Belokurikha is a city and balneological resort in Altai Krai, Russia, located on the Bolshaya Belokurikha River, 250 kilometers south of Barnaul, the administrative center of the region. As of the 2010 census, its population was 14,661. Within the framework of the administrative division, it is included in the city of regional significance Belokurikha - an administrative unit with a status equal to that of districts. As a municipal entity, the city of regional significance Belokurikha is included in the Belokurikha urban district.
In the 1920s, a resort village was
founded on the site of the village of Novobelokurikha. An office, a
canteen, an outpatient clinic and a solarium were built here, and in
1928 a hydropathic establishment with 24 baths and a polyclinic were
built, in 1931-1934 wooden dormitories were erected. The leaders of
the Soviet state and their wives rested here, the Russian writer
K.G. Paustovsky lived.
In 1942, the All-Union pioneer camp
"Artek" was evacuated to Belokurikha.
The development of the
largest resort in the east of the country became possible thanks to
the Soviet statesman Efim Pavlovich Slavsky. It was E.P. Slavsky
stood at the origins of the creation of the resort town of
Belokurikha, which today is widely known not only in Russia, but
also far beyond its borders.
In the 1960s, most of the
sanatoriums were built in which guests of the resort are now treated
and rest. The first in 1961 was put into operation the sanatorium
"Metallurg", now "Edem".
In 1970, the village received the
status of a resort of all-Union significance, in 1982 - the status
of a city, and since 1992 it has been a resort of federal
significance.
In 2003 and 2016, Belokurikha was visited by
Russian President V.V. Putin.
At present, the
resort area of Belokurikha is capable of receiving over 5 thousand
vacationers at a time. There are 19 sanatorium-resort and
sanatorium-health-improving institutions for 5000 places in the
city, balneotherapy includes 27 types of procedures using mineral
and fresh water. The number of sanatoriums, health resorts, hotels,
small boarding houses in a specially protected natural area is
steadily growing. In 2006, several public buildings with a total
area of 22,952.4 m² with a total cost of 239.6 million rubles were
commissioned on a turnkey basis. The construction is carried out at
the expense of private investors.
In 2015, Belokurikha was
visited by 219 thousand tourists, including over 130 thousand people
rested in sanatoriums.
It is characterized by a relatively high average annual air temperature for Siberia (+ 4 ° C). Mild winters, cool summers, warm spring and autumn months, mostly calm, short-term frosts in winter, alternating with frequent thaws and constant barometric pressure.
Light air ions are the main therapeutic component of mountain air. In Belokurikha, the content of light air ions is from 1014 to 2400, which is twice the content in the world famous Swiss resort of Davos (1006). Increased air ionization is especially noted on the adjacent highlands - terraces.
Belokurikhinsky springs are thermal nitrogen-siliceous radon-containing waters, or nitrogen springs. They surface at temperatures between 30 ° C and 42 ° C. They contain a small amount of radon, a lot of nitrogen, fluorine and silicic acid, as well as various trace elements. Alkaline mineral water. Also used are therapeutic mud from the salt lakes of the Altai Territory.
At the beginning of 2010, three main ski slopes were equipped on the territory of the resort: "Katun" - the central slope of the resort with a length of 800 meters, "Severny" with a length of 650 meters and "Tserkovka" with a length of 2050 meters.
At present, Belokurikha is gaining fame not only as a balneological resort, but also as a venue for major events: the UNESCO International Forum and the Wildlife Fund under the motto "Nature, Ecology, Man", the annual Siberian Davos (the official name is "Western Siberia: region , economics, investments ") - a traditional international economic conference bringing together high-ranking economists and political scientists.
In February 2016, the Altai Scientific Research Institute of Balneology was established in Belokurikha. The institution plans to study the natural healing factors of the region and develop on their basis methods and methods of treatment, as well as draw up programs for the development of the health resort complex of the region, the resorts "Belokurikha" and "Belokurikha-2". The research institute is part of the Siberian Federal Scientific and Clinical Center. NTAT is staffed with 40 specialists from Tomsk, Barnaul and Belokurikha.
The tourist and recreational cluster
"Belokurikha-2" under construction is located 10 kilometers from the
city of Belokurikha. It will include a developed medical base,
tourist infrastructure, an interesting layout, as well as seven ski
slopes. The new cluster will accommodate a growing number of
tourists (the average annual occupancy of health resorts in the
resort town of Belokurikha is over 85%).
As of March 2015,
3.1 billion rubles out of 10 planned were invested in the
construction of the cluster.
In 2017, it was planned to prepare the engineering
infrastructure: commission a power line, lay a gas pipeline and a
water supply system, as well as a drainage system.
In 2018,
the new tourist complex Belokurikha-2 is receiving guests.
The historical and architectural complex "Andreevskaya Sloboda" has
been operating since 2017. The distillery, the house of the healer
and the former dwelling house of the merchant Andreev have been
restored and are open to the public. The Gogol tavern offers an
extensive menu with a national flavor in the form of pies, salted
bacon, sbitn, green cabbage soup and other dishes; the writer's
museum room has been opened, which has been recreated from famous
images.
Mishina Gora offers the highest mountain-skiing
complex in Altai with a modern set of comfortable services,
technical equipment and a level of security.
The famous
tourist routes of Belokurikha: Tserkovka, Round, Rock of
Confessions, Two Brothers, Turtle, Gates of Love and others. Rock
Four Brothers belongs to the Tigireksky State Nature Reserve and is
located 3.5 km south of Belokurikha. The monument covers an area of
about 36.7 hectares and includes the Four Brothers outlier and
other small outliers within a radius of 250 meters. The vertical
dissection of the granite rock resembles four heads, which served as
the basis for the name. The height of the granite block is about 12
meters.
The entire ridge, on which the outliers are located,
is covered with a birch-pine forest, in which about 60 plant species
grow, some of them are listed in the Red Book.
In just a
year, up to 14 million tourists come to the region, it entered the
top three leaders of Russian health tourism at the end of 2017
(analytical agency "TurStat").