Residents and visitors of Ashgabat have a unique opportunity to enter a completely different world in less than an hour – the pearl of the country – the underground lake Kov-Ata, which in Turkmen means “father of caves”.
The cave is located near the village of Bakharden and has the same name. Local residents have known about this cave for a long time. According to archaeological data, it was visited 2000 years ago.
The length of the cave is 230 meters, the depth from the main entrance is 65 meters. Most of its territory is occupied by a lake, the average depth of which is 10 meters. The lake in the cave is fed by underground waters, which are saturated with hydrogen sulfide and are considered healing.
The water also contains chlorine, carbon dioxide, bromine, aluminum, iron and other elements, the total amount of which is about 30. The water temperature throughout the year is around 35 degrees Celsius.
The combination of the above factors has cemented the reputation of the lake in the Kov-Ata cave as a healing source. Bathing in the water has a beneficial effect on the body and improves blood circulation.
Rumor has it that during the era of the Parthian kings, a miraculous healing of rebellious slaves, mutilated by torture, took place in the lake. Now it is a favorite winter beach of Ashgabat residents. The water is clean and transparent, no algae or rot, hydrogen sulfide does its good work.
Kov-Ata is a national reserve, as a unique colony lives in the cave. You will not see such a cluster of bats as here anywhere else in the CIS. But their number is sharply decreasing, if in 1937 there were 400,000, then by the seventies only a hundredth part remained. In order not to disturb the peace of the mouse kingdom, it is not customary to speak loudly or knock here, therefore the lighting in the cave is dim.