Lake blue kabarda. Kabardino-Balkaria

Tserik-Kel

Scientists have found that the Lower Blue Lake in the Cherek region of the republic is much deeper than previously thought. This lake is also called Tserik-Kel. It is located 809 meters above sea level. Temperature all year round+9 degrees. Researchers suggest that it was formed due to the collapse of an underground karst cave.

A river flows out of the lake - more than 70 thousand cubic meters per day. But what feeds the reservoir itself - for many years it was not clear, the inflowing sources are not visible from the outside. Until recently, it was believed that the depth of the lake is 258 meters. But recently it turned out that this is not the case.

“The Center for Underwater Research of the Russian Geographical Society, professors and scientists from all over Russia (about 60 people in total) have thoroughly studied the Lower Lake,” says Mukhamed Kozhokov, chairman of the Kabardino-Balkarian branch of the Russian Geographical Society. - More than 90 deep-sea descents were carried out in a couple of months. For the first time, they used underwater vehicles - controlled robots. With their help, scientists discovered three caves in the deep-water part of the lake. The deepest point to which we managed to descend is 279 meters. It also turned out that underwater rivers feed Tserik-Kel. The water is incredibly clear, every pebble is visible, even at a depth of 25 meters. Further, the water becomes azure-turquoise due to hydrogen sulfide. There is no flora and fauna in the lake - hydrogen sulfide kills all living things. But why the water temperature is constant and what is at the very bottom is still unknown. "

Going to the bottom “I have descended into the Lower Lake several thousand times,” says the head of the Center for Underwater Research of the KBR, President of the Kabardino-Balkarian Federation of Underwater Sports Eduard Khuazhev. - The task of the last expedition was to determine a more accurate depth. And understand where the water comes from. In the bowl of the lake, we found several cracks from different sides, three of them are 1.5 meters wide, and powerful streams are coming from there. "

At the bottom of the lake, not far from the shore, there are several sunken cars. Empty, no people. Old-timers say that in the 30s of the last century a truck, loaded to the brim with cases of port, fell into the water. Researchers have exposed this myth: there really is a "GAZon" at the bottom, but there is only a box of port in it. They took out one bottle, tasted it, appreciated the aging.

Local residents bypass the lake due to superstition. It is believed that one cannot even get one's feet wet in Tserik-Kel.

By the way, it is really impossible to swim there even in summer. Cold water makes an unprepared person cramp muscles, and at depth it is very dangerous.

Four lakes

“There are four lakes in the Cherek Gorge - Lower, Dry, Secret and Upper,” says local historian Hadis Tetuev. “For the first time, the“ bottomless ”lakes of the Caucasus were mentioned in 1864 in the notes of the Russian officer Fyodor Tornau."

The first special observations over the Blue Lakes group were carried out in 1892-1895 by geologist Konstantin Rosikov. Scientists have established that all the lakes are of karst origin. But they are all completely different. If you climb from the Lower Lake to the northeast, then on the mountain plateau 187 m above the Lower Lake there is a huge, now dry, Kel-Kechkhen sinkhole. Translated from Balkar - "the lake has flowed under the bridge." The depth of the sinkhole is 177 meters. Below you can see a lake, which from above seems very small - the size of a saucer. It is called "Dry". According to legend, once its waters reached the upper edge of the sinkhole, but the mountains shuddered, and the water flowed into the Lower Lake.

Modern researchers suggest that the Nizhnee and Sukhoye lakes are in fact connected. The secret lake seems to be hidden in dense thickets of bushes and trees. On the opposite side of it is the Upper Blue Lake. Back at the beginning of the twentieth century, there were three small reservoirs in its place, which eventually merged together into one big lake... The water in the Secret and Upper Lakes freezes in winter, and in summer you can swim and fish in them - there are many animals in them.

In the valley of the Cherek-Balkarsky river, 6 km upstream from the confluence of the Cherek-Balkarsky and Cherek-Bezengiysky rivers into the Cherek river, 43.227778 , 43.55 43 ° 13'40 ″ s. sh. 43 ° 33'00 "in. etc. / 43.227778 ° N sh. 43.55 ° E etc.(G) (O)... The composition of the lakes includes the Lower Blue Lake (Tserik-Kol, Cherek-Kol) and the Upper Blue Lakes (including Sukhoye and Secret). Jacques Yves Cousteau, during the research, he could not reliably determine the depth of the lake (approximately from 2 m to 2.5 m)

The lower blue lake has a greenish-blue color and a constant water temperature of 9.3 ° C. Flowing. Located at an altitude of 809 m above sea level. The area of the lake is 0.0216 km² (235 X 130 m). Depth - 368 m. There are tourist centers on the coast. The current from the lake is constant and not subject to seasonal fluctuations. It is about 70 million liters. water per day. The water is crystal clear, transparent, the walls of the lake can be seen to a depth of 22 m. Its color is variable. In clear weather, gently blue, and in other weather conditions changes to azure (due to the content of hydrogen sulfide). The water surface of the lake is calm, it seems, it froze, froze in its mysterious, enigmatic beauty. Legend has it that the lake was formed when a dragon fell to the ground, killed by a folk hero, the forefather of the modern inhabitants of the North Caucasus.

To the east of Lake Tserik-kel is Lake Kel-Ketchkhen. The lake basin is a deep karst mine with sheer walls 177 m deep. At the bottom of the well there is a reservoir with an area of 2500 square meters and a depth of 5 m. Translated from the Balkar Kel - Ketchkhen means "the lake has flowed under the bridge." According to legend, in the dry hole there used to be a real lake with clean water... Once the mountains shuddered and Lake Kel - Ketchhen disappeared, flowed under the bridge.

North of Kehl - Ketchhen in a huge karst depression is the Upper Blue Lake. Compared to Tserikkel and Kehl - Ketchhen, this is a shallow lake (18 m.). The basin of the lake resembles a bowl: the shores are low, gentle, the greatest depth is in the center. The source of food for the Upper Blue Lake is mainly atmospheric precipitation, therefore its level is subject to fluctuations.

The upper blue lakes are up to 17 m deep. All 4 lakes are communicating. In the lakes, except for the Lower, there are grass carp, carp, trout. In the Lower Lake, only one representative of the fauna is found - the gammarus crustacean.

On maps

... that's right, cows!

"In the evenings, the cows go herd,
As in the old days, treading hard,
And they are glad for the immortal procession
Land, trees, sky and village ... "

Kaisyn Kuliev, as always, poetically described the walking cows, which the trees and the village may be happy with, but the motorists, clenching their teeth, continuously signaled to these ruminant friends.
And we watched with bated breath as my friend Christina dashingly maneuvered among this crowd of cows, practically along the edge of the abyss.

The road goes up the mountains in a winding serpentine, and you never know what surprise awaits you around the next turn. Cows, riders, everything is confused ...

Blue lakes of Kabardino-Balkaria

But there is also an eagle here, and also a donkey, a bear and a cute teapot.

And here, finally, it is - Lower Blue Lake - Chirik-Kol.

I can say with confidence that this is one of the most attractive and mysterious karst lakes. Looking at the water, you slightly lose the sense of reality, ceasing to understand where the real landscape is, and where is only its reflection.

The lake remains mysterious and not fully known to this day. Although they began to research it for a long time, they continue to do so now, but no one has managed to solve all the riddles and find answers to the simplest questions.
Blue Lake is considered one of the deepest lakes in the world, but it was not possible to establish the exact depth. Although Jacques Yves Cousteau himself dived into the depths of Chirik-Kohl, the English deep-sea record holder Martin Robson, a huge number of divers from all over the world, special deep-sea equipment. But no one can say with certainty what the depth of the lake is. Presumably it is believed that somewhere over 300 meters. Therefore, it received its name Chirik, which in translation from Balkar means bottomless, boundless.

Indeed, the surface of the lake gives the impression of a bottomless, all-seeing eye, which does not strongly seek to let everyone approach its secrets.

There are no living organisms here, only algae. Nobody ever swims here. Only brave divers are ready to dive into the depths of icy nine-degree water, for which they often have to pay with their own lives.
The latest large-scale project to explore the Blue Lake " Blue lake Awareness ”, where the best divers of the country were attracted, and the guest star - deep-sea diver Martin Robson, was sent to search for the cave system. After all, another mystery of the lake lies in the source from which the reservoir is filled. Indeed, not a single river flows into it, but at the same time thousands of cubic meters of blue water flows out every day, forming a small river.

Unfortunately, it was not possible to lift the curtain, and during the research a diver from Moscow died from barotrauma of the lungs, Martin Robson himself was recovering for a long time after decompression sickness. And the Blue Lake continues to keep its secrets in the depths of clear waters, attracting here like a magnet. And the color of the water is simply mesmerizing ...

The mysterious and inexplicable will always attract people. Likewise, divers, not wanting to rest on their laurels, continue their dives.

And so that they would not be distracted from their exploits, we wrote a couple of gentle ones for curious tourists.

A light snack with khychinami with Kalmyk tea, and we move on to the next most beautiful sight.

Tunnel and old road in the Cherek gorge

We are climbing higher and higher. And even the car is given this rise is not easy, you can feel how the car is a little "stupid". But Christina again masterfully copes with difficulties, and here we are at the tunnel.

One of the most popular and beautiful places Kabardino-Balkaria can be considered the Blue Lakes, which are located in the Cherek region of the KBR. The group of blue lakes is a natural phenomenon that is interesting not only for the KBR, but also on a national scale. Lakes belong to the group of reservoirs of karst origin and are located among beautiful nature- mountain deciduous forests and flowering subalpine fields. Above and below the lakes there are sheer cliffs, and at the very bottom, at the bottom of the canyon, the Cherek Balkarsky carries its waters with a noise and roar.

BLUE LAKES

The first stop is at the most popular of the reservoirs - Lower Blue Lake. It is located right next to the road and it is it that is of the greatest tourist interest.

The lake is called Tserik-Kel or Cherek-Kel. For a long time, the exact depth of the lake remained a mystery. Even Jacques Yves Cousteau ⛵ could not reliably define it. Now it is known that the depth of the lake is 279 meters, although there are still crevices that lead lower, but the bathyscaphe could not squeeze through there, so the final depth of the Lower Blue Lake is not yet clear. This is the second deepest karst lake in the world, only Red Lake in Croatia is deeper (281 m). Karst is a sinkhole in the rock, somewhat reminiscent of a well.

The color of the lake is changeable. In clear weather, it is soft blue, and in other weather conditions it changes to azure. The water is crystal clear, transparent, the walls of the lake can be seen to a depth of 22 m. The water surface of the lake is calm, it seems that it has frozen, frozen in its mysterious, enigmatic beauty.

The lake shore is a real Balkar bazaar. Here you can buy souvenirs, knitwear, jewelry, toys and other things that tourists like so much.

Time for inspection: 30 minutes

Cherek gorge

The bus goes up the serpentine to the tunnel in the Cherekskaya gorge. Walking the old road beaten out in sheer cliff, - the most exciting moment of the excursion. Here you can feel the immensity of the work of the river. Behind the tunnel, the path begins to the Zylgi fortress, adhered to the sheer cliff, as if swallow's Nest... A whole defensive system, created in the Middle Ages, begins from the rock fortress; the Balkarovs' tower, the Amir Khan tower, the Kurnayat fortress, the keshene in the villages of Kurnayat and Shkanty and many other monuments open to tourists the distant world of the past, enclosed in the Rocky Range.

Upper Balkaria

Upper Balkaria, near the Russia / Georgia border, about 60 km from Nalchik. The village of Upper Balkaria is a combination of the harsh beauty of the Cherek Gorge, the mountain hospitality of the Balkars and the breath of antiquity, which is felt even before entering the village. But the most amazing sensations will rush over you when you find yourself at the confluence of two rivers - Cherek Balkarsky and Ishkirti. The tourist infrastructure in the village is not developed. However, Upper Balkaria is attractive place for tourists. A number of sights of the republic are located here: architectural and natural monuments.

Time for inspection: 1 hour.

Aushiger hot springs

On the way to Blue lakes you can turn to the hot spring Aushiger.
The site is located on the southwestern outskirts of the village of Aushiger, on the right bank of the Kheu River, on the territory of the Aushiger sanatorium, 25 km from the city of Nalchik. Natural and climatic conditions of this area belong to the foothill part of the republic with a temperate continental climate.
The place is distinguished by the presence on the territory of the health and recreation complex of unique sources of nitrogen-thermal low-mineralized hot water.
When designing a health and recreation complex, the fundamental task was to attract the maximum number of vacationers, regardless of their standard of living. On the this moment there is a fairly developed infrastructure based on the Aushiger sanatorium, which includes a recreation, bathing and living area with a building for 100 people, a subsidiary farm area with greenhouses and a juice bottling workshop, and a complex of engineering and technical facilities.

Time of arrival: 40 min.

Admission to the sources is additionally paid: 100 rubles.

* Tour program and times are subject to change .