Big Bogdo mountain is located a few kilometers south of the Salt lake Baskunchak (15 km from the village of Nizhny Baskunchak). It is usually visited by people who came to the lake. Big Bogdo is considered sacred by Kalmyk Buddhists. Although the height of the mountain is not very high, only 171 meters, its shape and color are very beautiful and unusual.
Above sea level, the height of the mountain is only 149.6 m, but since its base, like lake Baskunchak, lie below sea level, the total height of the mountain is 171 m. This height for any other mountain can not be called high. But it should considered that Big Bogdo mountain is located in the Caspian Lowland, where there are only endless steppes for thousands of kilometers around.
The uniqueness of the appearance of this mountain is that its core is a monolith of salt. Its specific density is less, so it pushes the oldest layers of rock to the surface. On the surface of the mountain, you can see layers of the Paleozoic period (200-250 million years old). This salt dome continues to push the mountain out even now. Every year it "grows" by 1 mm.
The mountain is located in a nature protected area. On the road from Nizhny Baskunchak there is a point where the environmental fee is charged (a symbolic amount). Next to the mountain, there is a Parking lot, where a well-equipped path with decking and stairs along the mountainside starts.
Buddhists consider this mountain Holy. In Russia, there are several republics, Kalmykia, Buryatia, Tuva, and Altai, where people practice Buddhism. The Republic of Kalmykia is located in the immediate vicinity. There live 270 thousand people, many of them make pilgrimage here. Many legends are associated with this mountain. According to one legend, Big Bogdo Mountain was formed on the site of a sacred stone that pilgrims from Kalmykia brought from the Tien Shan mountains.
According to another legend, this mountain was first in the Urals. Two monks from Kalmykia decided to move it to the Volga. After prayers, they lifted the mountain on their shoulders and carried it. At some point, one of them saw a beautiful Kalmyk girl, and a sinful thought flashed through his head. He immediately fell. The mountain collapsed and crushed him. That is why one of its parts has a bright red color. His blood stained part of the mountain.
The rock color of most of the Big Bogdo mountain is shades of yellow and gray. However, on the one side, the red color really prevails, as well as shades of blue. At this point, there is a path where pilgrims walk. According to Buddhist beliefs, you can not climb to the top of the rock, because the Holy Spirit of the mountain lives there. However, there used to be an observation platform at the top of the mountain, but it was closed in order to preserve the endangered population of the squeaky Gecko, which laid eggs in these places, and tourists trampled them.
As a result of weathering of rocks on the surface of mount Big Bogdo, many depressions and caves were formed. In some places, so-called "honeycombs" were formed. These honeycombs have holes between them, and when the wind begins to blow at a certain angle, the rocks begin to make sounds. Hence the belief about "singing rocks". For Buddhists, hearing the singing of the mountain during a pilgrimage is a special sign from above. They consider it the prayer of a Buddhist monk.
The mountain has a lot of caves, karst cavities, craters. Pilgrims lie in these recesses to feed on the energy of the mountain. On the upper part of the mountain, along the Hiking route, there is a group of rock remnants with interesting forms of weathering. Some received proper names, such as the Skull, Helmet, and Buttocks.
