Lake Khanka Primorsky Krai: tips before visiting

If the swimming season starts at the sea not earlier than the end of June, then you can swim in Khanka already in May. The lake is quite shallow (the average depth is 4.5 meters, the prevailing depth is 1-3 meters) and therefore warms up quickly. Already in May, the water in the lake can warm up to +20 ° C. Due to its shallow water and hollow bottom, Lake Hanka is ideal for relaxing with young children. There are, indeed, downsides. Due to the sandy and muddy bottom, the water in the lake is constantly muddy. And in the height of summer, the water temperature reaches +30 ° C.

Hanka Lake is located on the border of Primorsky Krai and the Chinese province of Heilongjiang. The area of the lake is variable and depends on climatic conditions: maximum - 5010 km2, minimum - 3940 km2. This is the largest freshwater reservoir in the Far East and the sixth largest water mirror lake in Russia.

When you arrive at Lake Khanka, do not be surprised if you see waves and windsurfers chasing them. In late spring and early summer, strong winds blow along the lake, which attracts windsurfing enthusiasts here. There are even competitions in this sport. It is not necessary to bring equipment with you. Everything you need can be rented at local recreation centers.

In July, parts of Lake Khanka are covered with pink carpet. This amazing picture opens during the flowering of the Komarov lotus - a relic plant listed in the Red Book of Russia. There is a beautiful legend about the lotus and Hanka. It says that on the shore of the lake lived a guy Entoy, who loved the beautiful Eina. She used the young man and ordered him to fulfill his whim - to bring a gift that no one had seen before. Entoy traveled the world for a year, but could not find anything suitable and returned to his beloved. Antoya was in love with another girl – Lota. Seeing the suffering of the young man, she asked the gods to fulfill the desire of Aina and threw herself into the waters of Khanka, turning into a beautiful flower. Entoy tore the bud and achieved the love of a capricious beauty, whose heart melted. In honor of the girl who sacrificed herself, the flower was called a lotus, and Hanka cries every year for the Lot, her waters become cloudy with tears.

Hanka is a paradise for fishing lovers. The lake is inhabited by 74 species of fish, of which more than 20 species belong to commercial: sazan, vertioglyad, Amur catfish, pike, carp, white amur, snakeheads, carp, Mongolian redoper, etc. Any fishing equipment can be rented at the recreation center. If you wish and for a fee, you will be organized by boat to the most "fish place" on the lake, where you are guaranteed not to be left without a catch

If the swimming season starts at the sea not earlier than the end of June, then you can swim in Khanka already in May. The lake is quite shallow (the average depth is 4.5 meters, the prevailing depth is 1-3 meters) and therefore warms up quickly. Already in May, the water in the lake can warm up to +20 ° C. Due to its shallow water and hollow bottom, Lake Hanka is ideal for relaxing with young children. There are, indeed, downsides. Due to the sandy and muddy bottom, the water in the lake is constantly muddy. And in the height of summer, the water temperature reaches +30 ° C.

Hanka Lake is located on the border of Primorsky Krai and the Chinese province of Heilongjiang. The area of the lake is variable and depends on climatic conditions: maximum - 5010 km2, minimum - 3940 km2. This is the largest freshwater reservoir in the Far East and the sixth largest water mirror lake in Russia.

When you arrive at Lake Khanka, do not be surprised if you see waves and windsurfers chasing them. In late spring and early summer, strong winds blow along the lake, which attracts windsurfing enthusiasts here. There are even competitions in this sport. It is not necessary to bring equipment with you. Everything you need can be rented at local recreation centers.

In 1990, the Khankai State Nature Reserve was created on the shores of the lake, which included part of the water area, as well as floodplain, floating and delta lakes of its coasts. The territory of the reserve consists of five sites surrounded by a protected zone and located in six administrative districts of the Primorsky Territory. A little earlier, in 1986, on the Chinese side of the lake, the Shinkai-Hu reserve was created. On April 25, 1996, the governments of the Russian Federation and China signed an agreement on the creation of an international reserve “Lake Khanka” on the basis of two neighboring environmental organizations. Today, it plays a huge role in the conservation of many species of aquatic and near-water birds and animals, thanks to which in 2005 the Khankay Reserve was granted the status of a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.

Wide nature fans, especially amateur ornithologists, will discover a surprisingly rich bird world on the banks of Khanka. However, on the “hunt” for feathered birdwatching lovers should go to the other – eastern – side of the lake, to the sites of the Khankai State Reserve in the Chernihiv and Spassky districts of Primorye. The directorate of the reserve has developed several excursion routes for ecotourists in Khanka and adjacent water bodies. It is also possible for tourists to independently visit certain areas for the purpose of ecological tourism, bird watching and photography for a fee. All these and other services can be obtained in the office of the reserve, which is located in the city of Spassk-Dalny.

How to get there: The administrative center of the Khankai district - the village of Kamen-Rybolov - is connected by regular bus service to Vladivostok and Ussuriysk. You can get to other settlements of Khankai district by municipal buses that regularly go from the district center, or by personal transport on the A-182 highway (Mikhailivka – Khorol – Turi Rih)