Karakul

Near the top of the Pamir Highway, where the plateau runs treeless at 3,900 metres, Karakul spreads its improbable blue-black sheet inside what scientists read as an ancient meteorite impact basin - a salt lake with no outlet, too mineral for all but one hardy loach, ringed by white-shouldered peaks that top 6,000 metres and reflected with mirror cruelty on still mornings. The village on its shore is a scatter of white homestay houses where Kyrgyz herding families pour tea against the wind, yaks graze the salt flats, and the silence between vehicles on the Highway is total. It is high, hard country - and one of Central Asia's great overnight stops.

What you actually see

• The lake mirror - dawn reflections of the 6,000-metre ring.
• The impact basin - the crater rim ridges reading round the horizon.
• Karakul village - whitewashed homestays and yak herds on the shore.
• The Highway itself - the plateau run toward the Kyzyl-Art pass.

When to go

June to September is the travel season; even then nights freeze and wind is the resident weather. Winter closes in seriously. Mornings before the wind are the lake's performance hours.

Honest expectations

Altitude is the ruling fact - sleeping at 3,900 metres punishes anyone who raced up from Dushanbe or Osh; build acclimatisation into the Highway itinerary. Comforts are homestay-basic: warm blankets, outdoor facilities, generous hosts. The GBAO permit is required paperwork - arrange with the visa. Swimming is for polar enthusiasts only.

Nearby

Murghab's bazaar to the south, the Kyzyl-Art pass to Kyrgyzstan and the Highway's whole spine.