Treasures of the southern steppes. Sightseeing tour to Kalmykia

After breakfast, you will have a trip to Lake Manych-Gudilo.

Along the way, you will make stops to admire the landscapes of the blooming steppe and enjoy the magnificent aromas of various grasses.

You will see purple fields of musk mallow and sage, yellow thickets of astrogale, various types of tumbleweeds and flowering Sarmatian belvalia, a plant listed in the Red Book of Russia.

A mini-picnic lunch with Kalmyk dishes will be organized right in the steppe, and you will be told about the peculiarities of the national cuisine of nomadic peoples.

You can also watch birds with professional binoculars if you wish.

In the vicinity of Lake Manych-Gudilo, there are terns, steppe eagles, stingrays, belladonna cranes, and various types of seagulls.

One of the lake's islands is home to Europe's only breeding colony of pink and crested pelicans. If you are lucky, you will be able to see these rare birds.

In the evening, you will return to Elista and have dinner at a cafe.

After that, you will have a guided walk through the evening city.

You will visit the Seven Days Pagoda, where the largest prayer drum in Europe, the kurde, with 75 million mantras, is installed.

You will see the statues of Buddha Shakyamuni and the Golden Gate.

Then return to the hotel and relax.

The route length is about 200 km.

In the morning, after breakfast, you will go back to the steppe to visit a nomad family.

They came to the Kalmyk lands from Mongolia, live in yurts in the middle of the steppe and breed camels.

You will learn how their everyday life goes, what are the similarities and differences between the way of life of nomadic Kalmyks and Mongols, and taste the dishes of national cuisine.

If you wish, you can ride a camel, take part in a camel milking master class and taste fresh camel milk.

Then you will go to explore the unique natural sights of Kalmykia.

You will stop for lunch at a cafe on the way.

After that, you will have a walk through the desert with "singing dunes" and along the shores of the salty Mekletinsky lakes.

Migrating birds brought small pink crustaceans into the lakes, which bred here, and therefore now the water in them looks pink. In addition to staining water, this crustacean participates in the formation of therapeutic mud, which is used in cosmetology and the treatment of skin diseases.

In ancient times, there were camps of various nomadic peoples along the shores of the lakes. Fragments of ancient clay vessels and arrowheads belonging to the Yamnaya, Catacomb, Sarmatian and Scythian cultures can still be found on the hillsides.

After a walk along the shore of the pink lakes, you will go to the spring, where you will take part in the ritual of igniting the "burning spring".

In the evening, you will arrive in the village of Adyk, where you will have dinner in a yurt with dishes of national cuisine.

After that, you will be taken back to the hotel in Elista.

The route length is 200 km.

Today you will have an early breakfast and a morning trip to the steppe.

Here you will meet with a descendant of a shaman who will conduct an ancient rite of offering to heaven, earth and the spirits of the area especially for you.

You need to have a stone of natural origin with you, which you can either bring from home or find while traveling in the previous days.

The ceremony will end with the presentation of gifts to each guest from the shaman.

Then you will return to Elista and pick up your belongings from the hotel.

And you will be arbitrarily taken to the airport for the departure flight.