Lake Auschkul: how to get there, rest, fishing

Bashkortostan is a relatively small republic, home to just over 4 million people, but here is an unusually beautiful and pristine nature. The Bashkirs managed to save their 12,000 rivers and more than 2,500 lakes from pollution, and forests, which occupy 40% of the territory, from cutting down.

Lake Auskul is a source of mineralized water, and a place where thousands of pilgrims annually come, as it is comfortably located at the foot of the sacred mountain of Auschau.

Location of the lake

Formed very long ago in the earth's crust, the crack became on the territory of modern Bashkiria (Uchaly district) by Lake Auskul. It lies in the middle of a stony steppe two hundred miles from Chelyabinsk, 300 km from Yekaterinburg and 350 km from Ufa.

The places around it are sparsely populated. Nearby there is only one village Starobayramgulovo, and the nearest town is Miass 40 km. Fishermen and pilgrims know Auschkul (the lake) well. How to get there by road to this sacred place for the Sunnites, you will be prompted by signs and a map: along the Chelyabinsk highway before turning to Miass or Kasli, and then to Uchaly direction to the city of Komsomolsk. From it turn right to the village Starobayramgulovo, which is located on its shore.

In translation from Turkic the name of the reservoir means "transshipment lake", and it is connected with a pilgrimage to the sacred mountain of Aushtau, located on its north-western shore. Before the rise to the sacred relics, the travelers made a halt on its shore, from where this toponym took at the lake, stretched out on the plain, and not on the highlands.

Description of Lake Auskul

The bowl with the purest bluish-green water lies at the foot of the Aushtau mountain. This is Lake Auskul. Small in size, only 2 km long and 1.5 km wide, it is surrounded by a beach covered with small colored stones. If you do not spare the time to search, among them you can find the famous Aushkul fawn jasper. In the far 18th century vases were made from it for the nobility and the Imperial Palace.

Auskul Lake does not shine with its bottomlessness, because the deepest places in it do not exceed 3 meters. But this does not prevent the lovers of fishing from leaving here with a good catch.

Entering the basin of the Uy river, this lake was able to preserve a unique set of minerals that makes it one of the curative hydrocarbonate-calcium-magnesium sources. Its water is soft, and the lake is filled with the Shartadm River and rain.

The only island of the lake has a mysterious feature: it constantly migrates to short distances, and the outlines in the form of a heart give it a romantic charm. Scientists devoid of sentimentality give a prosaic explanation of this phenomenon, associating it with the fact that the islet lies on a peat bog, which is unstable in the bottom, that it is attributed by winds to one side or the other along the shore.

Lake Auskul became home to the gray cranes and mallards, and in a small birch line near the shore nest grouses.

Rest on Auskul

Its original appearance, purity and beauty preserved this lake due to the absence of nearby industrial enterprises and tourist bases. Those who go to Uchaly district to enjoy nature, must be ready, that they will have to live among it in the literal sense of the word.

The shores of Lake Auskul are gentle, so finding a place for a tent will not be difficult.

Who can not do without the benefits of civilization, can stop either 40 km from the pond in the hotel of the city of Miass, or ask to stay with the locals. The second option is very attractive, as Bashkirs are incredibly friendly and hospitable people.

Especially crowded in these places in the spring. This is due to the fact that believers come to the holy spring, which beats just a month a year at the top of Mount Auschtau. According to legend, the headless Auliy himself ascended to the top of the mountain, where the Bashkirs buried him, and alongside his grave a source of healing water was killed. By the summer it dries up and disappears completely until next spring.

Knowing its medicinal properties, pilgrims climb to the top of the mountain (645 m) for water, and to bow to the tomb of St. Aulia.

Also regulars of the lake are fishermen, knowing about its fish-rich waters.

Fishing on the lake

Those who fished in these places are well acquainted with the spectacular sight, when in the first rays of the sun in the water's surface becomes visible the reflection of Mount Aushtau. So it looks at dawn Lake Auskul. Fishing in it is especially good from the eastern shore.

There are numerous campfires here, and mushrooms are found in the nearby forest. No less attractive is the slope of a small hill, descending to the eastern shore of the lake. The lovers of collecting berries like strawberry overgrown slope.

The waters of the lake abound with bream, roach, perch, pike, ripus, carp, gold and silver crucian carp. You can fish from the shore or on the boat. For fishing, the spinning will require depth, so the boat should either be taken with you, or rented from local fishermen.

Unfortunately, on Lake Auskul cases of poaching are frequent, which leads to the crushing of fish and the reduction of its quantity. Therefore, even with a large catch, the weight of the fish will rarely impress anyone.

Attractions near Lake Auskul

No matter how clean and attractive Lake Auskul is, there are places for recreation in Bashkiria that are more equipped for this, therefore, the local population is connected with the local communities, primarily with the sacred objects located on Mount Auschtau.

On top of it there are burials, revered not only by the Bashkirs, but by all the Sunnis. In one grave lies the ashes of an Arab sheik, as evidenced by an ancient inscription on a memorial plate. Aulius and the Divan are buried nearby.

The power of the mountain peak has been recharged for many centuries by the pilgrims' belief that the desires conceived near these graves will necessarily come true, to which there are numerous confirmations. Despite the fact that the way up steep enough, and pass it to people elderly or unprepared difficult without halts, the path to the shrines does not overgrow with grass. The tree growing near the graves keeps thousands of ribbons on it - these are the desires of pilgrims.

Tours to Auskul

When the weather on Lake Auschkul is favorable, especially in the summer, paragliders and lovers of jeep tours come here.

The first is attracted by the beautiful view of the lake from a bird's eye view, while the second is waiting for 80 km from Miass with a rest near the lake and climbing the holy mountain.

Travel agencies offer the same rest for those who are used to acting on the road: day trips around the lake on quad bikes and bicycles, with the conquest of the slopes of the hills, will be an excellent opportunity to actively relax and check yourself for endurance.

Lake Auskul today

It should be something in this world to remain unchanged, like, for example, sunrises and sunsets. So Lake Auskul should be an untouched civilization. Silence, beauty and holy energy, characteristic of this place, should continue to give rest to the human soul.