How To Get to Ukraine’s Pink Lake in Henichesk

Visiting a pink lake in Ukraine has been high on my bucket list for years, but the limited amount of information about how to actually do it made crossing this item off seem very unlikely. Then came the summer of 2020, when All Plans Were Canceled and I did my great south Ukraine trip, and I finally had the time to spare to see if I could visit Ukraine’s pink lake in Henichesk.

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Bigger disclaimer — I did NOT edit any of these photos! Partially because I want you to see for yourself if this Ukrainian pink lake is actually pink. (And partially because there are just so many hours in the day.)

Part of the problem with visiting the pink lake is that 1) there’s not that much information about it and 2) there are actually several pink lakes in Ukraine. There are two (I think) main ones, and the information that IS out there sometimes gets them confused, showing pictures of one but giving directions to another. It was only by cross-referencing Instagram, Google maps, and the few articles I could find that I determined that the Henichesk pink lake was where I wanted to go. 

But I still felt like I was gambling a bit. I had budgeted two nights — with the travel time required to get to this remote part of Ukraine, it was taking out three full days — just to make this half-day excursion. People say that the pink lake isn’t always pink, and with only one day to visit I was worried the weather would be dour and gloomy. Cloudy days probably don’t help make a pink lake sparkle. But I decided to take the risk. I planned to get to Henichesk from Zaporizhzhia, stay the night, then figure out how to visit the pink lake.

My plan did not get off to a great start.

First there was a difficult departure from Zaporizhzhia — I forgot my camera in my rental and had to wait for someone to come unlock the flat for me. That didn’t happen until about five minutes before my train out of town was scheduled to leave, so I had to scramble to find an alternate way of getting to this remote corner of Ukraine. Once I finally arrived in Henichesk, there was a mad, ice cream-eating dash (I was very hungry) to my guesthouse before a storm let loose. Then, when I woke up the next morning, the sky was overcast. It didn’t bode well for my three-day gamble here in Henichesk. Still, you don’t schlep all the way out to a crevice on the coast of Ukraine to not follow through, so I got up and started making my way to the lake. 

I caught a bus from Henichesk to Strilkove, one of the last towns before the border with Crimea. I wasn’t going that far, though, getting off in Henicheska Hirka and taking a side road towards Pryozerne and рожеве озеро (pink lake). I kept hoping that the skies would clear, but during the 4km walk from where the bus dropped me off to the lake itself, there wasn’t any improvement. I tried to keep the disappointment at bay — I still didn’t know what I was going to see when I arrived. Maybe everything I had seen online had been extremely doctored, even though the Instagrammers had sworn they didn’t use filters. Maybe the pink color had faded for the year already. Maybe it was less of a lake and more of a puddle. 

When you come up to the pink lake, you come up to it suddenly, seeing it through the gaps between cars in a car park. My first glimpse did not inspire me with confidence — it definitely did not look pink. It looked like a nice, serene blue, with crusty white edges. The lake was busy with groups of families and friends. While Ukraine’s pink lakes might be unknown to the rest of the world, they definitely are a popular spot with locals. 

Well, I thought, maybe it gets pinker as you get closer. Maybe it has to do with light refraction. Or something. 

The sun had finally broken through the thick gray fleece at that point, so I went forward with some optimism. The Henichesk pink lake is set up like a salt flat, with muddy walkways between the shallow salt reservoirs. I started walking along one of them. The mud glistened with salt, but on either side the water looked… like salt water. But slowly… there were marbled spots of pink. Getting overexcited and not paying too much attention, I tried to walk from one side of the mud path to the other. 

And promptly sank mid-thigh in mud.

Not my most graceful moment ever, I can tell you that. Felt a bit like the poor horse in The Never Ending Story trying to pull itself out of the quicksand. But I (at least) was eventually successful. 

I trudged back to the car park, where the water fountain was, and rinsed off. But now the disappointment had been replaced by a niggle of hope. Maybe the pink lake wasn’t everything I had seen on social media, some magical mystical place that you crept on quietly and in reverence, awed by this wild transformation of nature. Where you had the peace and quiet to snap three hundred photos on a mirror-like reflection that made you the most beautiful version of yourself. But I thought — possibly — it was actually pink. 

I went back to the water, careful now about where I stepped. And the further I got along the pink lake, the pinker it became. First it was a pale pink, the salt below creating a delicate marble effect. And then, it became an almost opaque fuchsia. The flats were shallow enough that you could walk on them (seemingly sturdier than the mud), and dozens of people were out there taking photos and collecting salt. 

I spent a few hours hanging out at the pink lake, pleased that whatever half-informed idea I had had when I decided to come out here turned out to be a good one. I walked carefully along the footpaths, tasted the salt, ate lunch watching the changing of colors as the sun peeped out from behind clouds then disappeared again. Locals were out with friends and family, meandering and talking, filling up bottles of salty pink water, posing for photos on the glass-like lake. 

“It’s very interesting,” a woman at the bus station had told me. Interesting enough for the three-day detour? Absolutely — at least for me. And yes, maybe it was less like the mystical secret that Instagram made it out to be and more like a fun family day trip.

And maybe I liked that more.

How to Visit Ukraine’s Pink Lake in Henichesk

While the pink lake isn’t actually in Henichesk itself, I think it’s probably the easiest place to get to first. If you prefer train travel, look for a route that will take you to Novooleksiivka. It’s a town close to Henichesk, and from there you should be able to take a minibus or taxi to Henichesk. (That was my original plan, but I unfortunately missed my train and had to look for a bus.) 

Or you can look for a marshrutka (minibus). Marshrutka schedules are hard to find online, so it’s best to actually go to the bus station and ask. There seemed to be just one daily bus from Zaporizhia to Henichesk. If there’s not a direct bus from where you are, you might be able to get to Henichesk by transferring in a closer city, like Melitopol or Novooleksiivka. 

There is a town called Henicheska Hirka that’s slightly closer to the pink lake that you might want to base yourself in. To get there, you just need to get a bus from the bus station. Look for the ones heading to Strilkove.

You have some options on how to get to the pink lake from Henichesk. The first is to do an excursion. You can find people selling excursions in the center of town in the park near the bus station. This isn’t really my thing, so I didn’t check it out.

The second option is to hire a driver. This won’t be cheap, but it will be convenient and personal. It’s best to ask your accommodation to help you arrange this if you don’t have enough Ukrainian or Russian to manage it yourself. Or, if you do have the language skills, you can arrange it by calling one of the local taxi numbers or approaching a driver (try the bus station). You can either have the driver stay there and take you back, or you can call a second taxi when you’re ready to go. I saw numbers for taxis posted around the pink lake. 

The last option is to take a marshrutka, which is how I did it. Go to the main bus station and ask the people who work there which bus to take (have Google Maps ready if you’re worried about communication). There’s no bus that goes directly to the pink lake, but it seems like there’s decent traffic going past it. It’s a good idea to talk to the driver beforehand so that they know where to drop you off.

The bus cost 21.50uah (less than $1), and it was about a 15-20 minute ride into Henicheska Hirka. When we passed a sign for рожеве озеро pointing to the right, the bus driver dropped me off. It was a 4km walk down a flat road with literally nothing around you. It was overcast and windy when I went, so I stayed cool, but I can imagine this might be difficult when it’s sunny and hot. I definitely got a sunburn on this day trip. 

When I was finished at the lake, I started walking back. A nice man stopped and offered me a ride almost immediately. (This is definitely a privilege I have as a white female traveler, that it’s not too difficult for me to hitchhike the few times I do.) He dropped me off at the main road, and I went across the street and to the left, where there was a bus stop. You just kind of need to flag down any bus heading back to Henichesk. I waited only about 10 minutes, and the bus back cost 20uah (I think the driver didn’t want to deal with the small change).

How much time do you need at Henichesk Lake?

I spent around 3 hours at the lake, but I also had lunch and flew my drone, so most tourists will probably spend less. It kind of depends how much you want to explore. It’s pretty big and different parts are different shades of pink, so you could really spend a half day there, even more if you’re really keen on seeing it from all angles. You can also collect some salt or pink lake water — bring some kind of container with you if you plan to do that.

What kind of facilities are at the pink lake?

There is a toilet, porcelain hole-in-the-ground style. However, there’s no soap, so make sure you bring some hand sanitizer. Close to the toilets is a water spigot where you can wash off your feet or hands. There aren’t any food options, so bring your own snacks and water. I did see a few people selling things, so you might be able to find some pastries, but for the most part it looked like they were offering things like salt and homemade wine. 

Can you swim at Ukraine’s pink lake in Henichesk?

No, where most people go it’s far too shallow to swim. I didn’t venture out past the radius made by other visitors. It becomes a rather opaque pink which I didn’t trust, but I doubt it gets deep enough to swim. 

Where to Stay in Henichesk

I stayed at a guesthouse with lovely hosts. It was in a quiet part of town — close to the bread factory, which made for a pleasant walk whenever I went to the bus station. It was very clean, even the shared toilet, and the host were super friendly and helpful. If you’d like to stay a little closer to the bus station, you can check out the best prices in Henichesk before you go.

A Note about the Spelling and Pronunciation of Генічеськ

Google transliterates Генічеськ as Henichesk. However, the ‘Г‘ letter in Ukrainian is more of a ‘g’ sound, which is why you might see Genichesk Lake and not Henichesk Lake. The pronunciation of Генічеськ is closer to “gen-i-CHESK.”

Have you ever been to a pink lake? I had such a great time that I’m going to look for more on my travels!