Steppe folk: what to see in Elista and its surroundings
Year after year, Kalmykia is increasingly asserting itself as a promising tourist destination. In spring and summer, the republic attracts visitors with the flowering of wild plants, an abundance of fruits and a rich wildlife. Kalmykia is one of the centers of Buddhism in Russia all year round. The correspondent of Izvestia together with the project "Media Intelligence" of the Tutu service.<url>" and with the support of the Autonomous Non-Profit Organization "Agency for the Development of Tourism of the Republic of Kalmykia" studied local attractions.
Good riddance
Our way to Elista is through Volgograd. You can get to the capital of the republic by plane, but the city airport accepts only a few flights a week.
During the three-hour transfer, you get to know the steppe: the endless green sea is marked by power lines and small buildings.
"These are livestock stations, koshary, but Kalmyks just call them points," says Oleg, the driver.
Cattle graze here and there — sheep, cows. Drivers carefully look at the animals along the road.
"If they throw themselves under the car, you won't find the owner later," Oleg says. — I'll have to fix the car at my own expense.
Cattle breeding is a profitable business here. One sheep from the owner of the herd costs about 15 thousand, and a few years ago the price was twice as cheap. Good land for pastures in the republic has been dismantled — this is the main key to business success.
—Moscow restaurateurs and even Iranians take our meat," the source continues.
Representatives of the Iranian clergy regularly come here to slaughter livestock to say a prayer of permission, after which meat is sent to consumers across the Caspian Sea to the East.
Main city
Elista, like the Kalmyk steppes, is squat and slightly hilly. The city is mostly one-story, with a lot of private sector. Nine-storey buildings are considered almost skyscrapers. At the entrance to the center, guests are greeted by the "Golden Horseman", a monument to the hero of the folk epic Dzhangar. That was the name of Khan, the main warrior of the country of prosperity Bumba, where heroes and beauties lived and never grew old. The traveler will learn more about the epic and culture of the Kalmyk people at the N.N. Palmov National Museum of the Republic of Kalmykia.
Not far from the museum is Druzhba Park, a favorite vacation spot for townspeople and tourists. There are attractions for children and adults, you can try local ice cream, sit in a cafe.
Golden Gate at Druzhba Park in Elista
Sculptures and monuments are located on the Alley of Heroes in the park along the pedestrian zone. The Kalmyk Letters installation is of interest. Eduard Baltykov's art object demonstrates the national alphabet, and using the QR code attached to the figures, you can hear how the letters sound and learn the basics of the language. Selfies are also often taken at the monuments to Viktor Tsoi, and oriental-style rotundas at the composition of Elyan Ovla (dedicated to the storyteller Dzhangarchi, from whose words the epic about heroes beloved by Kalmyks was recorded). The monument "White Elder" is especially important for Kalmyks — it is considered a national patron saint. He is usually depicted with a staff and a wolf.
Postcard views of the alley begin from the Golden Gate and the Seven Days Pagoda. The temple structure appeared on Lenin Square in 2005, with 75 million mantras embedded in the Buddhist prayer drum. The architecture of this part of the city resembles the urban landscape of an Asian city rather than a Russian one — this is the main highlight of Elista. The pagoda is located on the main thoroughfare of the city — Lenin Street.
The Center of Buddhism
It is here that the tallest building in the city, the hurul "Golden Abode of Shakyamuni Buddha" is located. Despite the fact that the temple is not yet 20 years old (it was opened on December 27, 2005), it has rightfully become the center of the spiritual life of the Buddhists of Kalmykia.
Temple of the Golden Abode of Shakyamuni Buddha in Kalmykia
The Hurul "The Golden Abode of Shakyamuni Buddha" in Elista was blessed by the Dalai Lama XIV. The spiritual leader of Tibetan, Mongolian and Russian Buddhists paid a pastoral visit to Elista in 2004, at the same time he approved the construction of the temple. And he chose the place himself. According to local guides, huruls are usually built far from the city, in a place where believers can retire in silence. But in this case, an exception was made.
The height of the hurula is 63 m, inside it accommodates the second largest nine—meter Buddha statue in Europe. Buddhist relics, such as the clothes of the 14th Dalai Lama, are kept in the temple. There is also a small museum inside, created mainly from the private collections of local residents.
The Black Lands Nature Reserve
The main natural resources and beauties of Kalmykia are located on 121 hectares of the Chernye Zemly Nature Reserve.
This is a unique reserve, the main territory of which is located in the Caspian lowlands. Tourists will see endless steppes, sandy massifs and salt marshes here. This part of Kalmykia has a sharply continental climate with hot summers, cold winters, and little precipitation.
Winter in southeastern Kalmykia is warm, with almost no snow.
"That's why they called it the Chernozem Region," explains Vladimir Lidzhiev, the reserve's inspector. — In winter, everything looks almost like in summer, especially from a helicopter.
Kalmykia is considered the hottest region of Russia, the temperature, according to locals, reaches 60 degrees Celsius. However, the officially recorded maximum is significantly lower — just over 45 degrees.
The availability of fresh water has always been and remains a problem in the region. According to Rospotrebnadzor, only 7.8% of residents are provided with high-quality drinking water.
Conventionally, the reserve can be divided into two main sections: steppe (where visitors can see saigas) and ornithological, Lake Manych-Gudilo is a local paradise with rare birds. The fauna of the reserve is amazing in its diversity: rare saiga antelopes live here, which form huge herds during migrations. There are steppe cats, corsairs, wolves, foxes, ground squirrels. Steppe eagles, barrowbirds and other birds of prey soar in the sky.
Timid owners of the reserve
The reserve's inspector, Vladimir Lidzhiev, can spend hours talking about saigas.
"A coward lives longer," says the inspector. — Saiga is very timid and is not lazy to run away at the slightest suspicion of danger.
A sound, an extraneous approaching figure — the herd is simultaneously undermined and carried away. It doesn't matter if a hundred individuals grazed or a thousand. Saigas never leave the collective; the exception is sick animals. Because of this feature, it is extremely difficult to photograph a saiga up close - towers and "fleets" have been built especially for photographers in the reserve. These are special shelters at the watering hole, where you can take pictures of saiga quietly. The horned one drinks bitter-salty water and does not graze far from the reservoir.
—The life of a saiga is 6-7 years," says our inspector. — The species has become extinct due to poaching. 10 years ago, the situation began to change. Today, the population is about 42 thousand saigas. The hotel period is in early May. According to our calculations, after him the number should exceed 60 thousand heads, taking into account the case.
The main danger to the saiga is predators.
"Wolves choose the fattest one, just like in a store," says the inspector. — Two are chasing him, three are waiting in ambush.
The tactics of hunting a gray horse are different — they bite and follow it for a day or two until it falls off.
The most striking corner of the reserve in the truest sense of the word is the pink Mekletinskoe lake. The microscopic crustacean Artemia salina presented a special color scheme to the reservoir. However, the liquid that fills the lake can hardly be called full-fledged water: it has a high concentration of salt. Natural gas methane is also present in the solution.
A few kilometers from the lake, you can visit the ethnopark "Adyk — strana Bumba", where you can immerse yourself in the atmosphere of nomadic life. You can also ride a camel here. By the way, there is also a "sea" nearby for the desert ship. The singing dunes are a piece of desert in the steppe that moves due to the winds, albeit barely noticeably.
An equally interesting corner is the Ceren Ethnopark. It opened very recently, in 2023, but quickly became a popular holiday destination among the residents of Elista. Here they will tell and show how the yurt is arranged, hold master classes in Kalmyk dance and even make commemorative personalized charms in the Kalmyk language. Kalmyks are very proud to have their own distinctive vertical writing system. The advantage of Tseren is that it is located within the city limits and is accessible by taxi or public transport.
What to try and where to stay
The Kalmyks place the main emphasis in the national cuisine on meat dishes. A rare table is complete without mahan (mutton broth with potatoes) and dotura (mutton giblets with milk and bacon). One of the most popular treats on the table is beriki. These are Kalmyk dumplings with minced meat in the manner of manti. The main drink of the steppe nomad is Kalmyk tea, or jomba. Milk, butter, salt, and sometimes spices are added to the tea. As the guides explain to the guests, this drink helps to retain moisture in the body during the hot season. Instead of donuts and crumpets on the Kalmyk table, bortsoki is fried in hot oil or fat. As a gift, you can bring several sticks of sausage home from Kalmykia, here it is in a large assortment — from horse meat, lamb, pork.
The project participants comfortably spent several days at the Marco Polo Hotel. There is a well-known restaurant in the city, and guests can enjoy a buffet breakfast with a wide range of dishes. There is also an Elista hotel in the city center that is convenient for a city tour. There is a possibility of accommodation in yurts and cabins on the territory of the Chernye Zemly Nature Reserve. For example, at the Ozerny cordon, where people come for saiga and wolf hunting, there are facilities with a toilet (in the steppe this is a luxury), a kitchen, and an oven. The conditions at the Atsan-Huduk and Pelikan cordons are a little simpler.
But it is worth noting that the rate of new places for premium accommodation in the city does not correspond to the growth rate of interest in the republic. Today, tourists live in rented apartments, guest houses and motels.
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At the same time, the region is gradually solving the problems of tourism development related to transport and accommodation facilities, the regional government assured Izvestia.
—The Republic of Kalmykia is steadily strengthening its position on the tourist map of Russia," said Erdni Tserenov, First Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Republic of Kalmykia. — In recent years, the tourist flow has increased sixfold, which is facilitated by bright events: the tulip festival (more than 55 thousand guests in 2024), the lotus festival and the marathon along the dunes.
According to him, ecological, ethnographic and rural tourism are developing, the quality of service is growing, new facilities are appearing — glamping, camping, ethnoparks.
— In September, the region will become the site of the III International Buddhist Forum, a large—scale event with the participation of leaders of the Buddhist world, scientists and public figures. Kalmykia is ready to receive thousands of guests,— Tserenov said.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
