June 15 Shamans and Tuva Lakes

We started our day with a quick dip in the hotel’s swimming pool and then set off to visit lakes South of Kyzyl. As we left Kyzyl, we saw a strange gathering at the edge of the road and decided to join. This was a shaman gathering with some rituals we could not quite understand. We had a mix of feelings as this looked very touristy and were quite apprehensive of someone offering us fortune-telling services. As this did not happen, we got more relaxed. I guess it is kind of an open-to-public assembly, where people actually come on purpose to clean their karma, try to heal their diseases and just participate in the shamanic rituals. We saw a family with a child in a wheelchair attended by a shaman with his drum and throat-singing, then a shaman cleaning a young lady’s karma with smoke. The most surprising was when one of the shamans took off his kite headpiece and it turned out he was a European-looking guy. There were several people who looked foreigners, but we did not speak to them to confirm. So some people came here on purpose, some - like us - were just passing by. About 10-15 minutes after we arrived, all were told to form a big circle (being outside a circle apparently meant bad luck) and started raising our hands towards the sky saying “to friendship” and “to happiness”. We finished by making a wish and praising the sky. As I was standing next to a Russian lady, I checked with her how safe our trip plans for the day were and she reassured me we would be safe as long as we don’t stay overnight at the lake and avoid being outside at dark hours. All-in-all, I am happy we attended this gathering.

Then we continued to the Chagatay Lake, where we had lunch. We also tried to find the Durgen canyon, but got into a dead-end in the forest and decided not to continue. Visiting the canyon would require a walk and we did not have time for it unfortunately. Then we took a dirt road, which apparently was official as it appeared on all navigators, to arrive at the Dus-Khol (Svatikovo) Lake. The lake is famous for its mud full of minerals as well as its salinity, allowing flotation. I wanted to take a dip, bus as I saw plenty of small red creatures in the water, that really put me off. 

Then we went to the final destination for the day - the Cheder Lake. It is also known for its mineral mud and used to be a big spa resort, which is now completely abandoned. The smell at the lake was unpleasant - smell of sea mixed with sulphur and rotting organisms - grubs and crustaceans. The Lake offered great views and the abandoned buildings were hosting plenty of wildlife - we saw owls, some falcon-type birds of prey, hoopoes and other birds. This was a cherry on top to end the day. We had our overpriced dinner at the hotel firmly remembering the advice not to be outside at dark hours.