Lake Goygol

An earthquake in 1139 brought down part of Mount Kapaz and dammed a mountain river, creating Goygol at about 1,550 metres. The lake is deep, clear and genuinely blue, surrounded by beech and pine with the bare grey face of Kapaz above it, and a path runs along part of the shore. It sits inside a national park that was closed to visitors for many years and reopened relatively recently, and access is still controlled at the gate.

History

An earthquake on 25 September 1139 brought down part of Mount Kapaz and blocked the Kürəkçay river, and the diverted water formed a lake of pure mountain water, hence its name, blue lake. In 1925 the lake became part of the new Goy Gol State Reserve, replaced in 2008 by Göygöl National Park, and the nearby town, founded as Helenendorf by German settlers in 1819, took the lake's name on 25 April 2008 (Wikipedia, Göygöl - lake).

What's there

• The lake - deep blue water at about 1,550 metres, formed by an earthquake landslide.
• Mount Kapaz - the grey face above the lake, the source of the slide that dammed the valley.
• The forest - beech and pine running down to the shore, at its best in October.
• Maralgol - a second, smaller lake higher up the same valley, reached on foot.

When to go

May to October is the season, with October the strongest for colour. Snow closes the upper road in winter. The park has restricted opening hours and visitors register at the entrance, so arriving late in the day risks being turned away.

Good to know

Swimming and boating are not permitted, and the shore path is short, so this is a look rather than an activity. Entry rules and hours change and are enforced at the gate. Weekend crowds from Ganja fill the car park and the picnic areas.

Nearby

Ganja is forty minutes north, and Maralgol is an hour's walk above Goygol.

Key facts