Ala-Kul

The most popular hike around  Karakol is a 3 days trek to Ala-Kul, a beautiful lake embedded in the mountains at 3620 meters. After Issyk-Kul and Song-Kul, you may actually start to recognize a pattern and figure out that kul means lake in Kyrgyz.

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Being in Karakol for one month, I could afford to be picky about the meteorological conditions. After about two weeks I decided it was time to go and ordered a taxi for the following day. I thought I would be alone and meet people on the way, but overhearing that I was leaving the next morning, Lucile, a french girl at the hostel told me 'Oh you're going tomorrow at 7:00? I'm coming with, I'm ready!'. I wasn't so sure if she was serious, but the next day at 7:00 she was indeed ready.

The start of the hike is at the entrance of a national park reachable by marshrukta. Taxis can drive a bit further, saving between 1 and 2 hours of walk. We followed first the Karakol river during a few kilometers and then started the steep ascension to the lake. The plan was to sleep at a camp at 3000 meters, in the middle of the climbing. But starting so early and walking steady, we already arrived there at 2:15 PM. So we decided to continue up to the lake.

After 3 more hours of hiking in rocks and gravels, we finally arrived at the top and were rewarded by a stunning view over Ala-Kul. During the evening, it quickly became rather cold, and it snowed during the night. My sleeping bag being designed for +6 C°, I manage to sleep a few hours without freezing with a few layers of clothes, a liner and a survival blanket.

Ala-Kul lake. We arrived on Thursday in Summer; we left on Friday in Winter.

The next morning we still had to climb a few hundreds meters of elevation to reach a pass at 3928 meters. I hoped I could climb a little more and take a picture of my GPS with an altitude of 4000 meters, but it was too steep to go higher. I guess I will have to photoshop the picture... From there it was then a long descent down to Altyn-Arashan - a place famous for its hot springs and yurt camps - where we spent a second night.

On the third day, we followed a dirt road for 16 kilometers, took a marshrutka, and we were back at the Duet Hostel in Karakol. Thanks to my cousin Eliane who had brought me a pack of Fondue, we celebrated the end of this amazing trek as deserved!

Lucile, ready to go at 7:00 AM.

Following the Karakol river.

The ascension to the lake.

At the bar of the camp where we originally planned to spend the first night.

We continued until the lake.

Ala-Kul is just behind those last rocks.

We made it to the lake!

The next morning, the landscape had some polar vibes.

The way up to the pass.

Ala-Kul lake and its glacier viewed from the pass.

Hikers climbing to the pass.

3928... hum... 4000 meters high!

The view on the other side, towards Altyn-Arashan.

Altyn-Arashan, famous for its hot springs.

On the 3rd day, 16 km walking on that road.

After such a beautiful trek, what else than a fondue to recover?

And of course to share it with my Swiss and French friends Laetitia, Cyril and Lucile.