The most interesting and visited places of Akmola region -
Borovoye Lake Zerenda Tour in Zerenda district -
Among the picturesque hills of Kokshetau, like a mirror reflecting the sky, lies one of the most beautiful lakes in northern Kazakhstan – Lake Zerenda. This place is not just a geographical point on the map. This is a corner where silence, history and the power of nature merge. Here you forget about time, because nature itself says: stop, inhale, feel. The lake is part of the Kokshetau National Park and the Kokshetau Lakes group (network). The lake is very popular among travelers, and the tourist infrastructure is built around the lake. The village of Zerenda is located on the shore of the lake, which has guest houses and small hotels for recreation. The southern part of the lake is surrounded by a beautiful coniferous forest (pine forest), where there are recreation areas in the forest, the eastern part of the lake is covered with a beautiful sandy beach, there are also recreation areas and wild places where you can camp. It is best to visit Lake Zerenda when you are relaxing in the village of Borovoe on the shore of Lake Borovoe (Auliekol), which is located nearby in the Burabai National Park.
How to get there and visit -
Lake Zerenda is located 50 kilometers from the city of Kokshetau and 320 kilometers from the city of Astana, in the Kokshetau National Park, Zerendinsky district, Akmola region, Republic of Kazakhstan.
GPS coordinates: 52°55'25"N 69°07'21"E
Information -
Lake Zerenda is a bottomless mirror in which clouds are reflected so clearly that it is impossible to understand where the sky ends and the water begins. Fishermen here are like meditating monks, sitting on the shore for hours, knowing that the lake will give its prey only to those who know how to wait. Their catch is not just fish, but the legendary Zerendinsky perch, whose striped sides shimmer with all shades of silver. In addition to perch, the lake is home to carp, ripus, pelage, chebak and ruff. The lake is 5.2 kilometers long, 3.5 kilometers wide, 7 meters deep, and the water in the lake is fresh. The lake is surrounded by low hills covered with pines, birches and larch. At dawn and dusk, forests seem to flash with gold, reflecting in the mirrored surface of the water. From the lake through the pine forest there is a picturesque hiking route that will take you to the mountain (hill, hill), the height of which is 550 meters above sea level. From the top of this hill, there is a beautiful panorama of the surrounding forest.
Zerendi Lake and its surroundings are a real godsend for those who seek solitude with nature. Here, the air, saturated with pine needles, acts as a natural energy source and is very beneficial for the body. People can walk, ride bicycles, have picnics, swim and fish here. The lake is shrouded in silence and light mysticism. Locals say that in some corners of the forest you can hear the echo of ancient sounds – as if the earth still remembers the footsteps of warriors, the call of shamans and the songs of nomads. Every evening here is special: when the sun goes below the horizon, the lake seems to fall asleep to the sounds of the breeze and the rustle of the pines. You sit on the shore, look at the water, and you feel your inner world being cleansed, filled with silence and meaning.
Legend of Lake Zerendi – where love turned into water
When you stand on the shore of this round, like a perfect bowl, Lake Zerendi, it seems as if the steppe itself holds its breath, keeping an ancient secret. The story of these waters is not just a beautiful legend, but the cry of two hearts, forever woven into the fabric of reality.
In those days, when the wind had other names and the stars burned brighter, there lived a girl named Zere, the daughter of a powerful biya, whose beauty outshone even the moon. Her heart belonged to the simple shepherd Yerden, whose love burned brighter than the steppe fires. When the angry father found out about their feelings, his rage was worse than a winter blizzard – he ordered the shepherd to be captured, and locked his daughter in the farthest yurt, arranging a wedding with the unloved.
But on the night before the fateful day, when the guards were dozing and the moon was hiding behind clouds, Zere accomplished the impossible. Taking off a gold bracelet from her hand – the last gift of her late mother – she whispered a spell of love, stronger than all the rituals of ancient shamans: "May our bond become stronger than steel, wider than the endless steppe and more eternal than the mountains themselves!" The bracelet fell to the ground with a thud – and at the same moment a miracle happened, which the Aksakals still cannot explain.
Crystal waters gushed out of the ground, forming a perfectly round lake – as if the universe itself had shed a tear, touched by the power of their feelings. The chase sent by biya stopped in front of a sudden water barrier, and the lovers, holding hands, stepped into these waters and dissolved into them, becoming a part of eternity.
Since then, Lake Zerendi (the names Zere and Yerden merged together) has kept the memory of this love alive. On a full moon, fishermen see a golden glow at the bottom – the very bracelet continues to emit heat and light. The water here has a special softness, as if it has absorbed the tenderness of their embrace, and the shape of the lake remains perfectly round, contrary to all the laws of nature – as a symbol of the infinity of true feeling.
Local women still come here to ask for a happy marriage, and couples in love are looking for an old willow tree on the shore, where, according to legend, they can tie a ribbon and receive the blessing of the spirits of the lake. They say that if you stand at dawn facing the water and whisper the name of your loved one, the wind will carry it to the very heart of the one to whom it is intended. There is also a special place here – a small spring on the northern shore, where the water has a sweet taste. The elders claim that these are tears of Zere mixed with groundwater. Those who have drunk this water with pure thoughts gain the ability to truly love - without fear and doubt, like those two whose story forever changed this corner of the steppe. So if someday, brother, you see strange reflections dancing over the lake on a moonlit night, you know.: This is not a trick of the light, but the shadows of two lovers continuing their eternal dance among the crystal waters of Lake Zerendi.
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