along the way ...

3. Traditional Kalmyk music was performed at the festival

And imagine the moment that we and thousands of festival guests experienced when you come to the Tulip Festival, and you see tulips only on magnets and other souvenirs, instead of beautiful tulip fields. As it turned out, the organizers misjudged the weather and the tulips bloomed a week before the festival, and on the day the festival began, only the most inquisitive guests managed to find something like what I have in the title photo.

Do you understand? Didn't guess with the weather. And the tulip festival ended up without them. Maybe this is, of course, a very tricky move, so that everyone who wants to look at the tulips will come when they fade and no one would tear them...

4. Also, anyone could practice archery for a small fee, under the guidance of an instructor.

The most epic moment was when a guy came up to us with "environmental patrol" written on his uniform, and gave us a reminder that tulips should not be plucked, as well as why not and what will happen if we do pluck them. To which we asked, where can I find tulips to use the memo? To which he could not answer us.

5. Also, the people were entertained by wrestlers, apparently of the Kalmyk national wrestling, reminiscent of sumo.

That is, in the end we have a tulip festival without tulips. It's like... I don't know, a film festival without movies, a rock festival without songs, or a wine festival without wine. Calling this event a tulip festival is a little strange. It would be more correct to call it an ethnographic festival of Kalmyk culture. Another question is how expedient is it for people to go to the field to such a festival?

6. There were bulls and rams in the corrals, but I took a picture of only one bull :)

And a much more interesting question, but will people who come to such a festival want to come there again? And won't they dissuade their acquaintances from going to the festival? Indeed, in our time, in this situation, it is much more logical to look on the Internet when tulips begin to bloom this year and go just to look at them, rather than wait for a festival that does not promise the presence of tulips.

7. Armor near souvenir shops.

Yes, there were various recreational activities and archery, and Kalmyks in national costumes, and the performance of various ensembles, souvenirs, traditional cuisine, kites and acquaintance with Kalmykia, but without tulips it’s not the same.

8. One of the entertainments was kite flying.

In general, with such an organization, Kalmykia is unlikely to grow in the ranking of the tourist attractiveness of the regions.

The festival will be held with the support of the Deputy Head of the Government of the Republic of Kalmykia and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Kalmykia!

17.30 Presentation of the concert program of the Priyutnensky district
Performances by famous artists of the Republic of Kalmykia

Lecture by the Tourism Development Fund of Kalmykia (instruction) on the respect for nature and the fragile ecological balance (before going to the site)
Selective testing
12.00 Ethnographic program "Meeting the guests" - The best folklore and ethnographic ensembles of Kalmykia
Acquaintance with the elite of the Republic of Kalmykia. Photoshoot.
Defile in national stylized costumes of the School of Beauty and Grace of the Republic of Kalmykia
Presentation of the concert program of Gorodovikovskiy district
Search and photo hunt for witches picking tulips
Presentation of the concert program of the Iki-Burul region
Switching to the sports ground. Arm wrestling competition. Competitions in archery and lasso throwing.
17.00 Concert program of the masters of art of the Kalmyk State Philharmonic!
Presentation of the concert program of the Yashkul district of the Republic of Kalmykia
Concert program of Elista rock bands
Evening lecture on respect for nature and the role of tourism

Return to Elista or to the tourist farm
Master class for Russian tourists
Visit to a Buddhist monastery (by arrangement)
Dinner in a restaurant with the elite of the Republic of Kalmykia: daily by arrangement.

Tulip Festival in Russia

The decision to visit Kalmykia during the flowering of tulips was made a long time ago. However, it was only this year that the Party's decision was put into practice. We approached the issue seriously: we found the site of the tulip festival, began to monitor the weather for a month and make plans for when the tulips would bloom, searched the net for any mention of the first tulips that seemed to people ... As a result, our efforts were crowned with success! Found a message that the tulips "went".
The tulip festival itself is held every year at different times, tied to the flowering period. This time we found each other: the opening of the festival was held from 18 to 20 April. And our team just managed to carve out this particular weekend for a trip to the Kalmyk steppe. Moreover, the weather was favorable: sunny, almost calm, warm. What doubts can there be? This time we will definitely meet with tulips!
The plan was born a week before departure. Go to Elista through Priyutnoye and, before reaching Elista, stop for the night in the Manych area. The minus of this idea was indicated 2 days before departure - tulips, it turns out, bloom a little northwest of the place from where we decided to start our journey.
The decision to change direction came by itself. We move to Proletarsk, and from it along the entire Manych (Proletarian reservoir) we go to the place where tulips bloom. At the same time, we will pass the entire north of the reservoir, leaving no “white holes” on our journey.
No sooner said than done! Travelers were divided into 3 parts. The first is a reconnaissance group that could leave from lunch on Friday. Their task was to get to the place of the first night and prepare the camp. The second part is “workaholics” who cannot leave earlier than “after work”. They must drive up to the prepared camp, reunite with the "scouts" and taste all the delights of meeting with co-expeditioners 450 km from home and from work. The third group is "latecomers" who could not leave on Friday as decent travelers. The task of this group is to catch up with the first two as quickly as possible, which on Saturday morning remove the camp and move along the Manych and stare at the tulips.
Omitting the details of the asphalt run, let's fast forward to the Saturday of the "neighborhood lunch", when the "catch-ups" (this is my crew) tried to reunite with the main group. The phone and walkie-talkie did their job - we met on the picturesque shore, where we settled down for lunch. Before that, just a few kilometers away, we met the first field of tulips.

Our path lay at the Tulip Festival. Along the way along the reservoir, we thought to see more fields with tulips. There were not so many of them (fields). Tulips grew in clusters. They will choose some slope for themselves and settle there, without moving at all to another slope or the other side of the road.
And so, we arrived at the festival! The tents of visitors are scattered over a vast territory, the tents of the organizers and participants of the festival are located more compactly. There is also a stage with Kalmyk and Kuban groups performing mixed, archery, camel riding, some local souvenirs and crafts ... And the same faces are all around! Although later it turned out that we (Europeans) are also the same person for them.

The kids rode on camels:

It was possible to shoot from a bow, quite beautifully made:

Having walked around the territory of the festival, it was decided to move towards Elista and look for a place to spend the night. Having left the festival quite a bit, Misha Novice with some sixth sense I smelled a place for spending the night and went there. From the road where we stood, nothing foreshadowed a convenient parking lot. But he stubbornly drove there. Yaroslav and I decided to go to another place to see what was there. Vadim-VTs remained between us as a link for communication by radio.
Finding a place to spend the night in the steppe is a special quest. In principle, the whole area is the same. At first glance, it seems that all places will be the same. However, in reality it turned out not to be so. The steppe is different. A small mound or hollow radically changes the area both in terms of vegetation and microclimate.
In our direction there was a small alley of trees (a rarity in the steppe) occupied by crows! Lots of tree nests and lots of crows around. This must have been an elite area for birds - they could nest in the trees! Moreover, small birds did not fly there - the area was tightly “held” by local crow boys. It's not the right place to spend the night. Misha rejoices that he has a great place and he will not go anywhere from here. Let's go to him.
Another part of our column in the amount of 3 cars decided to go to the nearest settlement for refueling and buy food. Their nearest point turned out to be in Elista! From that moment on, we "lost" them ...
Arriving at Misha's, they found a quite decent place, a flat area, fenced off from the road by a small mound, the almost complete absence of wind and a beautiful view of the lake.
There was no doubt - we will spend the night here! With coordinated movements we set up a tent, tables, something is already being cut and prepared for food, we set up tents ... An hour later we were already sitting at the table and slurping a camping soup! Great!!!
Traditional for our team evening gatherings were fun. Misha was awarded the honorary title of "pointing finger" and "Deputy Pilot for finding places to spend the night." The steppe brought us a pleasant smell of wormwood with some sweet aftertaste, the night poured billions of stars into the sky! Moreover, in an unusual arrangement for us, the constellations were somewhat shifted relative to Krasnodar. But the difference is only 300 kilometers in a straight line.

The next day was devoted to Elista. We got there at almost eleven. By lunchtime we were at a gas station in Elista.
Elista turned out to be a completely understandable and logical city for driving a car. The central street, signs everywhere... And all the sights of interest to us were located just on the main street, which traditionally bore the name of Lenin. And what is interesting: Lenin is not infringed on his rights there. It stands on the central square in front of the administration, the main street is named after him, a large school is also named after Lenin ...

So, we are going to the Temple of the Golden Buddha. On the way we stopped at the central square, took pictures on the chessboard (the pieces were removed - apparently, it's not the season to play chess).

Vova Barmaley managed to get acquainted with women here too ...

Misha Novice traditionally "hung" on the phone, and Vova, after he was told that it was not a woman, but a man, was somewhat upset. I am also concerned about something. Apparently hungry:

The temple impressed us greatly. Big, beautiful, entrance without shoes, women must wear skirts. You can't take pictures in the temple, so no photos (someone managed to take the only spy photo).

Caught monks drawing a mandala with colored sand. They painted with copper tubes-funnels: sand is poured into the wide entrance, and poured from the narrow one onto the mandala. Moreover, they do not just pour, but create vibration by moving the second tube along the first one, in which there is sand and which has a ribbed surface. The job is long enough. Upon completion, the mandala is destroyed. This symbolizes that everything in the world is fleeting and you should not pay much attention to the outer shell. The essence of things is in the inner content. In general, it is a whole ritual. Moreover, it was possible to photograph the monks:

We walked around the perimeter of the temple, turned the drums and drove towards the house. But without tasting the local cuisine (Misha highly recommended khinkal), we, of course, could not leave. We stopped at the Altyn Gerl restaurant of local cuisine, which I noticed while moving towards the temple. We saw local names on the menu - what you need! We eat here!

We ordered dishes with strange names, which, after tasting, were given Russian names: Khursn Makhn (navy-style pasta, only with lamb), Mahan Sheltekhn (boiled pieces of lamb with fried potatoes. But there were no potatoes - they put pieces of rolled dough, such as in a bisch- barmake), Berg (this is generally lamb dumplings), Jomba (Kalmyk tea with spices, salt and milk) and Bortsg (donuts in their pure form! Only they are not sprinkled with powdered sugar). The latter were taken as bread, but turned out to be sweet. So were eaten with tea while we waited for the main courses.

And we were waiting for it! It took 40 minutes to prepare. And we are so hungry that there is nowhere to sleep! Particularly impatient ordered salads in order to somehow intercept, and Yaroslav and his family acted wisely in general - they ordered manti and Caesar salad and ate already 20 minutes after ordering! What is it: experience or just luck? Instead of the promised 40 minutes, we waited a little over an hour. Probably, they went to the pasture for lamb -))) During this time, they drank tea, ate donuts, salads ... And of course, they had fun and gasped in anticipation of food every time the door of the office opened. But every time in vain: either they bring napkins, or wrestlers, or someone ordered some water ... But when the main dishes were finally brought out, we fell into a slump! They were huge!!! It seems that the menu indicated 200-250 grams, but in fact full plates were obtained! And such a dish costs 220-250 rubles!!! They ate from the belly, someone didn’t even finish it ... But I stuffed everything into myself that seemed to never fit in me. The task was to be full for 6 hours on the way back. To non-stop -)))
Barmaley began to hug our waiters and almost adopt them! The older one understood the topic and faded away in time, while the younger one remained. He got it all. Vova hugged him so that he became even smaller in size, but his eyes became quite European! Toli from the pressure of hugs, or from surprise ... Vova promised to return more than once, took a business card, promised to recommend the restaurant to all his friends and acquaintances ... The waiter widened his eyes more and more ... Apparently he imagined friends like Vova coming in a large crowd , hugging him and taking pictures with him ... In general, they liked us!
We did not film the squeezing process itself - we did not have time to pull out the cameras. But here is the result:

Satisfied and full, they poured out into the courtyard of the restaurant, settled in cars and went home. There was nothing remarkable about this part of our journey. Is that the border of the Stavropol and Krasnodar Territories was very clearly felt: how they entered Europe. The wheels stopped slapping on the asphalt patches, it became quieter in the cabin, the car stopped chatting ... Beauty!!!
Like in a children's song:
On the road with clouds, on the road with clouds
Love it when we come back!

Thanks to all the participants of the trip for a great trip! Looks like we got it right again!

For two years in a row we were going to admire tulips in the steppe. In 2014, we did not succeed in this - we went late - in May, and did not reach the place where tulips bloom in large numbers.

In the early spring of 2015, I started preparing for the trip. Digging on the Internet in search of the date of the tulip festival and asking relatives and friends from the village of Divnoye about when is the best time to come and stare at the flowering steppe.

And now we are already rushing along the highway towards Divnoy. We stop in the Ipatovsky district to look at the Kalaus River. You can see it well in this place. From the fact that the earth in these places is clayey, Kalaus was painted in a dirty yellow color.

We go to the gas station. Lots of tour buses. All have one destination - the island of tulips in the steppe. We turn off the road and get on the steppe road. At the exit from the paved road, we are met by Cossacks and policemen. We drive on and two pretty girls sell us tickets. Tickets to the steppe!

We are afraid to go. Cows have blocked the road and look menacingly. “Take to the right,” says the navigator. Very handy. “Now they will pierce your radiator with a horn, and you will be left here alone in the endless steppe!” my father encourages me. I press the signal and slightly slip - the whole herd, and the small calves in the first place, scatters to the sides.

Let's go further. Now to the right, then to the left, Lake Manych spreads. Landscapes are mesmerizing. Finally, cars and wagons are visible. We are in place.

The whole steppe is really in colorful tulips. But tulips are not the same as we are used to seeing in our own flower beds, but much smaller.

We arrived very early. Preparations for the festival have just begun. Gradually, tables are set up, a fire is kindled, barbecue and traditional dishes are prepared, retail outlets are set up, and a stage is set.

The people stay. Car after car. And now the parking lot is full. Cars begin to park almost on tulips.

Many people walk along the flowering steppe and, of course, take pictures. Volunteers approach people and remind them that it is forbidden to pick tulips.

In wagons they demonstrate the way of life of the Kalmyk people, talk about Kalmykia, people take pictures with artists dressed in national costumes.

Strong winds are a bit of an inconvenience. Having walked a lot in the steppe, we are watching the opening of the holiday.

We take a few more photos of the flowering steppe and set off on our way back. We make a stop at the border with Kalmykia and the Stavropol Territory to take a look at the sky surfers skiing on the Manych.

A few more hours of the road and we are home ...

Some more photos of the festival.