Chatyr-Köl Lake

Chatyr-Köl, the celestial lake, lies at about 3,500 metres in a closed basin below the Torugart pass into China, a shallow brackish sheet of water some twenty kilometres long with no outflow and no permanent settlement anywhere around it. It is a Ramsar-listed wetland and important for birds: bar-headed geese, ruddy shelduck, and Indian mountain waterfowl breed or stage here, and the surrounding steppe holds marmots and, higher up, argali. The landscape is entirely open, grass and gravel running to bare ridges, and the sense of altitude and emptiness is the reason to stop. Most travellers see it in passing on the way to or from Torugart or Kel-Suu; the road is in the border zone so permits and checkpoints apply.

What you actually see

• The open lake - shallow water in a treeless closed basin.
• Breeding waterbirds - geese, shelduck and waders in summer.
• High steppe - grass and gravel plain at 3,500 metres.
• Marmots and raptors - the visible wildlife of the plateau.

When to go

June to September; the lake is frozen and the road snowbound otherwise. Bird numbers peak in summer. Weather is harsh year round and snow falls in any month at this altitude.

Honest expectations

A border permit is needed and checkpoints are enforced. There is nothing at the lake: no facilities, no shelter, no accommodation. Wind is constant and there is no protection from it. Stopping time is often dictated by the border crossing schedule rather than by choice.

Nearby

Tash-Rabat lies north; Kel-Suu is east along the frontier.