Walk on Elton Lake

The Elton saltwater lake on the border with Kazakhstan isn’t just a natural pearl with a centuries-old history, but also full of photo ops for your social media. This unique blend of steppe landscapes, pink water and soft sun has an incredible effect on your content: photographers from Saratov and Volgograd can confirm this!

The sunset on the lake seems to take you to another planet to show you the birth of a new star. It’s simply magical! By the way, we are not joking about space - the starry sky above Elton is an impression of a lifetime.

How to walk on the lake?

🏜️ You can get to Elton by car, train or bus.

🏜️ We advise you to buy a ticket for the Saratov-Elton train (6 hour journey) or travel the same route by car (4 hours). For lovers of aesthetic beauty and romantic train rides - you can estimate the time of arrival to Elton and make it closer to the sunset. You’ll then be able to take in the unforgettable beauty from your train window!

🏜️ We don’t advise that you opt for the car, as enticing as that 200 km journey may seem. Even an SUV can get stuck braving the steppes in rainy conditions. And if you do manage to get out of the salt flats, you might still end up in the middle of military exercises… not a good idea! Just turn back. The best way to travel from Volgograd to Elton is by bus. 🚐

🏜️ You can stay the night at the ‘Elton’ spa hotel, as well as with locals in a B&B or even pitch a tent as an adventurer.

🏜️ To see the famous algae bloom, giving the lake its pink, almost crimson color, we advise traveling in August.

Furthermore, visitors can enjoy a medicinal dip in brine, mud and mineral waters of the Smorogdinsky Spring. Nature lovers can cover the lake’s entire perimeter (152 sq. km!) in search of rare Gesner tulips, migrating birds and the famous single-celled alga Dunaliella salina seaweed, which gives the water a pink color.

Sports fans, meanwhile, can try their luck racing on foot in extreme conditions. The famous ultramarathon around Elton is, sadly, no more, due to the closure of the project but a run in the semi-desert is another challenge in the piggy bank.

Regardless of your preferences, we recommend everyone to arrange a photo shoot on the most beautiful lake in Russia! Big thanks for the videos go out to @_viktorkotov, @grinenkophoto, @alenc4ik, @kira__shakira_, @kseniya_fedulova_, @russkaroma