Ala Kul lake
Ala Kul lake
Ala-Kul is one of the most popular of the stunning alpine lakes located in the Terskey Alatau mountain range of the Issyk-Kul region. It lies between Altyn Arashan and Karakol gorges at an altitude of 3520 m above the sea level. The lake is about 2,3 km long and 700 m wide, making it one of the largest of the 729 lakes in the Issyk-Kul basin. Ala-Kul translates from Kyrgyz as “the Motley Lake”. The crystal clear waters of the lake are filled by glacial streams and the area is surrounded by the rocky peaks of the Terskey Ala-Too range of the Tien Shan mountains. Ala-Kol is frozen from October until May. The color of the water can change according to the time of day, the season and the weather and you may notice violet, dark blue, azure, or even pink colors once in a while.
The lake is situated in the Karakol gorge, on the northeast border with Altyn-Arashan gorge and is one of the fairly remote destinations of Kyrgyzstan. Although Ala-Kul is close to the Karakol town, getting there can be tricky and exhausting for non experienced hikers as the ascend to the lake is not the easiest. Nevertheless, it is one of the most popular trekking destinations in Kyrgyzstan as the views are just amazing.
Trekking to Ala Kul
There is a fee to enter the Karakol National reserve that one needs to pay in order to trek towards Ala-Kul lake. The pathway starts from the entrance to the Karakol gorge and it is about 30 kilometers to the lake in total. It takes usually 2 – 3 days to trek from one gorge to another and visiting the Ala Kul lake in between them. You might experience all conditions of the weather, from the sun to the rain and thunder or even snow sometimes even during the summer period. Karakol National park entrance fee should be also paid for this trek. Through tours by us, it will be taken care of for you. The Alakul trek is considered of medium difficulty and is not for very beginners or people who consider themselves not fit for mountain trekking as the highest pass on the trekking path reaches up to about 3900 meters where the amount of oxygen is already considerably lower than the inhabited areas.
Trekking tours to Ala-Kul
What to bring to Ala Kul
- Good, waterproof hiking boots;
- warm clothes, in warm summer days the temperature is up to +15 C during the day and +5 at night;
- raincoats, even in summer there can be snow, and sometimes it rains for days;
- hiking poles
- tent;
- sleeping bags, minimum 0’C comfort;
- sleeping mat;
- Camping gas and stove
Sights & Destinations near Ala-Kul
Page updated 31.8.2024
