Travelers, lovers of wildlife and thrills do not bypass the chalk quarries near the Belarusian city of Volkovysk. Why are the latter so attractive, why are they called "Belarusian Maldives", is it worth planning a vacation in this place?
Why attractive Volkovysk careers
The chalk quarries of Volkovysk were nicknamed the Belarusian Maldives, and a haven for photographers, and the Belarusian tourist Mecca. In addition to everything, this attraction is "wild", as the rest here is not only not provided, but even prohibited. But this place continues to attract thousands of campers every year.
The reason for this is an unusual and even fantastic panorama for the Central European region: azure, even brightly emerald, richly turquoise water filling the quarries (thanks to the chalk remaining on their bottom), high snow-white cliffs covered with young trees, huge boulders of alien origin . It is enough to look at the chalk quarries of Volkovysk in the photo, so that there is a desire to see these places personally.
Careers spanning an area roughly equal to three hundred football fields are truly a paradise for savages. Travelers admire the surrounding surreal nature, grill kebabs, sing songs by the fire, sunbathe, bathe in turquoise waters, take mesmerizing photographs (some Belarusian music artists have chosen these places to shoot their videos).
In addition, the chalk quarries of Volkovysk are interesting:
- divers - local waters are not inferior to the Red Sea or Maldivian;
- extremals - steep boulders, cliffs, a rather long length (1-4 km) and quarry depth (15-40 m - water depth, 40 m - embankment height) attract fans of bungee jumping and without it;
- to fishermen - a number of quarries is stocked with fish.
Over the course of several years of career, about a hundred thousand tourists have visited.
Chalk quarries of Volkovysk: how to get there
How to get on your car? You should go along the P44 highway to the city of Volkovysk, then follow the signs for the village of Krasnoselsky - the quarries are located directly next to it.
For travelers without a car, the following scheme is useful:
- Train or train, following the direction "Minsk-Baranovichi".
- Train to Volkovysk.
- In Volkovysk, transfer to a suburban bus to the village. Krasnoselsky (ask to stop in front of the village Novoselki).
- Then follow the navigator on foot to the destination.
Coordinates of the chalk pits (Volkovysk) on the map: 53.283386, 24.488854.
History of amazing terrain
The quarries so beloved by many are artificially created reservoirs formed as a result of mining - chalk. It has been conducted for more than a hundred years - since 1914. The richness of the lands of Belarus in chalk deposits is a consequence of the fact that once its territory was the bottom of the giant oceans.
Another attraction of the village of Krasnoselsky is the amazing silicon mines that our ancestors cut down about 5 thousand years ago to mine rock, which was widely used in the manufacture of tools. However, today they are mothballed, and the plan of the museum dedicated to them remained just a project on paper.
Volkovysk careers: terribly beautiful
Since the tourist vacation near the Volkovysk quarries is unorganized, there are no equipped picnic places, a tent camp, as well as dry closets, a source of drinking water, lifeguards on the shore. And the trash after some tourists turned some beautiful slopes into a natural landfill.
When approaching the careers of travelers, he is trying to stop the danger zone sign, which they safely ignore. But in vain. According to rescuers, people drown here every year. There is the likelihood of collapses, because the "walls" of the quarries are not fortified. The endearing emerald waters, which are so attractive in appearance, are horrified by the result of the samples - they contain the volume of Escherichia coli strains, a hundred times higher than the permissible! And the chalk, which is dissolved in the waters of the quarry, not only dries the skin, but, falling into the lungs, settles in them, which can easily trigger asthma.
The chalk quarries of Volkovysk are also a technical area. Cars of tourists interfere with the passage of office equipment of the enterprise "Krasnoselskstroymaterialy", which is the owner of these lands. The company's management is determined to make this zone closed to travelers.
Volokovysk careers today
Although discussions were being held on redevelopment of the quarry territory into a full-fledged recreation area, "improving" the waters, smoothing the shores, the projects remained only projects. In 2015, the reclamation of quarries was planned, which was designed to ruin their beautiful appearance: it was decided to smooth out some of the lenses, and some to dig up. The main road of tourists was dug by impassable ditches. The purpose of this, according to the authorities, is accident prevention.
As an alternative, there were careers near Bereza, Lyuban, Slutsk and Salihorsk.
Thus, today you can only admire the remnants of that beauty, which was recently famous for the chalk quarries of Volkovysk. Instead of costly ennobling the extraordinary terrain for tourists by local authorities, a course was chosen to destroy it in the name of the safety of "wild" vacationers.