Cretaceous quarries near Volkovysk on the map. Belarusian Maldives: chalk quarries, recreation, photos and how to get there
Those who are sure that they are white sandy beaches, washed by blue waves, are found only in distant countries, you must see the chalk quarries near Volkovysk. No wonder this natural object received the name " Belarusian Maldives».
The total area of the quarries is 300 football fields. As the name implies, chalk is mined here, and over time, the exhausted quarries are filled with water. The remains of chalk rocks give it a bright turquoise color. Tree-covered cliffs and large flint fragments complete the unique landscape.
People come here to relax, barbecue and swim. There are many fishermen and even divers here. The silence and mild climate attract lovers of “wild” holidays.
Despite the proximity and beautiful views, it is prohibited to be in the quarries. There are several reasons for this:
- steep descents. Since the quarry is an industrial facility, the descent to the water is a high, almost vertical slope. Getting to the water is quite difficult and dangerous, comfortable descents and flat areas are few;
- industrial work. Active development is still underway at many sites;
- deep bottom and loose edges of embankments. Therefore, it is dangerous not only to swim here, but also to simply admire the beauty of nature too close to the shore.
The large number of accidents forces law enforcement agencies to conduct regular raids and fine violators. Also, many tourists are put off by the lack of infrastructure - even in abandoned quarries, where work is no longer carried out, there are no signs of improvement. There is enough space to pitch a tent, but there are no tables, booths, or trash cans.
Some exhausted quarries are undergoing a reclamation process. In some places the height of the banks is being reduced and menacing signs are being removed. However, a full-fledged project to transform waste quarries into tourist area still no.
Photo
Where are the chalk quarries?
Quarries can be found near the village of Krasnoselsky. You will have to get there by car; there is no public transport here. The reason for this is simple: despite the enormous popularity among tourists, the quarries are an industrial facility. Chalk is still mined in many of them. Therefore, at the entrance to those wishing to relax, warning signs greet them.
Virgin forests, crystal clean lakes and the rich fauna - all this is wonderful, which is the true heritage of the state. One of the most beautiful places in the country can be considered the Cretaceous lakes near Volkovysk, attracting more and more tourists who decide to reunite with wildlife. Nowadays, these places are popular not only among Belarusians, but also among other peoples, among whom Russians and Ukrainians especially stand out.
History of origin
The Belarusian miracle appeared as a result of chalk mining, the activity of which has been going on for over one century. OJSC Krasnoselskstroymaterialy produces mixtures, cement, lime, pipes and all kinds of parts. The extraction and further transportation of chalk here is carried out around the clock, but this will not in any way interfere with your relaxation, because already formed lakes located at some distance from the current deposits. Numerous visitors will confirm the splendor of nature and clean air prevailing in these places near such wonderful place, like the city of Volkovysk. There are also chalk lakes in the Minsk region, but we will talk about them a little later.
"Belarusian Maldives"
IN last years The chalk lakes near Volkovysk have become truly natural. Shrubs and trees gradually grow along the shores of these man-made reservoirs, and the water acquires a turquoise-emerald hue. Despite the fact that there are no roads leading to this place good roads, people are increasingly coming here to enjoy the clean air and water that so attract ecotourism lovers. It is worth noting that each of the lakes is unique: the waters of one have steep banks covered with young pine trees, while the other welcomes visitors with gentle slopes. It was the latter that became a favorite vacation spot for city residents. Of course, not all bodies of water are suitable for swimming, although this will not prevent you from finding a dozen pretty lakes, where the water surface is akin to heaven itself. These waters are also good for fishing lovers, because the lakes are rich in crucian carp, rudd, pike, roach, silver carp and other species of fish. However, the Chalk Lakes are completely untamed as they are considered a technical site, so don't expect to find developed beaches, bars or recreation centers there. Whatever it was, unique landscapes and the turquoise waters of the lakes constantly attract many travelers, as well as local residents who come out for barbecues.
Route
Chalk lakes (or rather, quarries) are located near the city of Volkovysk, Grodno region. From Minsk you will have to travel about 270 km, from Moscow - 1000 km. Let us clarify the fact that it will not be possible to drive close to the lakes (except perhaps in an SUV), and therefore you will have to walk 500-700 meters. Many tourists go there with tents and barbecues in order to have a great weekend away from the hustle and bustle of the city. See the driving map below.
Warning
Let’s finish the story about the Cretaceous lakes near Volkovysk with one significant “but”. The fact is that the above-mentioned enterprise OJSC Krasnoselskstroymaterialy does not recommend visiting reservoirs and swimming in them. This warning is explained by the non-compliance with sanitary rules and standards of lake waters, which were tested by the Volkovysk zonal center hygiene and epidemiology in 2013. According to his data, the number of TCB (total coliform bacteria) and TCB (thermotolerate bacteria) exceeds the norm by 60-100 times. Of course, this is a very big drawback, but it stops few people. Another important fact is that great depth lakes (over 10 m), which is why you need to be especially careful.
Chalk lakes near Soligorsk
A similar situation is observed near another city. This is Soligorsk. The chalk lakes here are also flooded chalk quarries, but mining is no longer carried out near these bodies of water. The nearest settlement is not Big city ok Urechye. Azure water, pine forests And Fresh air for grilling kebabs - what else do vacationers need? It is worth noting that there are much fewer reservoirs in this place - there are only 2 of them. Nevertheless, they are huge, and therefore there is enough space for all vacationers. as we succinctly mentioned above, they are compared to the Maldives. 90% of people are unlikely to be able to afford a trip to the latter, but why go to such measures if you can have a great time in your native lands? Don't forget to take your camera with you, because you will be provided with dozens of beautiful pictures.
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Not far from the town of Volokovysk there are Krasnoselsky chalk quarries. The place is very beautiful and is very popular among locals and visiting tourists. The Ozras are famous for their unusual turquoise water color, and they were formed on the site of chalk quarries.
Chalk lakes, or rather former chalk quarries in Belarus, are beautiful in their own way. The water is an amazing color, there is no mud, it’s absolutely great! They are located near the town of Volkovysk near the village of Krasnoselsky. Very popular for relaxation among local residents.
There is near Volokovysk Krasnoselsky chalk quarries, literally a kilometer from the stop public transport two most beautiful lakes with emerald colored water. Some call these places little Switzerland, for others they remind them of Transbaikalia, and for some, the mere mention of these places evokes fear.
Simply fantastic and completely uncharacteristic landscapes for the Belarusian plains. These bodies of water chalk lakes of Belarus formed in former quarries thanks to the nearby Construction Materials Plant. They say that an excavator was left at the bottom of one of the quarries - they did not have time to remove it, because water began to flow too quickly from the opened underground source.
This unusual color of the water is explained by the fact that artesian water filled the white chalk quarries, so the effect was like in a bathtub. Although, people say that there is copper sulfate in the water.
The water, according to environmentalists, is very clean, but they do not recommend swimming here due to its high acidity.
The so-called Cretaceous lakes, which are also called Turquoise lakes, are located in the Grodno region of the Republic of Belarus. They are located near the city of Volkovysk. These picturesque ponds were formed on the site of mined out chalk quarries.
Chalk lakes are known to few people, as they are not so easy to find. And they are located in the Republic of Belarus, Grodno region, Volkovysky district. Well, then at the entrance to the Novoslki village. I learned about this beautiful and exotic place from the Internet and reviews of chalk lakes.
Every year, the Belarusian Maldives - Krasnoselsky chalk lakes (more precisely, Krasnoselsky chalk quarries) are gaining more and more popularity.
People come to admire the exotic lakes that are located in the Grodno region outside the city of Volkovysk, before reaching the Novoslki village.
For those who like to travel by private car, the coordinates for the navigator are as follows:
In principle, you can get to the Krasnoselsky village (coordinates 53.266856, 24.42049), and then ask the local residents which lake is the most beautiful, because... There are a lot of flooded chalk quarries there (judging by the map).
It's not that hard to find chalk lakes! When you drive from Volkovysk to Slonim, you will see a sign along the road: Krasnoselsky. Turn there! And if you are afraid of getting lost, then ask anyone local resident. Everybody knows)
Chalk lakes are very beautiful clean place, where the lake bottom and shores consist of chalk. It is clean and very beautiful, in my opinion - an ideal place for relaxing, swimming and taking family photos together. Chalk lakes are also called chalk craters. In general, there are rumors that they want to close the chalk lakes, but so far no action has been taken, except for the appropriate signs prohibiting entry here and swimming in the territory. However, this does not bother vacationers.
By the way, many vacationers say that the temperature in the water at 18 degrees is quite warm, it feels 2-3 degrees more.
Krasnoselsky chalk quarries are located in the west of Belarus, in the Volkovysky district of the Grodno region.
You can get there from Minsk along the Brest highway, through Baranovichi - then right towards Slonim, Zelva, Volkovysk. Further - north to the settlement. Krasnoselsky. The quarries are located before reaching the village of Novoselki.
The distance from Minsk to the destination is approximately 260 kilometers. There are two options for how to get there – along the Brest-Moscow highway (the so-called “Olympic”), and along the Minsk-Grodno highway. We dismissed the second option immediately, because, firstly, there is a narrow road here almost all the time (two-lane), and secondly, we have driven along it a million times, and therefore this route did not arouse much interest in us.
As for the Olimpiyka, it is a highway, along the entire length of which oncoming traffic is separated by metal barriers. There are two lanes in each direction. And the maximum permitted speed for passenger cars is 120 km/h.
The road is in excellent condition and driving along it is a pleasure. The only thing is that practically along the entire route they do not meet settlements(but a highway is a highway, and it runs away from settlements).
Along this road we drove a little further Baranovichi (a fairly large city by the standards of the Republic of Belarus - one of the first largest after the capital and regional centers). After Baranovichi you need to turn right from Olimpiyka - towards Slonim (there is a sign there). And having gone around this city, go towards the settlement. Zelva and Volkovyska. A couple of kilometers short of Volkovysk, we turned into the village. Krasnoselsk. This is where these very quarries are located.
Chalkpit belong to OJSC Krasnoselskstroymaterialy, which produces cement and other building materials. Upon entering the city and approaching this plant, the following picture opened before us: MAZ and BELAZ trucks loaded with chalk were tirelessly scurrying along the road. At the same time, the road, roadsides and roadside buildings are covered with a thick layer of white dust. It feels as if everything here is covered with snow - winter in the middle of summer.
When approaching the quarries themselves, we found a lot of cars placed along the road, across the field, on various trains, in general, anywhere. Moreover, judging by the numbers, people come here from all regions of Belarus. There are a lot of cars with Russian license plates.
It’s worth saying right away that the quarries are the technological territory of Krasnoselskstroymaterialy OJSC. And work is still underway on some of them. Therefore, visiting these facilities by outsiders is prohibited (as indicated by the signs placed there). But you can’t easily cope with such a mass of people, so representatives are forced to turn a blind eye to tourists.
It is worth noting that everyone strives to drive a car directly to the shore of one of the quarries. The company’s employees are actively fighting this, regularly burying the “goat paths” made by machines. But they appear again and again (thanks to visitors in SUVs). So we managed to find such a path and drive straight up to one of the quarries (however, when leaving the road the car hung on its belly, but after accelerating a little, it finally pulled itself out).
To be honest, it is difficult to find a place to set up a camp near the quarries. Firstly, there are simply a huge number of cars here, which, like me, manage to make their way straight to the shore. Secondly, the banks are literally littered with litter. There is simply an incredible amount of garbage left by tourists who, after a vacation, cannot just stupidly throw it in their trunk and take it out, but throw it anywhere. This moment is very annoying - it is difficult to find a place where there are no heaps of garbage.
Having gone deeper into the forest, located between two large, unused quarries, we finally found a suitable place, set up a tent (since we were traveling overnight), and went to explore the nearby quarries.
Yes, indeed, what we saw in the pictures was not an optical illusion. The expanse of bright turquoise water and many people sunbathing on the shore and swimming in the quarries opened before us. It is worth noting that the depth here is considerable. The banks are steep. Once you move a couple of meters from the shore, you won’t be able to find the bottom, even if you dive with your hands. By the way, they say that in one of the quarries an excavator once sank (but not an ordinary one, but a large one - a mining one, which is used in workings). And if you're lucky, then good weather you can see its outline from the shore somewhere in the depths.
After spending the night in a tent, in the morning we went on a “tour” of all the quarries. We managed to get around 5. And each of them is unique in its own way. Somewhere the water is not turquoise, but green, somewhere there are very convenient beaches for swimming, etc. In general, there is something to see there.
Returning back to the road, we discovered that our “loophole” from yesterday had been filled with a bulldozer. But fortunately, not far from it, motorists crashed a new one. Shocked a little across the field, we finally got onto the road.
Total: 260 km from Minsk, about 3 hours of travel, if you don’t rush, and you find yourself in the local “paradise” - the “Belarusian Maldives”.
The key value of this article is the up-to-date map of the route to the chalk quarries with detailed explanations.
I hope it will be easier for you to get to your holiday destination.
I am writing a note that we ourselves missed during our trip to the Belarusian Maldives.
In articles about quarries from previous years, not all information is current. Following the route indicated in the articles, we constantly came across uncertainties and unpleasant surprises. In public pages about the chalk quarries near Volkovysk on VKontakte you can only find questions from those who want to visit the attraction for the first time, but there are almost no answers.
- The chalk quarries in Belarus are beautiful. The water is truly azure in color.
- Staying and swimming in the quarries is officially prohibited and a fine is possible. Tourists are not welcome there.
- From Minsk it takes 3 hours by car one way.
- There are a lot of ticks in the grass.
- There is not much to see in the city of Volkovysk.
How to get there
There are old and new quarries in the Krasnoselsky district. You need new ones :) 
The journey by car from Minsk to the quarries takes a little more than 3 hours.
Coordinates: 53.279295, 24.470577.
In Google Navigator, just enter the search query “Chalk quarries”.
Here detailed map with explanations of how to get to the quarries in the area of Krasnoselsky:
At the entrance to the village of Novoselki there will also be a sign “Traffic prohibited”, but after 700m. You can leave the car and walk this extra distance. 
Another option is to drive 700m and legally leave the car next to the indicated mark in the village of Karpovtsy. Keep in mind that you will have to drive through the village on a dirt road with potholes. 
How to get
You'll have to walk anyway)
Get ready to meet many danger signs along the way and form an attitude towards them for all participants in your trip in advance) 
The finishing section of the route is indicated in the upper right corner of the map. In the first half of this section the road has been dug up: 
It is extremely difficult to overcome this section by transport. Stock up on suitable shoes.
The second part of the finishing route is more pleasant: 
A few more steps along the path - and you are at your goal :) 
Fine
Fine amount: from 3 to 10 basic units. Now the basic price is 23 bel. ruble In total, the fine can be 230 BYN. rubles/7400 Russian rubles/130$.
Some sources contained information about police patrolling the quarry territory. But we haven’t seen any reviews from tourists who were fined.
Old chalk quarries
Old quarries are not so beautiful. The water in them is greener, almost the standard color of water in a regular pond. 
The shortest path from the new quarries to the old ones is blocked by another “No Traffic” sign, so you will have to take a detour through the village of Ross to get there.
Directions from new quarries to old ones:
Enjoy your travels!)
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