Sacred Places of Buiratau Park -
Water Springs in Buiratau Park in Akmola Region -
Kara-Agash Spring is a place where nature seems to lift the curtain on its pristine purity. It is located within the Buiratau National Park and is not included in the list of popular attractions, but like a magnet it attracts those who are looking for the real thing - living water, a living forest, a living feeling. "Kara-Agash" in translation from the Kazakh language means "Black Tree". The spring is very popular because it is considered sacred, and the water in it is also sacred. According to legend, once upon a time there grew a huge lonely elm tree, in the shade of which warriors rested in the steppe, drank water from the spring and watered their horses. This is a place of power, where it is always fresh and cool, even on the hottest day. The water here is crystal clear, with a slight mineral taste - locals claim that it has healing properties. The spring forms a small stream that disappears into the steppe, creating an oasis of greenery around itself.
Take an empty bottle with you - it is worth collecting this life-giving water not only to quench your thirst, but also as a memory of this amazing place. According to tradition, you need to leave a ribbon at the spring for good luck - but only a natural one, silk or wool, which will dissolve in nature over time. Near the spring are the Yereymentau Mountains and Mount Akdym. To the north of the spring are two lakes: Lake Azhbai and Lake Bozaigyr.
How to get there and visit -
The Kara-Agash spring is located in the Buiratau National Park, 5 kilometers from the Belodymovsky settlement, 60 kilometers from the Karagayly settlement, 16 kilometers from the Algabas settlement, Oskarovsky district, Akmola region, Republic of Kazakhstan.
GPS coordinates: 51°15'32"N 73°21'11"E
Information -
The water from the Kara-Agash spring is cold, clean, transparent. It flows from the ground slowly, but surely. Locals say that it has a special taste, and believe that it is healing. Some people come just to collect water for the road, others - to wash, refresh themselves, sit on a log by the spring, think in silence. They say that wishes made at Kara-Agash come true. Maybe it's the power of nature, maybe it's the person themselves, who becomes real in such moments. The path to the spring is not always obvious, sometimes it winds between trees, disappears under the grass. But going to it is already part of the journey. The closer you get, the more you feel how the hustle and bustle disappears. It becomes quieter. The world seems to freeze in anticipation. And then you hear the murmur, come closer - and see: simple, undisguised generosity of nature. Living water from the earth itself. Such springs are rare. They are not built, not reconstructed, not invented. They simply exist. As a memory of what the Earth can be like - kind, real, alive. Kara-Agash is exactly such a place. And if you are lucky enough to visit there, take with you not only a bottle of water, but also a little of this silence, this power. You will need it.
Legends about the Kara-Agash spring -
The legends give this place a special charm. The most beautiful of them says that the Kara-Agash spring appeared from the tears of a steppe girl mourning her lover. Another version claims that the water broke through here after the hoof of a magical batyr horse. Be that as it may, this place really has a special energy - many note that after visiting the spring they feel an extraordinary surge of strength. Today, Kara-Agash remains an important source of life for the local fauna. If you sit quietly by the water, you can see hares and foxes coming to the watering hole, and rare species of birds nesting in the willow branches. It is especially magical here at dawn, when the first rays of the sun play in the drops of water, or at dusk, when the spring begins to quietly sing its age-old song. In the summer, a yurt is set up next to the spring, people live here and receive guests.
Nearby attractions:
• Buiratau National Park;
• Sokolinye Gory (Falcon Mountains);
• Kos-Batyr Sanctuary;
• Akdym Mountain;
• Zhaushoky Mountain;
• Aulie-Bulak Spring;
• Kara-Agash Spring;
• Nature Museum in Buiratau Park;
• Karagayly Ancient Burial Site;
• Togyz Shoshak Glade (Tract);
• Azhbay Lake;
• Bozaygyr Lake.
