Kuyalnik Estuary

Kuyalnik - from the Crimean Tatar for thick - is a liman of 52 to 60 square kilometres, 28 kilometres long and on average about a metre deep, cut off from the sea by a sandbar around the fourteenth century, and because evaporation exceeds inflow the water is several times saltier than the Black Sea, salty enough to float in. Black sulphide mud on the bottom has been used medicinally since a sanatorium opened here in 1833, one of the earliest mud-treatment institutions in the region. The water level has fallen badly over the last century as the rivers feeding it were tapped. Near the liman lies the lowest point in Ukraine, five metres below sea level.

What you'll find

• The hypersaline water - salinity several times that of the sea, dense enough to float in.
• The black mud - sulphide mud used in treatment since the 1830s.
• The sanatorium - one of the oldest mud-cure institutions in the region.
• The salt crust - white deposits along the retreating shoreline.

When to go

June to September is the bathing and mud season. The liman is at its saltiest late in summer. Winter is bleak and the shore is exposed.

Before you go

Water levels have dropped severely and the liman has come close to drying in bad years. The shore is muddy and there are few facilities outside the sanatorium. The salt and mud are harsh and rinsing afterwards is necessary.

Nearby

Odesa is south, and the Tuzly lagoons are southwest along the coast.

Key facts