Bayanaul: recreation areas "Zhalyn" and "Zhasybay"

If someone tells you that there are more amazing places in Kazakhstan than the Bayan-Aul mountain range, do not believe it. There is, perhaps, more beautiful, more comfortable, healthier, but only Bayan-Aul is able to be unaccustomed and stunning.

Mirage in the steppe

The exhausting road among the boundless steppes with parched earth and hot air can tire any traveler. And suddenly the outlines of the blue mountains appear. They float long in the haze over the horizon, like a mirage. Among the thousands of miles of monotonous plain where does the mountains come from? But they darken, their outlines become more and more real. The steppe freshened, it chilled cool - it's Bayanaul. Recreation zones are still far away, but the main signs of the terrain are clear: mountains and lakes.

Kazakh Switzerland

Where, then, in the endless steppe, a tiny mountain range, and even with nine lakes? Scientists claim that volcanoes erupted here 65 million years ago, and the flowing lava froze with bizarre stone cakes.

Lakes feed on springs that beat from the bottom, so the water in them is clear, clean and cool. The shores of the reservoirs were covered with healing pine, mixed forests and unusually tall grasses.

Bayan-Aul in the translation from the Turkic language - "happy mountains". Protected by a mountain range from the winds and colds, the terrain kept livestock from death, so the shepherds' life here was safe. The legend has survived, as dozens of families with children went from the banks of the Irtysh on carts on the hungry steppe, fleeing from death. The cloud in the fog on the horizon gradually turned into Mount Akbet 1027 meters high. Having rounded it, hungry families saw paradise: rivers and springs, lakes, full fishes, forests with mushrooms and berries and a lot of juicy grass. So they stayed here to live.

Bayan-Aul National Park

Favorable mountains now need protection. Since 1985 Bayanaul, recreation zones around it have been declared a reserve. Each arriving person pays an environmental fee: about 300 tenge. For the convenience of translating into rubles, you simply need to divide the amount in Kazakh currency by five. Here bonfires are forbidden. At night, the terrain can be controlled by helicopters and violators are in for serious trouble. On lakes, it is not allowed to use gasoline-powered vehicles. On the territory of the reserve, it is also forbidden to travel by car.

Jasibai - the most beautiful of beautiful

In the village of Bayanaul, recreation areas are located around Lake Sabyndykol. Its name translates as "soap lake". The legend tells of the beautiful Bayan, who, admiring herself, dropped soap into the lake. The pond is beautiful at sunset and sunrise, however the alkaline water in it does not bring pleasure from bathing, and the mountains are far from here. Therefore, tourists quickly leave Bayanaul: recreation areas that interest them are located behind the pass, on Lake Jasibai. There is a surprise for travelers - on the most dangerous part of the descent they will be offered to walk. This is because the bus once fell into the abyss at this place.

None of the mountain resorts will force tourists to get out of the bus and cross a dangerous serpentine descent on foot, but to Lake Jasybai it is necessary to approach this way: to inhale the healing aroma of pine, to absorb the heat of hot stones. Enjoying the views of the lake, the soft outlines of mountains, a person begins to experience an inexplicable feeling. Believers call it grace - the fullness of life.

Recreation centers: what for?

For every taste, rest areas are designed in Bayanaul. Prices in them have a wide range. To stay overnight in the camp of the tourist center "Bayan-Aul" costs, for example, 250-300 tenge, if you add 300 souls here, and boiling water is the same, then one night will cost 1000 tenge (200 rubles).

The central position on the north coast is occupied by the recreation zone "Zhasybay". Bayanaul is on a direct road from it at a distance of seven kilometers. By the way, along this road is the grave of the hero Zhasibai, whose name is the lake. It was a brave batyr during the struggle of the Kazakhs with the Dzungars. People bring stones to his grave, so here a whole mountain formed from them.

At the recreation center "Zhasybay" prices are as follows:

• Housing without a TV set and a refrigerator costs 2000 tenge;
• 500 tenge - refrigerator and TV;
• 1500 tenge - meals;
• 300 tenge - car parking;
• Convenience on the street - free of charge;
• Total: 4300-4500 tenge per day per person (860-900 rubles);
• Rental of floating equipment (boats, catamarans) costs up to 1-1,5 thousand tenge;
• Excursion trips on cars with sightseeing of Bayan-Aul reserve (6000 tenge) are organized.

One of the most budgetary is the recreation zone "Zhalyn", Bayanaul from which is located at a distance of 14 km. The tour costs 4000 tenge per day.

Tourists and holidaymakers who think that rest in Bayanaul means to eat, drink, lie on the beach and wait for the fulfillment of all their whims at a budget price, are horrified by the local service: flies, dirt, convenience on the street, primitive food, sluggish and cunning The service staff is everything that they take away, leaving negative feedback. And they are right: the "glossy" rest on Jasibai does not make sense.

Bayan-Aul - a balm for the soul

The first word that a person says when he first saw Lake Jasibai in the ring of mountains: "Beauty!" She is everywhere, legends about her. Here is the stony rock of Atbasy - the horse's head.

This, as well as much in these places, there is a flowery eastern legend. Nothing was afraid of the battle horse of the hero Jasibai. But when the arrow pierced the owner's throat, the smell of blood terrified him. In despair the horse climbed to the top of the mountain, where the hero died. A loyal friend of his, his head bowed, petrified with grief.

The water in the Jasibai Lake is itself a miracle in our age of turbid reservoirs and drying up rivers. Deep, pure, spring - it heals everyone who plunges into it.

You can wander around the lake for hours, not tired: climb the cliffs, whose stones generously give warmth, collect white mushrooms or climb into damp thickets of forest raspberries. Each such small foray is a healing procedure from pine-juniper air, active movement and positive emotions. The trifles of everyday life recede, but the holiday of the heart remains.