Kara-Suu Lake

Kara-Suu sits at around 2,000 metres in the Chatkal range, formed when a landslide blocked a river valley and left a long narrow lake with drowned tree trunks standing in the shallows at one end, which is its most distinctive feature. Spruce forest comes down to the water and the slopes above are steep. Getting there means driving as far as the track allows and then walking or riding three to four hours up a valley, so it is an overnight trip rather than a day out, and camping by the shore is the usual arrangement. There is no infrastructure at all. The lake is little visited even by Kyrgyz standards, and the appeal is precisely that: forest, water and nobody, in a range that sees almost no traffic.

What you actually see

• The dammed lake - long narrow water held behind a landslide.
• Drowned trees - trunks standing in the shallow end.
• Spruce slopes - forest running down to the shoreline.
• Empty valley - a route with almost no other walkers.

When to go

June to September. Snow lingers into early summer at the lake and returns in October. July and August are warmest, though afternoon storms are common in the Chatkal.

Honest expectations

Access requires a vehicle to the trailhead and then hours on foot or horseback with everything carried. There are no facilities, no marked trail and no signal. Local guidance is effectively necessary since the route is not obvious. Weather in the Chatkal turns quickly.

Nearby

Toktogul reservoir lies south; Sary-Chelek is west.