Lake Tuz: how to get there, excursions. Lake Tuz - a salt lake in Turkey Mountain range Chests

Traveling through Southern Siberia, I could not help but stop at Lake Tus, about which local residents They like to talk a lot and in detail.
Tus is bitter- salt Lake, which is located in Khakassia. People with different countries and cities come here to feel the miraculous effect of these places. What's special about this body of water, you ask? This lake relieves pain and heals people from various diseases with its miraculous properties. Indications for swimming in this lake are given to people with diseases of the musculoskeletal system, diabetes mellitus, glaucoma, peripheral diseases nervous system and skin diseases.
So here are the specifications
Tus is a bitter-salty lake in the Shirinsky district of Khakassia. Located 30 km north of the regional center of Shira and 4 km from the village. Solenoozernoe.
Degree of water mineralization: 187.7-248.7 g/l.
Total area - 2.65 sq. km.
Maximum depth - 4.5 m.

1. On the way to the lake, crazy landscapes open up; outside the car window lies the steppe, which gives way to mountain taiga.

2. The lake is located in a lowland,The lake valley is dry and rocky. On the western side, a mountain range comes close to Tus, exceeding the water surface by 140 meters. On the other sides the valley is flat and open. The lake has an irregular, curved shape. Its area is about one and a half square kilometers, the greatest depth is four and a half meters. The bottom is flat, in the western part the lake is deeper.

3. For practical purposes, Tus has been used since the mid-18th century. It served as a source of salt production. For many years, salt from the lake in the province was in great demand. Until the beginning of our century, the lake was called Minusinsk, belonged to the treasury, and was guarded by Cossacks who lived in the village that arose nearby. Nowadays this is the village of Solenozernoye, located four kilometers to the west, on the shore of the White Iyus.

4. Salt mining on the lake stopped completely in the post-war period, when its size increased significantly and the salinity of the water decreased. For many years this mineral reservoir was forgotten, only in summer time it is sometimes visited by local residents. Tus attracted attention again in the mid-eighties, when the number of vacationers on its shores began to increase. Along with relaxation, the lake has also become a healing place.

5. To ensure a comfortable holiday, recreation centers have been built on the shore of the lake. The housing stock includes huts of various capacities.

6. Relaxation on the lake is accompanied by various entertainments: catamaran rides, outdoor games, sunbathing on the sandy beach and many other activities. We were unlucky with the weather, it was strong North wind It was terribly cold outside, and therefore there were practically no vacationers.

7. You can while away the evening while relaxing on the lake in various ways: go to the bathhouse, where there are fragrant birch brooms, massage and a herbal barrel, fry kebabs, sit by the fire and enjoy nature.

8. There is a stick camp, this is a fenced area where people are allowed in for money and the amenities include an outdoor shower and toilet.

9. There are even bicycle rentals)))

10. You can see the prices for services yourself

11. Like a bonus, a bench on the lake shore

12. These amenities are an outdoor shower.

13. Well, you yourself understood that....

14. This is what a wild holiday in Siberia on the shore of a lake looks like. I’m not ready to say how long I could live in a tent like this.

15. A group arrived and set up their camp.

16. As I said, this day was cold and even I, a person who has lived my entire adult life in Kolyma, did not dare to swim (although at home I can swim in the Sea of ​​Okhotsk between blocks of ice, probably due to the lack of bold water in the body)). But Siberians swim.

17. A family has arrived and is touching the water; in the background, a woman is taking water procedures. And pulls them into the waterThe main feature of Tus is the very high mineralization of its water. It is 110-120 grams per liter, and in the bottom part it is even higher, up to 155 grams. These are practically brines, the likes of which probably no longer exist in Russia. The composition of lake water is sulfate-chloride, magnesium-sodium, alkaline. A number of microcomponents and other mineral compounds were found in it. The bottom of the lake is sandy over almost the entire area. Small deposits of bottom pilaf can be traced only along the northeastern and southwestern shores. Their width is approximately one hundred meters, the thickness of the sediments does not exceed half a meter. Bottom sediments are heavily clogged with sand, so they medicinal properties not tall. Vacationers use them to a limited extent.

18. Well, they decided and they swam, the contrast is like in Magadan there are naked people next to those dressed in winter clothes))).On hot days, when the clean, clear salt water warms up well, swimming in the lake is very pleasant, and due to the very high density of the lake moisture, it is easy to swim here, you can calmly lie on your back and read the newspaper. According to scientists, Lake Tus is favorable for the treatment of diseases of the musculoskeletal system, cardiovascular system, nervous system, joint and metabolic diseases, and gynecological diseases. It is recommended to bathe children in lake water for rickets, adenopathy, weakness, and exhaustion.

19. The water in the lake has high density. The concentration of salt is very high, some of it cannot dissolve in water and precipitates to the bottom up to 30 cm thick. Do you see white foam? This is salt, the wind raises a wave and the salt turns into foam.

20. The foam was warm, I walked on it barefoot, it was probably good for my feet)))

21. In general, the conclusion is this: if you find yourself in these parts in the summer and it is hot outside, and you are not keen on relaxation, you are welcome to Lake Tus.

Lake Tuz is a natural wonder of Turkey and is popular for its unique salty waters, making the surface of the water look like a snowy surface.

Location

The lake is located in 150 km from the city of Ankara and in 105 km from Konya. The area of ​​the reservoir is 1500 square kilometers, length – 80 km, width – 50 km. Depth reaches everything 1-2 meters and fluctuates depending on the time of year. The reservoir is endorheic. Largest quantity It contains water in the spring due to the melting of melted snow, precipitation and recharge of underground sources.

In summer, under the influence of high temperatures, most of the lake's waters evaporate, leaving salt deposits on its surface.

The reservoir is rightfully considered practically dead, because... Apart from small plankton and algae, there are no more living organisms. In June, Tuz water acquires a pleasant pink-pearl shade. This a natural phenomenon attributed to algal blooms of Dunaliella salina.

At this time, there are pink spots on the surface of the lake, even the grass on the shore has a red tint. On the coast of the reservoir there are three enterprises for the extraction and processing of salt, which almost completely satisfy the country's needs for this product. During drought periods, salt thickness reaches up to half a meter.

IN 2001 year, the territory of the lake became part of specially protected objects UNESCO due to its uniqueness, as well as due to the need to preserve the population of pink flamingos living on the shores of the reservoir.

How to get there?

The most convenient departure points to the lake are the cities of Ankara and Konya. The route from Ankara will be 130 —140 km.

PARKING COORDINATES ON TUZ LAKE: 39.074955, 33.412132 (39°04’29.8″N 33°24’43.7″E)

You can use several types of transport:

From Ankara there is a direct route to the lake. If you come from Konya, you will have to make a decent detour. To get to Konya, you must first get to Izmir. There are many ways to get there: by air, by land and by water. Izmir has an airport, necessary transport routes and a port.

From the side of the highway there is a special and only exit to the reservoir where the tourist parking is located. If you try to approach the lake from the other side, you may stumble upon a fence from a salt processing plant. However, if you have a strong desire and the necessary vocabulary, you can negotiate with the guard of the territory and go directly to the shore of the lake.

Where to stay?

• Sheriflikohisar- the closest locality regarding the lake, which has one single three-star hotel, YildirimHotel. Here you can rent a standard room for an average of 2500 rubles .
• Konya offers about 45 hotel options, ranging from 1500 rubles for the most budget room and above.
• Cappadocia offers an even greater variety of accommodation, for every taste and budget: hotels, hostels, resort hotels, B&Bs, Apartments, Villas, Guest Houses, Bed and Breakfasts, Homestays, Farmhouses and Campsites. Housing can be rented for 3000 rubles per day and more.

Popular excursions

The opportunity to walk on the surface of the lake attracts tourists from all over the world. Many package tours to Cappadocia include a stop at Lake Tuz.
As mentioned above, there is a special tourist site on the coast, where there are several restaurants, a souvenir shop and a paid shower.

The latter is the most necessary and functional object. Most tourists want to walk on the salty surface of the lake barefoot, so the desire to subsequently wash their feet of salt is understandable. However, walking barefoot is quite uncomfortable, because... You constantly have to come across uneven and prickly salt crystals. Therefore, we recommend that you still walk in shoes.

In the souvenir shop you can buy salt crystals of various sizes, as well as local medicinal cosmetics made from salt and lake mud. However, this pleasure is not at all cheap. A body scrub, for example, will cost you about a thousand rubles.

Many visitors want to look at the pink flamingos. To really see them, you need to consider natural conditions. Birds love moisture and live on the lake during the rainy season, until mid-June.

Then, when the lake dries up, they fly away to other places with their grown offspring. The main nesting site for birds is located on south coast. If flamingos are not there, you can try to look for them on the western shores of the reservoir.

Warning must be given before approaching birds close quarters, you will need to walk most of the way through a swamp, knee-deep in water.

In September, many travel enthusiasts meet on the territory of the lake. Visitors ride bicycles, hike, and organize off-road tours.

Lake Tuz is not a resort place; it is impossible to swim in it. However, you will get no less pleasure from contemplating its beautiful views, the mirror surface reflecting the sky, sunrises and sunsets. Take unforgettable photos as a keepsake.

The cheapest tickets from Moscow to Ankara and back

November 12th, 2013

Well, thank God, I’m done with America, so we’re moving on, again through Turland. Honestly, I still have unfinished Poland-Czech Republic-Germany lying around, but something about Turkey is more interesting to me, so for now I’ll talk about it, and about those some other time, optional.))

As you already guessed, this trip will be labeled with the heading “What is not included in All Inclusive”, and, probably, we should immediately say what the trick is. As you know, “All Inclusive” is the most famous Turkish brand, and it is so popular that in the minds of the mass domestic consumer, a bold equal sign has long stuck out between the terms “All Inclusive” and “Turkey”.

The fact that this equation does not correspond to the truth is clear to any more or less intelligent hedgehog, but do not deny yourself the pleasure of trying to carry out educational work.))

By the way, before they shower me with Crocs, I have to say that I don’t at all regard the “All Inclusive” system as a World Evil and I don’t consider all its users to be impenetrable idiots (unless they squeal that they know Turkey like their sofa, and there’s nothing there nothing interesting). Not at all. On the contrary, I believe that this phenomenon has a right to exist; everyone has their own shortcomings, right? Moreover, even specifically for the Snake and me, All Inclusive brings tangible benefits: after all, it is in our interests that all the fauna near Tagil sit on reservations and do not show their noses in our habitat.. ;)

However, it seems to me that every potential consumer of a tourism product should understand what is included in this all-inclusive package – and what is not included. What is included there is already known to everyone, it doesn’t need to be explained, but not everyone realizes what is OFF. And the WHOLE TURKEY is turned off from there. Yes, yes, that's it! Whatever one may say, an all-inclusive hotel has the same relation to Turkey as an Aivazovsky painting has to do with the ocean. There seem to be some similar features, but not all of them, and most importantly, the scale is not the same! ;)

In general, this is the kind of Turkey that is not included in All Inclusive and is not very frightened by Russian tourists so far, I will be broadcasting again. I have a few additions to the already existing tag “unafraid Turkey”, with which I have long been marking all non-traditional Turkish wonders.. :)

At the end of September we made a small circle here: Antalya - Lake Tuz - Cappadocia - Adana - Mersin - Kiz Kalesi - Antalya. On the map it looked something like this:


One week, one and a half thousand kilometers, so just relax. :)

As usual, we were given a pre-booked car at the airport, immediately upon arrival. This time it was a diesel Fiat Linea. And it’s good that we spent a couple of days in Antalya, otherwise the horrific flaw in the car would have been revealed too late. No, she drove fine, but her radio practically didn’t work, can you imagine? I don’t know about you, but the prospect of driving God knows how many kilometers solely with tires whistling does not inspire me at all. The radio on this radio only picked up two radio stations, and it completely ate the MP3 disc and didn’t want to give it away. We even stopped at a local service center, but the craftsman also couldn’t convince the unusable equipment to work.

But he did manage to force the stubborn mechanism to burp the disk back - not only mine, but also someone else’s. Apparently, previous car renters also unsuccessfully tried to enrich themselves culturally. Since the radio never worked, they didn’t even take any money from us, and therefore the trophy disc can be regarded as pure profit. By the way, Turkish folk music is recorded on it, are there any fans here? I’m not a big fan of it, so if anyone needs it, I’ll give it as a gift. :)

In short, I had to persuade the Snake to call the rental office and ask to replace the machine. He stood his ground, because he doesn’t like to shake his license, but there was nowhere to retreat, I was behind. Was I in vain to record the music from the radio?)) Well, never mind, I called and they replaced our car without any questions. Apparently, another car was available anyway, it’s not the season, and they have had Snake as a regular customer for many years, why not do something nice..)) In the new car, completely identical to the Fiat, the radio, praise Allah, worked as it should.

Thus, we left for the trip properly equipped. Along the way, it was determined that it would take exactly seven hours by car from Antalya to Cappadocia. This is to be direct. But we spent all nine on the road, since we took a detour of 140 kilometers to explore the salt lake Tuz. Actually, we already drove along this road along the lake, back in 2009, during our very first motor rally Moscow - Antalya. Then, I remember, I was struck by the color of the lake: .
However, we didn’t think of stopping at a place where we could get close to the lake and even walk through the water. There is only one place with convenient check-in.

Having circled the lake from above (fortunately, for a mad mare, seven miles is not a detour), we began to carefully graze the races. Meanwhile, it became clear that the lake looked somehow different from the last time. And there was no pinkness in it, the shores were somehow different... Finally, there was that exit where there were not only taverns, but also a descent to the lake. Here it is from above, as seen from the veranda of the restaurant:

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Meet Lake Tuz (the word "tuz" means "salt" in Turkish). Its salinity is 340 ppm, that is, if you take water weighing 1 kg from this lake, then it will contain as much as 340 g of salts. The lake fills a tectonic depression on the central plateau of Turkey; two large streams and some underground springs, but nothing comes out. Almost 70% of all salt consumed by Turkish citizens is mined here.

However, have you noticed that there is something missing in this lake? Yes, yes, there was not enough WATER in it.. :) Having gone down, we were convinced of this:

Just like a lunar landscape:

No, well, we knew that the lake was shallow - only one or two meters deep, but we didn’t think it was that much.)) Now there were exactly zero meters of depth in it. At least at this point. Obviously, this is on the occasion of September, because at the beginning of June, when we passed it last time, there was clearly much more water in it, which is why the shore lines have changed...

However, the lunar landscape itself is beautiful and we still have no complaints about Lake Tuz. It’s not every day that you get to walk through tons of table salt, to put it bluntly. Of course, we were immediately reminded of the salt towers in the American Death Valley, and we agreed that for hiking dried lake Tuz is incomparably more convenient..)))

But if we, in any case, were not going to wander barefoot in the water, then other tourists, all Turkish, were clearly counting on this attraction.

In order not to be left unsalted, they found (or somehow made) depressions in the salt where puddles formed:

...well, they trampled their feet there. Probably useful for something..)) During this activity I no longer took them off..

And of course they took pictures against the backdrop of this spectacular salt marsh, and sometimes they also preliminarily drew something on the salt surface as a keepsake:

By the way, this is the same photo as at the beginning, only here it is in its natural form, and there it is after the operation “Photoshop sees it this way.” I even decided to save the result of using auto-levels, because it turned out not only funny, but also, one might say, visionary. Did you see how reddish it was in the title photo? In terms of intensity, of course, he turned it down, but in fact, pinkish spots do periodically appear on the white salt:

There and on the shore there is red grass:

It turned out that the effect of the pink color of the lake, which we observed once in June, could be associated not only with the angle of incidence of the sun’s rays, as we then decided, but also with something more material. And indeed. Then I scoured the internet and found out what the pink color Either Dunaliella salina (lat. Dunaliella salina) - a type of unicellular algae, or Archaea - such unicellular microorganisms can answer. Moreover, the peak color intensity occurs at a certain period of the year. On Lake Tuz, apparently, it is June. And it’s very good that this information was found, otherwise I was already beginning to think that this pink color of the water was wrong for me then. Moreover, the Serpent, due to slight color blindness, could not confirm my visual sensations..))

Meanwhile, we moved forward. It had already become clear that it would take three days on reindeer to reach the water there, but I wanted to find out what the local salt crystals looked like if they were not trampled underfoot regularly. Along the way we continued to come across depressions with water. It turned out that if such a puddle is not disturbed for some time, the salt on the surface of the water begins to crystallize:

Just like ice in winter, right?))

The further away from the coast the landscape became more and more surreal:

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Finally, I decided that we had walked away enough and took a photo of the salt surface under my feet, getting closer and closer:

Here they are, sodium chlorine crystals:

On the way back, we noticed a dark stripe among the white salt, extending from the shore into the depths of the lake. It looked very much like a thawed patch of ice in the spring:

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I didn’t really understand where it came from there: there was no incoming river to be seen there. Judging by the footprints, the people there often knead the mud, because it’s medicinal..))

On the way out we went into a shop:

We bought a bunch of scrubs with local salt for souvenirs. Scrubs, by the way, are not cheap, by Turkish standards: about a thousand rubles per jar. They also sold nearby all sorts of rags, hats, trinkets, as well as minerals:

And as expected, we reached Goreme already in the dark. Almost before we got there we stopped at observation deck admire the view of the beautifully illuminated fortress of neighboring Uchisar. An attempt to shoot a landscape handheld failed miserably (even at 5000 ISO), but we made a terrible vow to return here tomorrow with a tripod.

In Goreme, we found our Katpatuka, a cave hotel that had sunk into our souls back in 2009, with our joint efforts on the very first visit - it seems that by the third time we had already learned to navigate this town. Surprisingly, the long-promoted Katpatuka has become much cheaper since last time: we were given a room for only 80 liras, and not even 140, as they tried on our second visit in 2010. Then we even spat and settled in neighboring Sunrise. However, it’s unusually nice when something gets cheaper, right?)) Of course, in 2010 we were there at the end of August, sort of in season, and now it’s a month later, but on the other hand, three years have already passed...

However, later the situation with the pricing policy became clearer. It turned out that Katpatucka now has a different tenant: the same guy who in 2010 began renting Sunrise located on the same street (where we then moved in to save money). In three years, he developed and rented two more hotels, including this Katpatuka, which we fell in love with the first time..

Having installed ourselves in the hotel, we went to have dinner at one of the central taverns, and at the same time make plans for tomorrow. First of all, we were going to finally explain the Valley of Love. Despite the fact that we have already seen its most famous tip twice - with stone mega-pisunas - I have long dreamed of going through it in its entirety, because from reliable sources I knew for sure that there was something to admire there..))

To be continued in the next episodes.. ;)

From Ankara we drove to Cappadocia, and along the way we planned to stop at Lake Tuz, a large salt lake located in central Turkey.
The hours we spent on the lake were the only clear hours of the entire trip. But if I had a choice, I would again allocate them to visit this lake.

Lake Tuz is the second largest lake in Turkey and 70% of all Turkish salt is mined here. In summer, the lake mostly dries up, leaving a thick crust of salt on the surface, and in winter the lake fills with water.

A large population of pink flamingos also lives on the lake, but you need to look for them specifically; just driving from Ankara to Cappadocia you are unlikely to see them. You can get to the lake by simply standing at any exit on the road running along it and walking a couple of hundred meters. But, most likely, you will have to walk through a swamp, getting stuck in the mud.

Like that:

There is also an “official” entrance to the lake. The parking lot was actually built in convenient location, from it to the water it’s quite a short walk, but, of course, this place was immediately overgrown with vile traders. The path passes through a pavilion where all kinds of salt-based cosmetics are sold. When we entered, 3 (!) people, who had this salt on their hands, attacked us, trying to spread this salt on the skin of our hands. They said: “Give me your hand, give me your hand,” and it took us some effort to turn them off.

This is how this place looks from the side of the lake, killing all the beauty.

Well, since we’re talking about the bad, here’s another photo of a neighboring building with heaps of garbage.

But let's not talk about bad things, let's go back to the lake.

The main way to use the lake is as follows: go further into the water (the depth is the same everywhere), as a result you stand in water a couple of centimeters deep. There is a crust of salt underneath the surface and together with a thin layer of water it creates a mirror-like surface. So, you are standing on a giant mirror that reflects the sky. We take out the camera. We take pictures.

It is very beautiful in here. I highly recommend visiting. Unfortunately (or fortunately) this place is not very popular among tourists. It was quite difficult to find any information about his visit. However, you don’t need to go anywhere special. Driving along the only major road along the lake, you will find everything yourself.

For several years now I have been dreaming of going to the Bolivian Lake Uyuni. Actually from the very moment I saw his photographs. It is fabulously beautiful, fabulously huge, spacecraft even calibrate their remote sensing instruments in its mirror! I’ll probably get to it someday and write a full post with my photos. But in Turkey there is Lake Tuz. We were just driving by until I suddenly realized that this was practically the same as Uyuni, only seven times smaller in area. And, as befits such lakes, it is seasonal. And it is in winter that there is not an endless pan of salt, but a small layer of water that provides a mirror. So we turned right from the Aksaray-Ankara highway and went to the Tuz bank.

The full name of this place is Tuz Golu. Golu means lake and Tuz means salty. Strictly speaking, for most of the year it is not Golu at all, but simply a salt marsh, a huge patch of salt with an area of ​​1600-2500 square kilometers. We turned off the highway in the village of Shereflikokhhisar and drove along country roads to the coast. The only people we came across were dump trucks loaded with salt. So 15 minutes later we got to the salt plant. Short negotiations with the guard and now we are allowed inside. At some point we even went straight to the salt marsh, there were car tracks there and this road didn’t bother me. But as soon as we left, it immediately became scary, as if we had driven onto the ice and it was about to collapse. Everything under the wheels is white. We returned back and walked. The landscapes are interesting, but everything is killed by the gloomy gray sky, which gave Cappadocia fog, but here it’s just gray. Honestly, some of the photos here were pulled out by the ACDSee program (by lightly pressing the "auto-level" button). This is an extremely honest report. But the place is really interesting!

heaps of salt

That's how we walked. depth 1 cm

one of the piles has almost melted

salt loading train

under your feet

By the way, Petra liked the salty water

A cemetery was discovered very close to the salt mining. So classic, completely abandoned, unkempt, in the middle of thorns, rocky steppe, blown by a hot salty wind. It is impossible to read any of the inscriptions; one can only guess about the age. Classic!

Subsequently, a stopping place, like a tourist stop, was still visible along the highway. Souvenirs, all sorts of crafts made from salt, even sunbeds (to sunbathe and coat yourself?). But it seemed crowded, littered and boring. They just ignored it and moved on. And the most impressive sight awaited not where the salt was mined or equipped tourist place, but just on the shore. I couldn't stand it and stopped again. I left all the passengers in the car (they refused to walk with me because of the cold wind) and ran to the lake. The last 50 meters - it was really a salt marsh, fortunately it did not suck too much. But then I was rewarded with that very mirror, when the sky is reflected under your feet, and you stand on the mirror. The depth of the lake along its shores slowly and smoothly increases from 1 centimeter to 2 centimeters, so it was difficult to get wet. It is much more difficult to take a photograph without a tripod; it was impossible to place the camera in two centimeters of salt water until I adapted the camera case for it. For a moment the sun came out. More precisely, the gray haze of the clouds broke through a little, and a piece of blue sky looked out. It became absolutely fantastic, but after a couple of shots I quickly ran back to the car.

Now there is a pause in the observation of salt lakes. Let's hope before Uyuni.

The remaining photos from the sudden stop on the highway:

this is the beach

and footprints on the beach