Author A. Gorbunov
These fields are up to 15 km long and 3 km wide. Total area of lotus "plantation" is more than several hundred ha. The dimensions of a lotus flower can be up to 2,7 m high, 65 сm in diameter with leaves up to 1,4 m in diameter.
Guides that take tourists to the blossoming fields explain the senselessness of picking the flowers - it will survive no more that two hours in a bowl. In its natural environment flowers will amaze people till the beginning of September. Lotus has been known in Volga delta for more than 200 years, it is called Caspian rose here.
Lotus is a symbol of purity and nobility in Oriental culture. It opens on the daybreak and closes at down thus embodying the rebirth of the Sun. There are several hypotheses on how the flower appeared at the Caspian area. Some investigators say it has inhabited the territory since the tertiary period. Others sustain it was brought by wandering trades people or Buddhist monks. There is also an opinion that lotus seeds were brought by migrating birds.
Lotus Nelumbo nucifera is a relic species, it is included in the Red List of Russia and protected by the state.
We invite you to explore Volga delta in the autumn when
Migrating Birds of Volga Delta tour takes place