Lake Oyskoye

Oyskoye Lake is a high-altitude lake in the Western Sayan Mountains, inside the Ergaki natural park in the Yermakovsky district of Krasnoyarsk Krai. It lies on the eastern edge of the Kulumys ridge at an elevation of 1,416 meters above sea level, right next to the federal highway R-257 "Yenisei". The lake feeds the Bolshaya Oya River, one of whose headstreams begins here.

Nature

The lake covers 0.56 square kilometers and reaches a maximum depth of about 25 meters. Its water is clear, bright and very cold; on the southern shore snow can remain all summer long. The surrounding slopes carry subalpine meadows, bogs and sparse cedar-fir woodland, with juniper, cranberry and false hellebore growing along the banks. Grayling lives in the lake.

History

In 1985 Oyskoye Lake was given the status of a regional nature monument. Archaeologists have found traces of ancient habitation on its shore: in 1995 flint flakes left by prehistoric people were discovered there. In the early 1990s, bronze objects dated to the 7th–5th centuries BC were found in the lake's basin, near the Olenya River.

Legends

According to one version, the lake takes its name from the Oya River that flows out of it. A more poetic legend ties the name to a love story between a girl named Oya and a young man named Kulumys from the Sayan people, who were never meant to be together. Locals and travelers also tell of an unknown creature said to live in the lake and pull under anyone who dares to swim in it.

Getting there

Oyskoye Lake can be reached by car along the federal highway R-257 "Yenisei" (the former M-54): a parking area and a viewing platform are set up right by the roadside, next to the water. The lake is about 600 kilometers from Krasnoyarsk and about 210 kilometers from Kyzyl. An intercity bus running the Krasnoyarsk–Kyzyl route also passes nearby. The Ergaki tourist base is located 500 meters from the shore, and a hiking trail leads to the lake in summer, with part of the way passable by snowmobile in winter.