Iskanderkul lake: location, description, depth, history of origin, photo. About the origin of the lake

The most famous and beautiful lake in Tajikistan attracts not only with its amazing nature, but also with numerous legends. Many tourists specially come to these places to be convinced of the splendor of the mountain reservoir and the veracity of interesting ancient legends.

The article provides information about the pearl of Tajikistan - Lake Iskanderkul.

general information

The pearl of Tajikistan, which adorns many Dushanbe tourism banners, is known to many, calling it a national treasure of the state. It is said that "pearl" is usually called any lake in the mountains, which can be reached by road. And in fact, of all the Central Asian mountain reservoirs, Iskanderkul is the most accessible.

The name of the lake in Tajikistan Iskanderkul (photo is presented in the article) comes from the name "Iskander" (means "Alexander") and the word "kul" (translated as "lake"). Some legends say that the reservoir received such a name due to the fact that Alexander the Great visited here during his trip to India from Central Asia.

A bit of history

The lake located in the amazingly beautiful Fann has a rather rich and long history. It is believed that it was named in honor of the commander Alexander the Great, who was called Iskander Zulkarnain by the locals, which means "Iskander two-horned" (because of the unusual helmet resembling horns). But this is just part of the assumptions. In fact, the lake existed here even before Alexander the Great came to these places. According to some reports, it had the name Iskandara, which literally translated as "high water lake" or "high water", or more simply - "high mountain lake".

And after being here, due to the obvious consonance, the name was changed to "Iskanderkul". Disputes over this theory still exist, but there is no obvious evidence, only myths, legends, assumptions and speculation.

There are many legends about Iskanderkul and they concern not only Alexander the Great.

Location

How to get to Iskanderkul lake in Tajikistan? It is located in the northern part of the state's territory, in the Sughd region. It is not at all difficult to get to it. From the capital of Tajikistan, the distance is just over 150 kilometers along a high-mountainous and quite decent highway.

The whole journey takes about two hours, along the way you can see mesmerizing natural landscapes with snow-capped mountain tops rushing into the deep blue of the sky. All this beauty is the Fan Mountains, which occupy an area somewhat larger than the territory of Moscow. This small piece of untouched land can show many interesting things, including Iskanderkul Lake. In total, there are 11 peaks with a height of 5,000 meters and hundreds of smaller heights. There are magnificent blue lakes, fast mountain rivers and picturesque forests.

Description of the lake

Iskanderkul, considered the heart of the Fan Mountains, is surrounded by several five-thousanders - Bodkhona, Chapdara, Maria, Mirali, Zindon. The highest is Chimtarga (5,487 meters). About where this name came from, now no one can say for sure.

Lake Iskanderkul in Tajikistan resembles a triangle in shape. Its area is 3.5 square kilometers. The depth of the waters is 70 meters. The mirrored surface of the reservoir, surrounded by mountains, looks great. The uniqueness of the lake lies in the fact that it is the largest in the mountains and is located at an altitude of over 2,000 meters. The volume of the lake's water is 172 million cubic meters. The length of the coastline is 14 thousand meters.

The rivers Khazormech, Sarytag, as well as small mountain streams flow into the reservoir. The Iskanderdarya river flows out of the lake, after 30 kilometers it flows into Fan-Darya. The latter carries its waters into one of the largest rivers of Central Asia - Zeravshan.

Neighborhood

Not far from Lake Iskanderkul there is an old archa (juniper bush), the branches of which are decorated with colorful ribbons. Everyone who comes to admire the local amazing waterfall leaves something of their own on this tree to return here again in the future. The nearby 43-meter waterfall is called Fan Niagara. It is located on the river flowing from the lake. There is also a rock with an inscription dating back to 1870, it was left by the members of the expedition led by the famous Russian traveler and scientist A. Fedchenko.

Not far from Iskanderkul there is another lake called the Serpent. According to the stories of old-timers, many snakes live in it. Locals claim that reptiles will not bite in two cases: when they are in the water and when people drink water. Some believe that this name was given to the lake only to attract tourists. The water in it is warmer than in Iskanderkul, so it is quite possible to swim here.

There are quite remarkable mountain peaks in the vicinity of the lake. For example, on one mountain, the people call it "Rain gauge", the locals determine the weather. If the summit is hiding in a cloud, it will most likely start to rain. There is also a version that it was named so by the locals, due to the fact that it has a device for measuring the amount of precipitation.

There is one more peak here - Chil-shaitan. Its name is translated as "40 devils". According to the stories of the old people, the shepherds and hunters met devils there. This is where this name came from. Therefore, people are still afraid to go up there, but tourists are not afraid of anything, since there is something to see there.

About the origin of the lake

Many scientists are still debating the origin of Lake Iskanderkul in Tajikistan. Most are inclined to believe that the reservoir was formed as a result of a blockage that occurred 11,000 years ago. But local residents also have their own opinion on this matter.

From generation to generation, the story is passed that the reservoir was originally located higher in the mountains, and the water from it left twice after the strong melting of glaciers. It is believed to be its third location. Old-timers say that there was once much more water. This is evidenced by the stripes traced on the mountains (marks of the edge of the water). The first, the highest mark, is at 110 meters, and the other is located 50 meters below. The current lake has a third mark - even lower. It is known that the body of water broke through twice so strongly that the waters washed away everything in its path to Samarkand itself.

Rest on the lake

Lake Iskanderkul is called a pearl in the palms of the mountains. Many tourists come to this mountain reservoir. There are guest houses for their accommodation, but foreign visitors prefer to rest in tents. Swedes, British, French and Tajiks themselves come here. Moreover, they all rest in different ways. Some travel on foot, others on motorcycles, and still others on vintage cars.

People are attracted here by the mystery of the lake, the secrets and legends associated with it. For example, there is one beautiful legend telling that at the bottom of the reservoir Rustam's horse from the poem “Shakhname” (Ferdowsi) grazes - the fiery Rakhsh.

More about legends

According to the first legend, Alexander the Great stumbled upon a settlement of the Sogdians who resisted his army. The commander was very angry and gave the order to dam the river, on the banks of which there were residential buildings. So a lake appeared on the site of that settlement.

According to the second parable, the Macedonian horse, Bucephalus, drank water from the lake during a halt after a long journey and fell ill. The commander himself went on to India, leaving his faithful horse here. However, even at such a great distance, he felt the death of his master and threw himself into the lake, forever remaining in it. Since then, during the full moon, every month Bucephalus comes out of the water to graze: the waters part, and a snow-white horse comes out to the surface of the lake, accompanied by grooms.

It should be noted that the reservoir is not suitable for swimming. The water temperature of Lake Iskanderkul 10 meters from the shore drops sharply to + 10 ° С, since here it is melted from mountain glaciers.

Features of the lake

The water in Iskanderkul contains a lot of mineral impurities, so there is practically no fish here, only small char is found. Residents claim that trout also gets here from mountain rivers, but they are immediately carried away by the current to Iskandarya, and then to a waterfall, against which no one can go. It throws down its waters from a 30-meter height, in connection with which powerful mist forms around it.

The canyon, in which the waterfall is located, is quite narrow, damp and gloomy in itself, and you can look at it only from a specially equipped area. And only from it you can see a beautiful bright rainbow.

A little about the reviews

Lake Iskanderkul, like the entire territory of the Fan Mountains, keeps a unique thousand-year history. Wonderful forest landscapes, waterfalls and mountains - all this delights travelers. All of them note that the place is incredibly beautiful and attractive. The lake is very clean and blue, but cold.

Good reviews from tourists about Tajiks are a polite and benevolent people, and the farther from the big cities, the warmer they welcome guests. Of course, tourists are especially enthusiastic about the indescribable beauty of nature. There are also good reviews about the living conditions by the lake, however, it all depends on the mood of the travelers themselves. People who have visited these places for the first time say that they will definitely return there.

For those who are not enough just to enjoy the beauty of the wild nature, they offer to follow interesting tourist routes running through the Fan Mountains. This journey promises to be exciting.

Iskanderkul can be reached by private transport from the capital of Tajikistan - Dushanbe (about 150 kilometers). Another option is to get from Tashkent (Uzbekistan) with a stopover in Tajikistan through the Oybek border post (100 and 310 kilometers, respectively).

Tajikistan is an amazing country. If we compare it with Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, then we can safely call this country optimal in terms of the ratio of beauty and diversity of nature to safety, prices and good attitude of local residents to travelers. and the Pamirs are the greatest, most beautiful places that cannot be forgotten. People are very kind, and the farther we got from big cities, the warmer we were received. In general, Tajikistan is an excellent, almost ideal country for a car trip. The main disadvantage is that it is very far away (if we consider our travel option from Moscow).

I will start my story about the October trip with one of the five incredible places in Tajikistan, which are highly recommended to visit the travel guide "Lonely Planet". This is a mountain lake Iskanderkul.

1. Soon after Khujand, boring steppe landscapes were replaced by mountainous beauty. We were approaching the Turkestan ridge. Its northern slopes, rather gentle, with juniper forests, as if stitched with wires of power lines, smoothly parted in front of us. Somewhere high in the dense haze were massive glaciers.

2. Then we somehow abruptly drove into the famous Shahristan tunnel, the longest road tunnel in the territory of the CIS countries. The opening of the tunnel in 2012 provided a year-round road connection between the northern and southern regions of Tajikistan. Prior to that, in winter, the northern regions of Tajikistan were cut off from the main territory of the country for 6 months.

3. The length of the tunnel is more than five kilometers. In a few minutes spent in this dark tube, the eyes had time to get used to the dim light. And so, when we emerged back into the light, we were all blinded for a moment. Squinting and in haste lowering their sun visors, a completely different picture opened up to us, as if we had teleported to other lands, to other mountains.

4. Instead of gentle forest slopes, the road twisted along steep rocky cliffs, every now and then dived into avalanche and anti-mudflow tunnels. Above all this, the majestic five-thousanders of the Zeravshan Range proudly towered.

7. The road twisted like a snake and everything went down and down to the Zeravshan river. Blocked ears. From time to time there were trucks that crawled like snails, trying not to burn the brakes. We didn't go faster, because every now and then we stopped for photosets.

8. Initially, we planned to get to Dushanbe before dark, or rather to the Rohat Teahouse. But we did not take into account the fact that our path ran through the Fan Mountains ...

9. And the Fan Mountains - this is another of the five mandatory points of the "must si of Tajikistan" from the guide. Therefore, we drove slowly, more even stood and took pictures)

12. Life of provincial Tajiks. It differs from my childhood village memories only in the multi-colored buildings.

14. The sun was setting fast. And by that time we managed to go only half the way. It was a pity to travel to such places in the dark, so we decided not to rush to the capital, but to stay in the Fan Mountains for one night.

15. We drove between high cliffs and looked around. There was nowhere to spend the night in such places - except that right on the road. But then the guide came to the rescue again, which just suggested to us about the Iskanderkul lake. It was only 30 kilometers to the right of the main road.

16. Initially, when planning the route, we somehow lost sight of this place and were not going to go here. But somehow everything worked out by itself, and when the sun had already disappeared behind the mountains, we saw a lake in the distance. The lake is like a lake, nothing out of the ordinary. From this point it looked like a reservoir of a small hydroelectric power station.

17. It was getting dark. We began to descend to the water. The road was bearable, accessible for a car. But it was impossible to drive quickly along it.

18. The tents were set up by the light of a fire and lanterns. There was no moon in the sky, but even in the light of the stars it was clear that we had arrived at some cosmic place.

19. It was very cold in the morning.

20. When the sun came out, we warmed up and realized that we were in a heavenly place.

21. After breakfast, the brave photographers in the person of Ilya and I went to swim in the icy and invigorating waters of Iskanderkul.

22. According to legend, Lake Iskanderkul got its name from Alexander the Great, who was called Iskander in the East. The word "kul" actually means "lake", hence the name - "Iskanderkul". Alexander the Great allegedly visited here on his way from Central Asia to India.

23. One of the legends says that during his Indian campaign, Alexander the Great came across a village that did not want to surrender. Then he ordered to direct the river beds to this village and flood it, as a result of which a lake was formed.

24. Iskanderkul is considered to be one of the most beautiful mountain lakes in Tajikistan.

25. The lake is located at an altitude of more than two kilometers, so for us it was a kind of acclimatization night before the Pamir route.

28. Charged with the energy of this place, we went to Dushanbe. Although the soul asked to stay in these places for at least another day ...

31. On the way to the city, another tunnel was waiting for us. Anzob. Not at all as clean and beautiful as Shahristan. Puffs of exhaust gases poured from the thick darkness of the tunnel's northern portal. We took a long breath of air and hastily closed all the windows.

32. The design of the tunnel was carried out by specialists from the institutes "Gidrospetsproekt" and "Tajikgiprotransstroy" in the 1980s. Construction began in 1988, but was suspended in 1993 after the collapse of the USSR. The tunnel was opened only in 2006, but work on completing the tunnel continues to this day.

Unofficially motorists call this tunnel "ass either".

33. Five kilometers of full LiveJournal ...

34. Having passed through the five-kilometer ass of a Negro, we passed the Gissar ridge and began to smoothly descend to Dushanbe.

These are the Fan Mountains. Not huhry-muhry.

I left my heart in the Fan Mountains
Now I walk the plains heartless
And in quiet conversations and in noisy feasts
I dream silently of blue peaks.

Iskanderkul is located near the northern foot of the Fan mountain complex. This lake owes its name to the famous commander Alexander the Great, who, according to legend, allegedly traveled here with his large army on the way to India. His eastern name was Iskander Zulkernayn, which can be translated as Alexander the Two-Horned. "Kul" in translation from Tajik means lake. This is how the name of this lake in the very heart of the mountains of Tajikistan - Iskanderkul appeared.

It is located in the knot of the Kuhistan mountains between the two ends of the Zerafshan and Gissar ranges. Iskanderkul's height above sea level is 2195 m, and its area is almost 3.5 km2. As a result of a mountain collapse or a powerful earthquake, it has a dammed structure. The moraine is almost completely covered with fragments of rock. Today, the depth of Iskanderkul is 72 m, but many researchers argue that in an earlier period it was much deeper. Traces of the lake can be seen on the surfaces of the slopes that surround it. Sometimes these footprints exceed the 120 m mark.

Many small mountain streams, as well as the Sarytag and Khazormech rivers flow into Iskanderkul. The lake serves as the source of Iskanderdarya, which flows into a rather large river called Fan-Darya, which is included in the Zeravshan basin. Just three hundred meters from Iskanderkul there is a small Serpentine Lake, which also has a glacial and dammed structure. Snake Lake has a warm water temperature, as well as a richer inner world, despite the very close proximity to Iskanderkul.

It is also worth mentioning a fairly large waterfall, which is located next to Iskanderkul. Its locals called it Fan Niagara. The height of this waterfall is 43 m. You can admire it from the observation deck, which is located directly above the fall of the water mass from a narrow mountain gorge.

Iskanderkul is also known for the presence of a historical monument, which was created by members of the very first Russian expedition led by Alexei Fedchenko. The members of this expedition entered the territory of the lake, moving from Zeravshan itself. They left their inscription “Russians. 1870 "on one large rock of limestone, which has managed to survive to our time.

Also near Iskanderkul there is a complex of the meteorological station of the hydrometeorological center of Tajikistan and a point for hydrological observations.

The lake has long been very popular among tourists from different countries. The magnificent view of the most beautiful mountain lake and the presence of many different interesting objects in the district made Iskanderkul a well-known world resort.

Tajikistan is an amazing country. If we compare it with Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, then we can safely call this country optimal in terms of the ratio of beauty and diversity of nature to safety, prices and a good attitude of local residents to travelers. The Fan Mountains and the Pamirs are the greatest, most beautiful places that cannot be forgotten. People are very kind, and the farther we got from big cities, the warmer we were received. In general, Tajikistan is an excellent, almost ideal country for a car trip. The main disadvantage is that it is very far away (if we consider our travel option from Moscow).

I will start my story about the October trip with one of the five incredible places in Tajikistan, which are highly recommended to visit the travel guide "Lonely Planet". This is a mountain lake Iskanderkul.

1. Anton joined us on this trip anton_ermachkov who opened this travel season with us back in January, and Ilya negrook , who went with us to Altai in July. Together with Kolya nikolapic and Yana ya_yankel the guys left Moscow in two cars and went on a course to Uzbekistan. I was detained by business in Moscow, so I joined five days later in Shymkent. From there, through Uzbekistan, we rushed in full force to visit the Tajiks in the direction of Dushanbe.

Soon after Khujon, boring steppe landscapes were replaced by mountainous beauty. We were approaching the Turkestan ridge. Its northern slopes, rather gentle, with juniper forests, as if stitched with wires of power lines, smoothly parted in front of us. Somewhere high in the dense haze were massive glaciers.

2. Then we somehow abruptly drove into the famous Shahristan tunnel, the longest road tunnel in the territory of the CIS countries. The opening of the tunnel in 2012 provided a year-round road connection between the northern and southern regions of Tajikistan. Prior to that, in winter, the northern regions of Tajikistan were cut off from the main territory of the country for 6 months.

3. The length of the tunnel is more than five kilometers. In a few minutes spent in this dark tube, the eyes had time to get used to the dim light. And so, when we emerged back into the light, we were all blinded for a moment. Squinting and lowering their sun visors in a hurry, we saw a completely different picture, as if we had teleported to other lands, to other mountains.

4. Instead of gentle forest slopes, the road twisted along steep rocky cliffs, every now and then dived into avalanche and anti-mudflow tunnels. Above all this, the majestic five-thousanders of the Zeravshan Range proudly towered.

7. The road twisted like a snake and everything went down and down to the Zeravshan river. Blocked ears. From time to time there were trucks that crawled like snails, trying not to burn the brakes. We didn't go faster, because every now and then we stopped for photosets.

8. Initially, we planned to get to Dushanbe before dark, or rather to the Rohat Teahouse. But we did not take into account the fact that our path ran through the Fan Mountains ...

9. And the Fan Mountains - this is another of the five mandatory points of the "must si of Tajikistan" from the guide. Therefore, we drove slowly, more even stood and took pictures)

10. Small settlement Khushekat.

12. Life of provincial Tajiks. It differs from my childhood village memories only in the multi-colored buildings.

14. The sun was setting fast. And by that time we managed to go only half the way. It was a pity to travel to such places in the dark, so we decided not to rush to the capital, but to stay in the Fan Mountains for one night.

15. We drove between high cliffs and looked around. There was nowhere to spend the night in such places - except that right on the road. But then the guide came to the rescue again, which just suggested to us about the Iskanderkul lake. It was only 30 kilometers to the right of the main road.

16. Initially, when planning the route, we somehow lost sight of this place and were not going to go here. But somehow everything worked out by itself, and when the sun had already disappeared behind the mountains, we saw a lake in the distance. The lake is like a lake, nothing out of the ordinary. From this point it looked like a reservoir of a small hydroelectric power station.

17. It was getting dark. We began to descend to the water. The road was bearable, accessible for a car. But it was impossible to drive quickly along it.

18. The tents were set up by the light of a fire and lanterns. There was no moon in the sky, but even in the light of the stars it was clear that we had arrived at some cosmic place.

19. It was very cold in the morning.

20. When the sun came out, we warmed up and realized that we were in a heavenly place.

21. After breakfast, the brave photographers in the person of Ilya and I went to swim in the icy and invigorating waters of Iskanderkul.

22. According to legend, Lake Iskanderkul got its name from Alexander the Great, who was called Iskander in the East. The word "kul" actually means "lake", hence the name - "Iskanderkul". Alexander the Great allegedly visited here on his way from Central Asia to India.

23. One of the legends says that during his Indian campaign, Alexander the Great came across a village that did not want to surrender. Then he ordered to direct the river beds to this village and flood it, as a result of which a lake was formed.

24. Iskanderkul is considered to be one of the most beautiful mountain lakes in Tajikistan.

25. The lake is located at an altitude of more than two kilometers, so for us it was a kind of acclimatization night before the Pamir route.

27. Charged with the energy of this place, we went to Dushanbe. Although the soul asked to stay in these places for at least another day ...

30. On the way to the city, another tunnel was waiting for us. Anzob. Not at all as clean and beautiful as Shahristan. Puffs of exhaust gases poured from the thick darkness of the tunnel's northern portal. We took a long breath of air and hastily closed all the windows.

31. The design of the tunnel was carried out by specialists from the institutes "Gidrospetsproekt" and "Tajikgiprotransstroy" in the 1980s. Construction began in 1988, but was suspended in 1993 after the collapse of the USSR. The tunnel was opened only in 2006, but work on completing the tunnel continues to this day.

Unofficially motorists call this tunnel "ass either".

32. Five kilometers of full LiveJournal ...

33. Having passed through the five-kilometer ass of a Negro, we passed the Gissar ridge and began to smoothly descend to Dushanbe.

35. These are the Fan Mountains. Not huhry-muhry.

I left my heart in the Fan Mountains
Now I walk the plains heartless
And in quiet conversations and in noisy feasts
I dream silently of blue peaks.

Yuri Vizbor.

This trip was carried out as part of the travel project "