Lake Turgoyak

Turgoyak lies in a granite basin between the Ilmensky and Urals ridges near Miass, about twenty-six square kilometres, fed mostly by springs and unusually clear - visibility in the water reaches ten metres or more in good conditions, which is why it is regularly called the little Baikal of the Urals and is listed as a valuable water body. The shores are granite and pine. On Vera island, excavated systematically since 2004, are megalithic structures: chambered constructions of large stone slabs partly cut into the bedrock, the largest around eighteen metres long, dated to the Chalcolithic around five to six thousand years ago, along with later remains from an Old Believer hermitage that gave the island its name. What the megaliths were for is not settled. Boats run to the island in season. The lake is heavily built up on parts of its shore with holiday bases, which is a live conservation argument.

What you actually see

• The clarity - spring-fed water with visibility of ten metres or more.
• Vera island - Chalcolithic megalithic chambers, the largest around eighteen metres.
• The hermitage remains - later Old Believer structures on the same island.
• The granite shores - rock and pine around a basin between two ridges.

When to go

June to September for boats and swimming, though the water stays cold; winter for ice. A day or an overnight. Book island trips in season.

Honest expectations

Water is cold even in August. Shore development is heavy in places and access to some stretches is through paid bases. Boats to Vera island run seasonally and depend on weather. The purpose of the megaliths is genuinely unknown, whatever guides assert.

Nearby

Miass and the Ilmensky reserve are close; Zlatoust and Taganay are west.