The Valley of lotuses. Sightseeing tour of Kalmykia and Astrakhan region

In the morning you will have breakfast at the hotel and go on a trip to Kalmykia.

The route will pass along the shores of the salty Mekletian lakes, in the water of which the microscopic crustacean Artemia Salina lives, coloring the water pink and taking part in the formation of therapeutic mud.

Dying, the crustaceans settle to the bottom and are processed by the mud microflora.

Salty mud – brine – is black in this lake, has a light gray color when dried, with the smell of hydrogen sulfide, can be used to treat various skin diseases and the production of cosmetics.

In ancient times, there were camps of various nomadic peoples along the shores of the lakes.

Fragments of clay vessels and arrowheads of the Yamnaya, Catacomb, Sarmatian and Scythian cultures can still be found on the blown-out hillsides.

There is a picnic lunch waiting for us in nature, after which you can participate in the ritual of igniting the "burning spring", a special type of springs in Kalmykia that can be set on fire by holding a lighted match correctly.

Next, we will go to the border of the Black Lands reserve, where, if we are lucky, we will observe saigas.

After that, we will go to the village of Adyk for an ethnic program.

We will visit the Kalmyk yurt, the traditional dwelling of a nomad.

At the master class, you will learn how to properly throw a noose on a horse and learn how to tie a Kalmyk knot.

The program will end with a dinner in a yurt with dishes of national cuisine.

After that, we go to the tourist base located in the delta of the Volga River, check in there and relax.

Route length: 450 km.

In the morning we will have breakfast and go on a trip along the Volga Delta, during which there will be a unique opportunity to admire the birds, blooming lotuses along the way, you will learn about the diverse flora and fauna.

After the walk, we will have lunch and have free time to relax, if desired, you can go fishing or take a walk, enjoying the beauty of the Volga River delta.

Then we return to the base and have dinner.

Length: 100 km.

Early in the morning, breakfast, pack up and go to Astrakhan along the picturesque road past the flowing ilmeni located along the Bakhtemir River.

Next, we will walk through the territory of the Astrakhan Kremlin, one of the main and historical attractions.

This is a unique example of military engineering art of the second half of the 16th century, a monument of federal significance.

We will have lunch and go to the capital of the Golden Horde – Sarai Batu, which was founded in 1250 by Khan Batu, grandson of Genghis Khan, the ancient city grew out of a headquarters for nomads.

By the end of the XV century, enemy raids, natural disasters and time destroyed the capital of the Golden Horde.

Bricks from the ruins of the city were used in the construction of the Astrakhan Kremlin.

Initially, a museum was supposed to be at the excavation site, but in 2010 the Barn-Batu was reconstructed for the filming of the film "St. Alexy" ("Horde").

In the evening we will arrive in Akhtubinsk and check into a hotel.

After dinner, take a walk along the boulevard along the Akhtuba River.

Length: 450 km.

Breakfast.

After which we go to the territory of the Bogdinsky-Baskunchak Nature Reserve to see its main attractions: the unique salt lake Baskunchak and Bolshoe Bogdo Mountain.

Lake Baskunchak is a kind of depression on the top of a salt mountain, extending thousands of meters deep into the earth and covered with a layer of sedimentary rocks.

The lake is powered mainly by springs.

Numerous springs flow into the lake along its northwestern shore, bringing up to 900,000 tons of salts into the lake per year.

After visiting the lake, lunch is waiting for us at a cafe and we go to Bogdo Mountain.

Bolshoe Bogdo Mountain is the only real mountain in the Caspian Lowland.

The foot of which lies two dozen meters below sea level, and the top is about 150 meters higher.

Every year Bolshoe Bogdo Mountain gets higher.

The fact is that there is a salt dome inside the mountain, which increases by about 1 mm per year.

The height of Bolshoy Bogdo above sea level is 149.6 m, and even more above the surrounding area.

Bolshoe Bogdo Mountain has brought us the remains of the Mesozoic era.

In the cliffs of the mountain there is a marine Triassic with fossilized remains of animals that lived 200-250 million years ago – this makes Bolshoe Bogdo a real geological paradise.

In the evening, we will check into the tourist base, stay and have dinner.

Route length: 300 km.

In the morning after breakfast we will go to Volgograd.

There we will visit the famous memorial complex "Heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad" on Mamayev Kurgan.

You will see the main sculpture of the ensemble "Motherland calls!" and the changing of the guard in the Hall of Military Glory.

After that, we will visit the panorama museum "Battle of Stalingrad" and have lunch in a cafe.

The program ends approximately at 14:00.

Then we go to the airport for the departure flight.

Important: the route and means of transportation according to the program may vary depending on weather conditions.