Lake Iskanderkul: Location, Description, Depth, History of the occurrence, photos. Lake Iskanderkul: Location, Description, Depth, History, Photo Rest on the Lake

Lake Iskanderkul in Tajikistan lake is attracting not only with its nature, but also interesting legends. Tourists are specially come here to make sure the beauty of the mountain pond and in the truth of the ancient legends. But first things first.

Lake Iskanderkul is located in the north of the country, in the Sughd region. It's not difficult to get to it. If you go from the capital of Tajikistan, then this is a little more than one hundred and fifty kilometers along a good high mountain range. Two hours will leave, but on the way you can see such fascinating landscapes, where the snow-covered tops of the mountains rush into heavenly blue. These are fan mountains. They occupy the area slightly large than the area of \u200b\u200bMoscow, but on this little piece of land is a lot of interesting things.

11 peaks with a height of five kilometers and hundreds of small, and still forests, rivers and lakes. Iskanderkul consider the heart of fan mountains. It is surrounded by the tops-five thousandths - Chapdar, Bodhon, Miralia, Maria, Zindon. The highest - chim park, 5487 meters high. By the way, as the names appeared, no one remembers.

The local resident of Juma Malikov shakes his shoulders, but still trying to explain: "For example, this top is rainerous," Akai Juma shows one of the mountains. So politely appeal to the elders in Tajikistan, - local, determine the weather according to it. If it is hidden in the cloud, it will start rain. According to another version, it is named, because there is a rainer on it. And this vertex - Chil-Shaitan, with Tajik translated as "40 devils". Old people say that hunters and shepherds met the devils there. And this is the name from there and went. And so far people are afraid to rise there, they go around this mountain. And tourists are interested, they rise there, there is something to see about. "

Well, the Iskanderkul is already visible. Closer to the lake a couple of kilometers will have to shake on the dirt road, but it is worth it. The mirror surface of the reservoir opens. The form resembles a triangle of three and a half square kilometers and reaches 70 meters deep. The uniqueness is that it is the largest water in the mountains, located at a height above two kilometers. Until now, many scientists keep disputes about the appearance of a lake in these places. Most of them inclined to the fact that it was formed as a result of 11 thousand years ago. However, and on this subject of local opinions. From generation to generation transfer the story that it was originally a reservoir above, in the mountains, and twice the water left after the abundant melting of glaciers.

"This is the third location. Yes, and water, say old men, it was more. Won, you see, if you look, on the mountains, the stripes go. This is the marks from the water. The first 110 meters, the second is already 50 meters below. Now the third mark is now. Two times it broke out. They say everything washed everything to Samarkand, "Malikov told.

Well, of course, with a volume of water - 172 million cubic meters. The length of the coastline is 14 kilometers. Iskanderkul call the pearl in the palms of the mountains. And one hundred tourists come to see it. To stay here there are houses, but to foreign visitors most like to live in tents. The French, the British and Swedes are adjacent here. Each of them has their favorite type of tourism. Some admire the sights of Tajikistan on foot, others inspect beauty with a breeze on motorcycles, others travel on rare cars. The owners of this car drove 80 thousand kilometers from France to Tajikistan.

After talking with tourists, and these are foreign citizens, and Tajikistan, it turns out - they pull legends here. After all, Iskanderkul is also called a mystery lake. So many secrets are hidden in waters, so many stories and legends keep these places. For example, there is a beautiful legend: at the bottom of Lake Iskanderkulkul graze the fire Rakhsh - horse Rustama from the poem of Firdawi "Shahnam".

But the main legend is associated with Alexander Macedonian. According to legend, the lake received its name on behalf of this commander, which in the east called Iskander. Kul from Tajik - Lake, and it turned out - Iskanderkul. According to reference, the Macedonian stopped here on its path from Central Asia to India.

"The first legend says that the commander came across the village of Sogdians who had resistance. Alexander was angry and ordered to drive the river, on which the village was located. So the lake arose. According to the second parable, during the prival of the Macedonian horse, Bucuofal, got drunk after a long transition of water from the lake and fell ill. After all, Iskanderkul consists of molten glacial water. Macedonian left his faithful horse here and headed to India. But the horse felt at a vast distance the death of the owner and rushed into the lake. And remained forever here, "says Juma Malikov.

There are many different legends. But still historians argue that Alexander himself was here, but only his horse with the army. But, it already worries anyone else - legends are more interesting. Especially since without them there is a lot of fascinating. For example, the water in the lake contains a large number of mineral impurities, therefore there are no fish, only a small gesting is found. Residents say that Trout from the mountain rivers falls here, but she takes it in Iskandarya, and then the waterfall. No one can go against his flow. It is lowered from a height of 30 meters around the water dust. The canyon itself, narrow, gloomy and raw. And you can only look at it from a special platform. This place is selected specifically, from here a good review. And only then you can see a bright rainbow, which seems to be deliberately hiding under the rock.

Near the old Archa, she has instead of tapes. Everyone who comes to admire the waterfall, on this tree leaves something from himself to come back here again.

Not far from Iskanderkul there is a snake lake. Old-timers say there is a lot of snakes - hence the name. Although local residents convince that the snake does not bite in two cases: when it is in water and when they drink water. Others believe that the name was given only to attract tourists. However, here the water is warmer than in Iskanderkul, and here you can swim.

That's it - the Macedonian Lake. However, this is only the beginning of the path to at least fascinating and mysterious fan mountains that store a thousand-year history.

Photo in Article: Zarina Abdunazarova

Iskanderkul is located near the northern foot of the Fan Mountain Complex. Its title is a lake owned by the famous commander Alexander Macedon, according to legends allegedly passing here with his numerous army on the road to India. The eastern name it was Iskander Zulkernin, which can be translated as Alexander twir. "Kul" translated from Tajik denotes the lake. So the name of this lake appeared in the heart of the Mountains of Tajikistan - Iskanderkul.

It is located in the Kukhistan Mountains node between the two endings of the ridges of Zeraphsan and Gissar. The height of the Iskalderkul above sea level is 2195 m, and its area is almost 3.5 km 2. due to a mountain collapse or a powerful earthquake, it has a wreational structure. Moraine is almost completely littered with fragments of rock. Today, the depth of Iskalderkul is 72 m, but many researchers argue that in an earlier period it was much deeper. Footprints of the lake can be observed on the surfaces of the slopes that surround it. Sometimes these traces exceed the mark of 120 m.

Many minor streams fall into Iskanderkul, as well as the Sarytag and Hazzomet River. The lake is the source of Iskanderdarya, which flows into a rather large river called Fan Daria, which is included in the Zeravshan pool. Only in three hundred meters from Iskander, there is a small serpentine lake, which also has ice and bival structures. Snake lake has a warm water temperature, as well as a richer inner world, despite the very close neighborhood with Iskanderkul.

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

Iskanderkul also known for the presence of a historical monument, which was created by members of the very first Russian expedition under the leadership of Alexey Fedchenko. Participants of this expedition penetrated the territory of the lake, moving from Zeravshan himself. They left their inscription "Russians. 1870 "On one big cliff from limestone, which managed to preserve to our time.

Also near the Iskarderkul is the complex of meteorological station of the Hydrometeorological center of Tajikistan and item for hydrological observations.

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

Amazing Lake Iskanderkul in Tajikistan

Halfway from Dushanbe to Samarkand, between the rocky chains of the Gissar and Zeravshan ridges, the most picturesque part of Tien Shan - Fan Mountains is located. It is unlikely that there is another such corner on the huge space of the CIS, where in a small space, among rare on the beauty of landscapes, at the foot of the snow-covered mountains, three dozen large and small lakes were scattered immediately, surrounded by green forests and white from foam with stormy flows of flowing streams and silver threads waterfalls.

The color of water is not repeated in any of the lakes, changing from gently green to turquoise and from the blue to dark purple. And the heart of the Fan Mountains is the pearl of Tien Shan - Lake Iskanderkul. This largest lake in the fan mountains is located at an altitude of more than two kilometers. In shape, it resembles a triangle of three and a half square kilometers and reaches in the depths of seventy meters. From all sides he is surrounded by the romance of mountains, forming inaccessible cliffs in separate places.

The highest of the surrounding vertices - Mount Kyrk-Shaitan raised his gray snow chapter by almost four kilometers above sea level, and the rest are only at five hundred and seven hundred meters below, so that they are towering a kilometer and more. The turquoise color of the lake water contrasts with red-brown rocks on the mountain slopes. (Fan Mountains are prepared predominantly limestone, which iron oxides were painted by all rust wreaths.)

Swift rivers Sarytag, Hozermets and Serim, current in wooded gorges, and a speaking stream cave carry their cold water into the lake. Sand-brought by them and pebbles formed near the mouth of each river small smooth sites, on which groves are green - poplar, birch, aspen and archie. A narrow border of Iznyak, Barbaris, Rogovnik and Sea buckthorn stretches along the shores of Iskander. The bluish-green water of the lake is quite cold, but at the shores and in closed bays in summer it is quite possible to swim. In winter, Iskander Keep freezes, and only in the midst of it is preserved a strip formed by the stream of current water.

Iskander-Daria River, originating from the lake, in a kilometer below the source is broken into a narrow gorge with a powerful thirtiethimmeter waterfall. To get to the waterfall closer to see it in all the magnificence, it is almost impossible: the inclined edge of the gorge is covered with shallow crushed stone, treacherously crawling under his feet, and the tourist risks risen in a rumbling abyss. This mighty journey of Iskander-Darya is often called the "Fan Niagara", although it would be more precisely to compare it with the African Waterfall of Victoria, who also falls into a cramped slit, not allowing the opportunity to see himself in all its glory.

Next to Iskanderkul, in the Gorge of the Serim River, there is a small snake lake, named after tourists because of the abundance of snakes in his waters. Above the lake, the river gorge shrinks and goes into a cool-rested canyon, ending with another spectacular waterfall. True, to get to it, you will have to literally catch the thicket of shrubs and wild cherries. In the vicinity of the lakes dwell the bears, snow leopards, mountain partridges-kecliki, hooked fodys, turkey - Ulary. True, the lake itself can not boast the abundance of life: only small fish are found here - the Golden.

Many legends associated with this lake. According to one of them, Alexander Macedonian himself passed through the fan mountains, and during the parking lot on the shores of the lake, a favorite horse Alexander was drowned in him - Bucuofal. By the way, and the lake itself is obliged to his name a great conqueror of antiquity - the name Alexander in Central Asia pronounced as Iskander.

Another legend says that in ancient times, the same Alexander seized the rich lands of Sogdiana - the state then in these edges. But the winsted mountains did not accept the sudden attacks all the time worried the Greek army. Then the angry Alexander ordered to drive the river, on which the main city of Sogdians stood, and the fortress and her brave defenders in their depths formed the lake forever in their depths.

In fact, Lake Iskanderkul was formed in an ancient glacier valley, blocked by moraine sediments of the glacier and a mountain collapse. But the surrounding residents, as we visited the lake to tourists, more like the old legend, than the dry lines of scientific treatises. Moreover, the fascinating charm of Iskanderkul somehow adjusts the traveler to the poetic way.

Crystal-transparent waters, almost always a clear blue sky, mountain giggles, leaving the vertices in the translated mysteries, and green groves on a red-pink background of the cliffs give the lake fabulous beauty. And admiring on the shore of the Iskaiterkul soaring in the sky an eagle, quite tiny on the background of snow peaks, pink from the sunset, I don't want to think about geology.

Mountain valleys and passes in the mountains surrounding the lake look quite differently, although there are many amazing beautiful places here. Stormy and scorched Iskander-Daria, foaming on the stones, runs away to the east, so that, to get sick with a lamb, to form the main water artery of the local mountains - Phadarya. And for a long time still pale green transparent waters, Iskander Daria flow from the left bank without mixing with a muddy jet of the Yagnob waters.

In the gorge of Yagnob, the tourist will experience all the difficulties of mountain travel. In the upper reaches it is an open flame valley with a slight bias. Only in two places the river is constrained by rocks, and it forms short canyons. But near Kislak, Christob Yagnob dives into the deepest extended tundin. Here the traveler has to wade over the river along the mountain path, laid in a narrow eaves high above the river. Only once the mountains are broken for a while, and then the walls of the canyon are rented again, and the trail is climbing the dizzying height, it goes down to the water itself, passing under the hanging cliffs.

Only the Kislak Anzob is expanding the gorge, and the trail goes to the autotrass, leading through an Anzobian pass to the capital of Tajikistan - Dushanbe. But ahead of the Yagnob awaits another obstacle - the gigantic mountain range. Once there was a lake here, but then the river was rinsed the path in the thickening of the resulting dam, and now the whole foam mass of her water disappears in the chaos of the lump of the gorge. Serpentine's road descends down and meets again with a lamb who escaped a tonfon from the village. In the vicinity of the takophon, you can find the accumulations of red-color conglomerates that form bizarre stone sculptures similar to the giant towers, columns, obeliski and statues.

And in front of the merger of Yagnoba with Iskander Darya, red cliffs come close to the road. Black coal layers are clearly noticeable in them. This is the largest in Central Asian fan-yagnobsky coal deposit, which is not yet developed due to the inaccessibility of the area. But here you can observe the rarest natural phenomenon - an underground coal fire. For many centuries, a combustible stone flames underground, and the gases that have been decorated to three hundred degrees are pulled out with noise, but without smoke and flame through rock cracks and black zev caves. The walls are covered with sulfur and amusing crystals, and the soil near the cracks are so hot, that on the stones lying here you can fry meat, the stove of cakes or boil tea.

To the west of IskanderDkul, in the upper reaches of the Schinger River, stretched along the mountain valley sparkling water staircase from the seven Margusor Lakes. The path to them leads from IskanderDkul through the Passing of Dukdon and Tavasang. Here, the traveler can experience his nerves, as the trail takes place on Ovurins - artificial eaves built with the help of stakes driven into the rock. Thanks to the Ovrins, it is possible to avoid tedious bypass.

A little further, by passing the second largest in the magnitude after I was squeezed Kulikalon Lake, you can go to the most picturesque in the local mountains to Alaudin lakes. They are located at the foot of the beautiful peak of the fan mountains - Chapdara. The caravan trail leads by the lakes to the pass on the sweat, from where it lies to Samarkand.

If you proceed along the highway downstard, disseminating the narrow gorge Zeravshansky ridge, it is easy to get to the Zeravshan Valley, the biggest river in these parts. The jerking of her valley takes Zeravshansky glacier, one of the largest on Tien Shan. Its length is almost twenty-five kilometers, and the thickness of the glacial flow reaches two hundred meters! From two sides, fourteen tributaries fall into it. Starting at a height of four more than a kilometer, the glacier descends the valley for a half thousand meters.

The Gorge of Phadaren, cutting the high mountains, looks sternly. Around only one cliffs and stony scree. And near the mouth of the River Paster on the rock, the ruins of the ancient fortress Sarvadar rummaged, who had ever confused the path from the Zeravshan Valley on the Yagnob. Now the automotive track allows you to avoid difficult rates on rocky passages, and for travelers who prefer modern ways to move, it has become the main road in the fan mountains.

However, a lot of tourists choose the old tested method - "walking with a bag." Mountain adventure lovers walk along the tropas of the fan mountains past the gloomy canyons and noisy waterfalls, red rocks and green groves to the magic lake of a wonderful beauty, wearing the name of the great conqueror of antiquity.

Valery Kachmarik

Tajikistan is an amazing country. If you compare it with Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, then it is safe to name this country optimal in the ratio of beauty and a variety of nature to safety, prices and a good attitude of local residents to travelers. And the Pamir is the greatest, the strongest places on the beauty that cannot be forgotten. People are very kind, and the further we climbed from the big cities, the warmer we were met. In general, Tajikistan is excellent, almost ideal for automobile travel country. The main minus - is very far away (if we consider our version of the trip from Moscow).

I will start my story about the October trip from one of the five incredible places of Tajikistan, which strongly recommends visiting the Lonely Planet guide. This is a mountain lake Iskanderkul.

1. Soon after Khujand, boring steppe landscapes were replaced by mountain beauty. We approached the Turkestan ridge. It was smoothly broken up with his northern slopes, rather gentle, with archery forests, as if lattice watched wires of power lines. Somewhere high in a dense haze visited massive glaciers.

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

3. The length of the tunnel is more than five kilometers. In a few minutes spent in this dark tube, the eyes managed to get used to the weak light. And therefore, when they emerged back to the light, we are all on a moment of donkey. Picky and in a hurry lowering sunscreen visors, we opened a completely different picture, as if we were teleported to other lands, to other mountains.

4. Instead of forest gesturing slopes, the road twisted along steeply rocky cliffs, then it also dived into the anti-television and anti-erase tunnels. The majestic five-thousandnesses of the Zeravshan Range are proud of all this.

7. The road as a snake was wriggled and everything went down below and lower to the Zeravshan River. Laid ears. Periodically met trucks that crawled as snails, trying not to burn brakes. We were not faster, because they still stayed on photos.

8. Initially, we planned to fall to Dushanbe, and more precisely to the teahouse Rohat. But we did not take into account the fact that our path ran through the fan mountains ...

9. And Fan Mountains are another of the five mandatory points "Mast Si Tajikistan" from the guidebook. Therefore, we drove slowly, even more and photographed)

12. The life of provincial Tajiks. It differs from my children's rustic memories only multirence of buildings.

14. The sun quickly sat down. And by the time we managed to pass only half of the way. It was a pity to go through such places in the dark, so we decided not to rush to the capital, and stay in the fan mountains for one night.

15. We drove between high cliffs and glanced on the sides. Night in such places was nowhere - except right on the road. But here the guide came to the rescue, who just suggested to us about Lake Iskanderkul. It was only 30 kilometers to the right of the main road.

16. Initially, when planning the route, we somehow missed this place from the view and went here were not going. But everything somehow happened, and when the sun had already disappeared outside the mountains, we saw the lake into the distance. Lake as a lake, nothing unusual. From this point, it was similar to a small hydropower station.

17. Donello. We began to descend to water. The road was tolerable, affordable and for passenger cars. That's just quickly riding it did not work.

18. Tents already put in the light of the fire and lanterns. The moon was not in the sky, but even at the light of the stars it was clear that we came to some kind of cosmic place.

19. It was very cold in the morning.

20. When the sun came out, we prick and realized that we were in a paradise place.

21. After breakfast, courageous photographers in the face of me and Ilya went to swim in the ice and invigorating water of Iskanderkul.

22. Lake Iskanderkul for legends received its name on behalf of Alexander Macedon, whom Iskander called in the east. The word "Kul" means the "lake" itself, hence the name - "Iskanderkul". Alexander Macedonian allegedly visited his path from Central Asia to India.

23. One of the legends states that during his Indian campaign, Alexander Macedonsky came across a village that did not want to give up. Then he ordered to send the river bed to this village and flood it, as a result of which the lake was formed.

24. Iskanderkul - rightly considered one of the most beautiful mountain lakes of 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. After charging the energy of this place, we went to Dushanbe. Although the soul asked to linger in these places at least for the day ...

31. On the way to the city, we were waiting for another tunnel. Anzobian. Not so clean and beautiful as Shahristansky. From the thick darkness of the northern portal of the tunnel piled clubs of exhaust gases. We made a big breath of air and hastily closed all the windows.

32. The design of the tunnel was carried out by specialists of the institutions "Gidrospetsproekt" and "Tajikhiprotranstroy" in the 1980s. Construction began in 1988, but was suspended in 1993 after the collapse of the USSR. The tunnel was discovered only in 2006, but work on the completion of the tunnel continues until now.

Unofficially motorists call this tunnel "ass either".

33. Five kilometers full LJ ...

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

Here they are, fan mountains. No huhry mukhra.

I left the heart in the fan mountains,
Now heartless walk on the plains,
And in quiet conversations and in noisy pira
I'm silent dream of blue vertices.