Among the reservoirs of Kazakhstan there are lakes with the same name - Shalkar (Chalkar, Chelkar). One of them is located in the West Kazakhstan region (WKO), the other in the North Kazakhstan region (NKO). Another small lake is located southwest of the city of the same name Chelkar in the Aktobe region. Since 2000, the transcription of names has been changed to Shalkar. This Kazakh word means “large”, “huge”. The steppe wind raises waves on the surface of the lakes with a white cap of foam, which resembles the sea.
Chelkar Lake - the sea in the steppes of Western Kazakhstan
The natural reservoir is located in the West Kazakhstan region, in the southeast of the Terektinsky district, south of the city of Uralsk. The mysteries of the steppe sea occupy the minds of researchers, and the uniqueness of nature, clean air, soft clear water and warm sandy beaches attract thousands of tourists on its shores.
The lake is about 18 km long and 14 km wide. The oval basin is slightly elongated from north to south. The average depth of the reservoir is 5 m, the maximum distance to the bottom is 18 m. The surface of the lake is at around 17 m relative to the level of the World Ocean, and its origin causes a lot of controversy. A number of scientists consider the deepening a trace of the ancient Khvalynsk Sea, which gradually receded and remained within the Caspian.
Two rivers flow into Lake Chelkar (photo presented in the article) - Bolshaya and Malaya Ankaty. Only one flows out - Solyanka, a drying tributary of the Urals. The basin is filled with clean and clear water from underground sources, reminiscent of the Black Sea in its sodium chloride composition. Mineralization varies seasonally, averaging 14 mg / l, the reaction is slightly alkaline (pH 8.5). Water and sediment contain components that have health benefits.
How to get to Lake Chelkar. Rest on the steppe sea
Tourists have chosen a site on the south coast near the village of Saryumir, Shalkar district, Terektinsky district. The area lies southeast of the administrative center of the West Kazakhstan region (WKO). This territory is a historically important link between the Old World and the Asian part of the mainland. In ancient times there passed the caravan Great Silk Road.
Modern transport has changed, railway, automobile, air prevail. A paved road leads to Chelkar Lake. On the route Uralsk - Chelkar, the distance is approximately 75 km.
Tourists stay in boarding houses on the shore, where the benefits of civilization are available. On the coast, vacationers can rent a yurt for an overnight stay and feel like ancient nomads on the Great Silk Road. Steppe plants exude spicy aromas into the air, the shores folded by bizarre stones, sometimes covered with fine sand, gently descend to the water. Its temperature in the midst of summer reaches 24 ° C.
The nature of Lake Chelkar (WKO)
In the south and north, Lake Chelkar is bordered by the hills of Sasai and Santas. The second massif is a regional geological and botanical monument. Features of the territory - the presence of solonetzes and a high degree of mineralization of groundwater. Under these most difficult conditions, endemic species of flora and calciphytes adapted to life on limestone deposits grow. On the southern shore of the lake, opposite the village of Saryumir, there is a sandbank, its length is 8 km. Carp, bream, pike, pike perch and other fish species are found in the catch of fishermen. The world of feathered lakes is rich; many species of mammals, characteristic of the steppe zone, live on its shores.
Ecology of Lake Shalkar
In July 2014, there was a short-term turbidity of the water and pollution of the coast with greenish silt caused by natural processes. The incident affected the mood of tourists who dreamed of visiting Lake Chelkar. The recreation area quickly cleared, but many travelers did not dare to go to the reservoir, not knowing the causes of a natural phenomenon. The pollution turned out to be short-lived, and the fact of its appearance confirms the need for further research and protection of the nature of the lake. In recent years, its level has been declining, a lot of water has gone after the earthquake.
Infrastructure problems
The benefits of relaxing on the coast are the extraordinary properties of lake water and air, which have a bactericidal and regenerative effect. Some tourists are calm about the fact that the yurt to accommodate all guests and food items on the coast is not enough for everyone who wants to visit the lake Chelkar (Kazakhstan). The recreation center needs work to improve the beach, landscaping, modernizing access roads, which become impassable during rain. There are vacationers who consider the current obsessive low-level service a temporary phenomenon, counting on improving conditions.
Will the “Pearl of the Urals" become an international resort?
Travel to the coastal zone of Lake Chelkar is paid. Several types of entertainment are available here, including trips on catamarans, boats, horseback riding. The number of services for tourists will increase significantly after the creation of an international-level recreation area on the coast. According to the press service of the regional akim, at the first stage, the authorities will take up the development of regional tourism (until 2020). As a result, rest on Chelkar should become more comfortable and versatile.
It is planned to erect hotels, campsites, summer houses that can be rented on the lake. A new road will connect the regional center and the coast. The first stage will end with the creation of a health complex, and the final with the commissioning of an international tourism facility (until 2050). A ski resort and a mud bath using local peloids will be built.
Shalkar in the North Kazakhstan region
In the east of the Ayyrtau region of North-Kazakhstan region, Lake Chelkar is located (photo is presented in the article). The name of the reservoir is now customary to use in accordance with the traditions of the Kazakh language (Shalkar). The length of the basin, elongated in the west-east direction, is 12 km, the width is over 3 km, the maximum depth is 15 m. The lake is fed with spring and snow. Not a single river flows out of the reservoir, it is closed, its sodium chloride composition resembles seawater.
Differences in relief in the vicinity of the lake - from steppe foothills to mountains of medium height (1500 m). Flora is characterized by a predominance of steppe and forest-steppe vegetation. The islands of the forest are represented by pine forests, the steppe areas are represented by the feather-grass-motley “sea”. Typical representatives of the fauna are ungulates (wild boar, elk, roe deer, Askanian deer). There are hares, squirrels, predators (steppe polecat, corsac, weasel, wolf, fox).
The southern part of the coast of the lake is higher, rocky ledges are exposed here, covered mainly with coniferous vegetation. On the southeastern coast, gentle slopes to the water and sandy beaches open. The narrowed part, the cross, separates the large and small Shalkar. The width of this small strait is 200 m. Commercial fish are found in the lake: perch, crucian carp, carp and other species.
Holiday season on the lake Shalkar
The healing properties of water, good opportunities for recreation and fishing glorified Lake Chelkar. Recreation centers "Rodniki", "Turpan", "Miner", "Quiet Harbor", "Pearl" and others receive tourists visiting this fertile corner. The resort is located at a distance of 70 km from the city of Kokshetau (Akmola region). The peak of tourism in the vicinity of the lake falls in the summer, and the season ends in early October. The sandy beach opposite the village of Ayyrtau begins to fill with vacationers from the end of May. In the village itself, guest houses have been created on the lands of the private sector, which host Kazakhstani and foreign tourists.
Turquoise lake, mountain springs, clean air, steppe sand and pine forest - all this attracts vacationers. Mixed coniferous-small-leaved forests approach the beaches on the coast. It is pleasant to refresh yourself in salt water, admire the beauty of the coast, take advantage of excellent opportunities for outdoor activities and recreation. The hostels have no shortage of people who want to spend time on Lake Chelkar (the map shows the location of recreation facilities on the coast).
Base and holiday home
The stone buildings of holiday homes rise on the banks of the reservoir, there are tent camps, campsites, which is very important for owners of their own vehicles arriving at Lake Chelkar (Kazakhstan). Recreation center “Miner” is located next to a rocky island. Other facilities are located adjacent to lake lagoons. Tourists are accommodated in rooms of stone multi-storey buildings, cottages, in summer houses. Most of the structures are located in the forests approaching the coast.
On the southeastern shore of Lake Chelkar there is a two-story building, a one-story cottage, 12 bungalows of the Rodniki holiday home. The distance from here to the city of Kokshetau is 70 km, to Omsk - 480 km. In the main building there is a cafe where three meals a day are organized for holidaymakers. Tourists who come to the lake and stop at the rest house want to swim in the crystal clear water and take advantage of the healing properties of bottom sediments (mud). Outside the beach season, tourists are not accepted at the Rodniki holiday home and other institutions on the coast.
Sanatorium "Shalkar Su"
In the sanatorium "Shalkar Su" treat and engage in the prevention of diseases of the respiratory, musculoskeletal and nervous systems. Physiotherapy, hydrotherapy, acupuncture, herbal medicine are used. The clear water of the lake has healing properties, especially useful for skin diseases. Peloids of the Borovskoye field and healing clay, the reserves of which are located in the southern part of Lake Shalkar, are used for procedures. Chelkar Lake is a whole set of natural healing factors:
- clean air of pine forests;
- volatile and smells of coniferous oils, resins;
- lake water, close in composition to sea;
- healing mud.
Guests of the health resort can go on exciting walking tours in the surroundings, ride a catamaran. The sanatorium "Shalkar Su" operates only in the summer.
Lake Chelkar in North-Kazakhstan region. Recreation and entertainment
In summer, many water activities are available. You can rent a boat, catamaran, sail under a yacht. Children like a water slide, and adults are not averse to swimming in the pool with water from the lake, use the services of a sauna, baths, sports facilities.
For tourists organized boat trips, walking and bus excursions. The route of one of the water trips runs along the southern shore of the reservoir - an integral part of the Kokshetau National Natural Park (located on the territory of North-Kazakhstan region and Akmola region (Kazakhstan)). Lake Chelkar, a vacation on its coast is especially remembered by tourists who visited the sand spit and the cross-border, the southern shore encircled by mountain forests.
The routes of many excursions pass through the North Kazakhstan region, rich in picturesque natural sites, monuments of archeology, history, and national culture of the Kazakh people. There are 3,000 salt and fresh water bodies in this territory. In Aiyrtausky district, tourists can see the memorial complex Karasay and Agyntay, in Petropavlovsk - the regional museum of local history, a mosque and Orthodox churches.