Lake Elton, Volgograd region: rest and healing with mud

Lake Elton has been known since ancient times, already then people were well aware of its medicinal properties and regularly used the services of a natural "doctor" in order to improve health. At the beginning of the 20th century, a sanatorium was founded here. This huge salt lake, comparable only to the Israeli Dead Sea, surrounded by natural landscapes deserted steppe. Silt mud, brine and mineral drinking springs are valuable medicinal resources.

Where is the Elton Lake

This is the eastern part of the Volgograd region, located almost on the border with Kazakhstan, in the Volga steppes. The depth of the lake is very small, in summer - no more than 7 cm, in spring it can reach several meters. The area is 152 square meters. M. A large circle of mirror-like surface, to which several meters you need to walk along a dried salt crust. The required level of the lake supports 7 rivers. At the bottom are the outcrops of salt springs. The lake is located 18 meters below sea level.

It is not suitable for bathing, as it is filled not with water, but with brine - an oily liquid, bitter-salty taste. It is supersaturated with a solution of table salt, as well as macro- and microelements. Lake Elton is decorated with another attraction - Mount Ulagan, which is an ever-growing salt dome.

Another interesting feature of the reservoir is that the lake is not dead, algae live in the water, which gives it a pink tinge.

Climatic features of the region

If you are going to rest on the Elton lake or to be treated at a sanatorium, be sure to take cream and suntan oil. The sun here is burning, almost immediately burns both the face and other open areas of the body. The wind almost does not stop, so a useful thing will be dark glasses. They will solve at once two problems: they will protect themselves from the bright sun and wind-borne dust. The temperature difference in the daytime and at night is very noticeable, therefore, when preparing for a long excursion, be stocked with warm clothing, it will come in handy if you return in the evening.

The heat here is hard to tolerate, therefore, when leaving the hotel room, take a headdress and a supply of drinking water. If you suffer from heart disease, then choose for a trip spring or autumn, when the weather is softer.

Today the resort works 12 months a year, the average air temperature here in the winter months is -11 degrees.

For lovers of new experiences

Natural beauty here are specific, you need to get used to them, especially a Russian person who likes the sound of wind in the tops of the trees 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 the pinkish lake is located. It is not recommended to drive close by car because of the salt mud in which wheels roll, and a large amount of salt spoils the metal and rubber. The sunny day blinds the eyes of the snow, and only in the evening, when the sunset stains the lake Elton in the magical overflows of red, you can appreciate the beauty of these places.

This is the real realm of salt. It frames the lake in the form of a variety of crystals. They resemble flakes of snow, then bizarre snowflakes: with sharp needles, oval, cubic. Here it makes sense to be like a camera and look for a frame more interesting. Salt gets stuck in the hair, feels all over the surface of the skin, settles on the lips ... The wind blows the smallest particles constantly, which makes it seem that it is here that the air can taste.

Tourism to improve health

For this, there is a sanatorium on Lake Elton. It is located 6 km from the lake, so all procedures tourists receive at the local mud baths. Fans of thrill can take a hike to get the gifts of nature in the natural environment on their own, or take advantage of the daily tour. Twice a day a bus leaves the lake, which takes out those who wish to take a "wild bath". The advantages of such a trip is that it is here that high temperatures work on you, and especially the special air of these places. Then, having covered with a hydrochloric crust, it is necessary to go back to take a shower.

For comparison: the sanatorium is also brought twice a day fresh mud from the lake. It is applied in the form of an application on the body, after which the patient is wrapped in polyethylene and covered with a blanket. The procedure lasts 15-20 minutes, then you can visit the shower (without a washcloth and soap). Further, in accordance with the instructions of the doctor, the procedure of sweating is carried out: the patient is wrapped in several blankets and given to drink hot tea.

Not only dirt, but the very "water" of the lake is also curative. Rapa is recommended for the treatment of a variety of diseases, and a better effect can be achieved by alternating the mud and mud baths. The choice is for you to use the services of a sanatorium or the opportunity to plunge into the lake itself.

What is the effect of the therapeutic effect

Russians enjoy great popularity in Lake Elton. The Volgograd region is much closer to Israel, and treatment can be obtained even more effectively, since the salt content exceeds by 1.5 times their concentration in the Dead Sea water. Therapeutic mud cause irritation of skin and vessel receptors. Organic acids, hydrogen sulphide, nitrogenous substances penetrate through the skin into the blood and affect the work of internal organs.

Dirt is a natural source of vitamins, enzymes, hormone-like and other biologically active substances. Mud procedure as a whole affects the whole body, nervous and endocrine system.

Magic mud and brine

Treatment on Lake Elton every year are hundreds of people who wish. Procedures bring significant relief, and subsequent therapy will give an even more tangible result. Therefore, for chronic diseases people practice annual treatment at a local sanatorium.

High salt silt, sulphide, bromine mud is a homogeneous, oily mass, slightly reminiscent of solidol. It is also not easy to wash, it smells of hydrogen sulfide. The dirt cake on the body keeps the heat well, which is the catalyst for starting the recovery processes. Salt Lake Elton is famous for the chemical composition of mud. It contains magnesium chloride and sodium, bromine, iodine, magnesium and calcium sulfate, calcium silicic acid, magnesium, aluminum. Also there are sulphurous iron, silicic acids, organic substances.

It is because of this quantity of impurities that the salt lake Elton is no longer used for the extraction of edible salt. Thanks to this, it preserved its original appearance and today it can be a place of healing for many people.

Rapa is an even more amazing substance. When you come to the lake, the salty crust starts to break under your feet, and you sink into the mud. Enjoying these sensations, you can go on. Here the crust already fully withstands the weight of a person, and it is covered with an oily liquid in which undissolved crystals of salt float. In the hot season, it is completely difficult to immerse in brine, the depth is barely 10 cm, but the concentration of salts is such that it begins to corrode the skin. More balanced rappel baths you will be offered in a sanatorium.

They include calcium chloride and magnesium, magnesium sulfide, calcium carbonate and sulphate, organic substances, bromine and boron. During the bath salts, small crystals of salt settle on the skin, which continue their healing effect after the end of the procedure.

Health Benefits for Your Health

Rest on Lake Elton will be useful to everyone without exception. The eastern part of this mysterious reservoir is most suitable for bathing and enjoying the views. Treatment is prescribed in accordance with medical indications, but it has a beneficial effect on the entire body. The metabolic processes are activated, blood formation is normalized, immunity rises, the nervous system is strengthened, the condition of the skin is improved, working capacity is improved, blood pressure is normalized.

Elton mud is similar to that which occurs from the Dead Sea, and brine is 1.5 times greater than its water by the concentration of nutrients. Many people note a pronounced bactericidal effect. Muds of Lake Elton are used in the form of general and local applications. They are used to treat diseases of joints, bones and muscles, central and peripheral nervous system, gastrointestinal tract, ENT organs. Diseases of the genitourinary system (both female and male) are well suited to mud treatment. In addition, Lake Elton - a real panacea for patients suffering from chronic skin diseases.

Contraindications to the passage of mud

Despite the wide range of testimonies and the undeniable benefit of Elton's wealth, consult your physician before going to the lake. If you go to the official site of the sanatorium, you can read rave reviews. Lake Elton easily conquers the hearts of people, but there are contraindications to treatment, which must be taken into account:

• Pregnancy.
• Any illness in the acute stage.
• Venereal diseases.
• All illnesses of blood in an acute form.
• Tuberculosis.
• Severe forms of hypertension.
• Any bleeding.
• Mental diseases.
• Drug addiction and alcoholism.

If you do not need to apply mud and bath salts today, this does not mean that you can not visit Elton. Lake treatment offers in the form of clean air, the famous mineral drinking source, as well as nature itself - calm, leisurely, pacifying.

Road to Elton

You can reach Volgograd by train, car, plane. Options - for every taste and budget. In the city you can change your bike or continue your journey by car. In the boundless steppe it is easy to get lost, so it's better to stick to the already known route. One of these is the way from Volgograd through the village of Volzhsky and Leninsk, but a poor steppe road leads to the lake. The second route is longer, it goes through Volzhsky, Nikolayevsk, Pallasovka, but for the most part it is an asphalt road. Feel free to go on a trip to Lake Elton! How to get there, any local resident will tell you, even if you get out of the way.

Excursions in the nature park

One of the most popular services is bicycle rental, where you can take a tour of the surrounding area. There is something to see here. The tour usually begins from the lake itself. After listening to the stories about miraculous healings, the tourists go to Mount Ulagan. This dome is unique not only because it consists of salt, its height completely corresponds to the basin of the lake. But that's not all! Here the rocks come to the surface, the history of which begins with the Jurassic period, often with preserved specimens of the plant and animal world. Fossils of ancient mollusks here can be found on the surface, without excavations. This mountain is also interesting with a stunning view of the entire reserve.

If you are interested in geology, then you can visit the Grand Canyon, which is located near the mountain Ulagan. But usually a sightseeing tour takes place around the lake. An interesting cultural monument is the abandoned village of salt collectors, Old Elton, which is located on the 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 a complex stretch of the steppe. An outpost was created here, which served as a fortress protecting people.

From here the path runs north, along the river Khara. Places of charm, with a completely extraordinary scenery. Even the plants here are unusual, adapted to saline soil and mineral water. Maybe that's why there are so many rare species of trees and herbs that are not found anywhere else. Surprisingly, on this salt river there is a huge quantity of various kinds of ducks, even gray cranes arrive here.

An indispensable attribute of the excursion is to visit the Devil's Bridge. It is no longer there, it existed during active salt mining on the lake, nearly 400 years ago. Now only the ruins of a stone dam are preserved here. Further the route runs along the channel of Hara to the Botanical gully. It will be interesting to connoisseurs and lovers of botany, and for an uninitiated tourist it's just bushes and grass. There are about 400 plant species growing here. Among them you can find trees - apple trees and buckthorn; Shrubs - a turn, a dogrose, a blackberry. Interesting are rare species located on the slopes. These are tulips and irises, almonds, asparagus, valerian, tansy, tarragon.

If you are lucky enough, you will be able to capture on the photo insects listed in the Red Book. This long-legged kravchik, the askalaph variegated.

Walking in the hot sun makes itself felt, and tourists are moving 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 like with unaccustomed.

Here, lovers of cultural recreation can leave bicycles and embark on a trip to the ethnographic museum. It is unique already because it was created and serviced by one person, a history teacher. These are four buildings located side by side. The first tells about the Russian way of life. This hut, cleaned up by all the traditional canons. Nearby is the Kazakh yurt, which shows the life of the nomadic people. The second yurta is a dining area, here you can find a real dastarkhan with beshbarmak, baursaks and delicious tea. The fourth house is a salt mining museum.

The museum's creator, a historian who knows and loves his land, conducts the excursion. He will tell you everything you want to know about Lake Elton. The Volgograd region is a real passion of this enthusiastic person.

A visit to the Elton Nature Park can be a real adventure full of new impressions, and a budget family vacation. Therapeutic baths will improve the health, bring the nervous system back to normal. This place is ideal for spending time pleasantly and profitably.