Mountain lake Issyk-Kul. Lake Issyk-Kul, salty or fresh Issyk-Kul, salty water

Author - Oksana_Lyutova. This is a quote from this post.

Mountain Lake Issyk-Kul

The most beautiful and most big lake Central Asia - Lake Issyk-Kul. It is located between the ridges of the Northern Tien Shan: Kungei Ala-Too (facing the sun) and Terskey Ala-Too (facing away from the sun) at an altitude of 1609 m above sea level. Issyk-Kul is one of the largest mountain lakes in the world.

The lake is incredibly beautiful. For this reason, it is called the "Pearl of Kyrgyzstan". Greater transparency and bright sun change the color of the Issyk-Kul Lake water from pale blue to dark blue tones. In winter, the water temperature is + 4.2-5.0 °.

There are many legends and myths about the origin of Lake Issyk-Kul. Here are the three most common legends.

In July and August, the upper layers of water are heated up to +18-20°. Even in the coldest winters, the lake does not freeze. Magnificent views of snow-capped peaks open from the northern shore of the lake. Eighty rivers and streams flow into the lake, but the lake has no runoff, so the water in the lake is salty.

There are beliefs about cities buried under the waters of Issyk-Kul. The mountains around the lake are practically unexplored.


The basin of the lake, surrounded on all sides by powerful mountain ranges, remained for a long time an inaccessible region of Kyrgyzstan. Now you can get here on the road passing through the famous Boom Gorge, there are also 2 airports on the territory of the basin: Cholpon-Ata, located near resort town, and international Airport Tamchi, which was built and opened in the summer of 2003 on the basis of a military airport.

Here are some figures about this unique place, which attracts an increasing number of tourists: the volume of all water is 1738 km2, the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe water surface is 6236 km2, the length of the coastline is 688 km, the average depth is 278 m, and the greatest depth is almost 2.5 times more and equals 668 m, the length of Issyk-Kul from West to East is 182 km, and from South to North - 58 km. During the last two centuries, the level of Issyk-Kul has been decreasing and, as a result, both the depth and the length of the coastline have decreased. According to the Great Soviet Encyclopedia since 1886, he fell by 4 m, according to other sources, by 9 m.

In terms of depth and volume of water, it has no equal in the world among high mountain lakes. Issyk-Kul is rightfully the second largest alpine lake, after Lake Titicaca located in Chile.

Due to the great depth of the lake, the water does not have time to cool completely - the lake never freezes, except perhaps along some shores. Issyk-Kul in Kyrgyz means "Hot Lake". The ancient Kyrgyz called this pearl of the country "Tuz-Kul" - " Salt Lake"for the salty taste of water, which is not suitable for drinking either for people or for animals.

The lake belongs to the tectonic formations and due to the orographic isolation of the basin - the climate here is peculiar, almost maritime. It is softer, warmer and more humid than in other Tien Shan depressions located at the same height.

According to the thermal regime, Issyk-Kul is a subtropical lake. Here, on the coast of the lake in summer it is moderately warm, in winter it is not cold. average temperature air in January - minus 2 - minus 10 degrees, in July - plus 17 - plus 18. The average water temperature in summer is plus 21 - plus 23, in winter - minus 3 - minus 4. The western part of the basin is arid, rains are rare, there is almost no snow drops out. AT western mountains, bordering the lake, only 115 mm of precipitation falls, on the eastern shore - about 600 mm. However, in recent years, the amount of precipitation has increased - in Kyrgyzstan, the influence of Global warming is also noticeable.

More than 80 rivers and tributaries flow into the lake, but not a single river carries its waters away from this azure lake, which causes the accumulation of salts (water mineralization - 5.90%). The largest rivers flowing into the lake are Tyup (103 km) and Dzhergalan (81 km), the length of the rest does not exceed 50 km. Once upon a time, the Chu River, flowing along the western outskirts of the basin, carried its waters into the lake

The contrast of natural zones is varied: in the east - these are steppes on dark chestnut soils, along the slopes of the mountains in the west - semi-desert, but in the east, at the same heights, especially along the Terskey Ala-Too gorges, - dense spruce forests. The organic world of the lake is also diverse - about 20 species of fish live here, 10 of them are acclimatized. The Issyk-Kul is inhabited by: chebak, carp, marinka, osman, pike perch, bream, mirror carp, grass carp, Amurdarya and Sivan trout, whitefish and other fish.

The first to explore the lake was the great Russian traveler P.P. Semyonov-Tyan-Shansky. He wrote about Issyk-Kul: “It is hard to imagine anything more grandiose than the landscape that a traveler sees from Kungei across the lake to the Heavenly Range. The dark blue surface of Issyk-Kul with its sapphire color can easily compete with the equally blue surface of Lake Geneva, it seemed to me on the western side of Kungei, almost limitless in the East, and the incomparable grandeur of the last plan of the landscape gives it such grandeur that Lake Geneva does not have.

The famous Russian traveler and scientist, explorer of Central Asia, N. M. Przhevalsky, was in love with this region and asked to be buried on the shore of the lake. Having seen the beauty of Kyrgyzstan, he said: "This is the same Switzerland, only better." After the death of Przhevalsky, a city was named after him, located next to the grave of the traveler. Then, after the collapse of the USSR, Prezhevalsk was renamed Karakol. The city houses the Prezewalski Museum.


Issyk-Kul attracts great amount tourists from Kazakhstan, Russia, other parts of the CIS, as well as foreign tourists. On the coast of the lake there are resorts that operate year-round, where you can not only have a great rest, but also improve your health.

Lake Issyk-Kul

Answer from Danila Serbenyuk[guru]
not salty!)) Baikal is also a lake, and more!!!

Answer from Victoria Kormilina (Kostenko)[newbie]
But still many seas are larger

Answer from User deleted[guru]
Everything that does not have access to the oceans is called lakes, and it is salty because there are salt marshes.

Answer from User deleted[guru]
not fair! agree with you! incredible beauty!

Answer from Rus[guru]
By definition, the sea is part of the world's oceans. Anything that is not connected to the ocean by no less than a strait is not a sea. By the way, the Caspian is a lake called the "Caspian Sea". And the Aral, until it dried up, although it was called the sea, was a lake. And pay attention: based on the definition, the sea cannot dry up, if the flow (evaporation) of water exceeds its arrival along the rivers and due to precipitation, the shortage will be compensated by the inflow through the strait. And through which strait can water enter Issyk-Kul?

Issyk-Kul is a lake in eastern Kyrgyzstan in the northern part of the Tien Shan mountains. It is the tenth lake in the world in terms of volume (but not surface area) and the second largest among saline lakes after the Caspian Sea. Translated from the Kyrgyz Issyk-Kul means " warm lake”, despite the fact that it is surrounded on all sides by snowy peaks, the lake never freezes.

The lake is 182 km long and about 60 km wide. This is the second largest mountain lake in the world. It is located at an altitude of 1607 meters and reaches a depth of 668 meters. 118 rivers and streams flow into the lake, but not a single one flows out. There is a hypothesis that the waters of the lake have an underground outlet to the Chu River.
The salinity of the water in the lake is low - only 0.6% (for comparison - the usual sea ​​water has 3.5% salt). The water level decreases annually by 5 centimeters. The climate in the lake area is mild, not as hot as in other regions of Kyrgyzstan.

The best period for beach holiday- July, August, the air temperature at this time is about 25 degrees, the water temperature is 22-23 degrees.

How to get there

The shortest way to Issyk-Kul is a flight to Bishkek airport. Shuttle taxis depart from the East Station, on the way about 4 hours. A taxi will cost about $60.

Calendar low prices for flights to Bishkek:

Order individual transfer from the airport HERE

A longer option is a flight to Alma-Ata (Kazakhstan). At one time I took advantage of this particular path, tk. I also wanted to visit Medeo. In addition, the flight to Alma-Ata was cheaper. Buses from Alma-Ata to Issyk-Kul leave late in the evening, the journey takes about 8-9 hours, i.e. the road lasts all night. It should be taken into account that rest in Issyk-Kul for the residents of Kazakhstan is an economy class vacation, so the buses were crowded with tourists, mostly young people.

The bus was very noisy, so it was difficult to sleep. In addition, at night it was necessary to go out to pass the border.

The border is formal, a Russian passport is enough, but do not forget to take out medical insurance just in case.

Where to stay

The most populated is the northern part of the coast of Issyk-Kul. The southern part, although no less picturesque, was once subjected to mercury contamination, and gold mining is carried out in this area by a foreign company. Although it is believed that the ecology of the region has already been completely restored, this part of the coast developed more slowly, and the main tourist settlements located on the northern part of the lake.
The main settlements are Cholpon-Ata and Bosteri, and numerous villages are also located along the lake. Another major city on Issyk-Kul is Karakol (formerly Przhevalsk), it is located on the east coast of the lake.

There is a ski resort there.

In the area of ​​Lake Issyk-Kul there are sanatoriums and boarding houses. The most famous - sanatoriums "Blue Issyk-Kul", Cholpon-Ata and "Kyrgyz seaside" in Bostery.

They have developed infrastructure and offer a wide range of services, located right on the lake. It is recommended to buy tickets in advance.

You can book accommodation in Issyk-Kul HERE.

While still on the bus, at the entrance to Issyk-Kul, real estate agents began to sit down to us and offer various accommodation options. We agreed with one of the agents that he would show us several options in Bosteri. We moved to a passenger car and soon chose a nice room in a private mini-hotel 5 minutes walk from the lake. Accommodation prices are cheaper than in similar private hotels on the Black Sea coast.
A room in the private sector can be rented even cheaper. Usually, private sector located further from the coast, but its advantage is homemade food from the owners and the ability to use the kitchen.

Search for hotels in Cholpon-Ata:

Excursions around Issyk-Kul

The main reason why it is worth making such a long journey to Lake Issyk-Kul in Kyrgyzstan is, of course, excursions. There is something to see here.

Excursions can be purchased at boarding houses of settlements.
We took excursions to Karakol, a two-day tour around Issyk-Kul on an SUV with an overnight stay in yurts, a trip to the famous Dordoi market in Bishkek.

Karakol (formerly Przhevalsk)

Karakol is the fourth largest city in Kyrgyzstan. It has interesting tourist attractions:

Russian Orthodox Cathedral

The cathedral was originally built of stone in 1872, when Karakol was a garrison town on the border of the tsarist empire. It was destroyed in 1890 by an earthquake and the current cathedral was built of wood on a brick foundation. Construction lasted 6 years and was completed in 1895. After the revolution of 1917, the building was used as an educational center, gym, theater, dance hall and even a coal warehouse. Then, in 1991, after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the declaration of independence of Kyrgyzstan, the building was again transferred to the Orthodox diocese.

Dungan mosque

The Issyk-Kul Central Mosque of the city of Karakol was built according to the design of the Beijing architect Chu Seu in the traditional Chinese style. The construction of the mosque began in 1904 and ended in 1910. The mosque was built without a single nail, and is a monument of wooden architecture. In the period from 1929 to 1947, the mosque building was used as a warehouse, in 1947 it was transferred to the Muslim community. The mosque is currently open to visitors.

Museum of Przewalski

Nikolai Mikhailovich Przhevalsky is one of the first Russian geographers who began to study the geography, flora and fauna of the countries of Central Asia. Starting from 1870, he organized 4 major expeditions to Mongolia, China and Tibet. He discovered and described over 200 plant species. He also amassed a gigantic zoological collection. He died in 1988 from typhus, was buried on the banks of Issyk-Kul near the city of Karakol. The Przhevalsky Museum opened in 1957 near the scientist's grave.

Salt Lake Issyk-Kul/

The salt lake is located at the southern tip of Issyk-Kul. It has a unique microclimate. Presumably, earlier it was part of Issyk-Kul, but then separated from the main lake, and the concentration of salts increased due to evaporation.

The chemical composition of the lake is close to the composition of water in the Dead Sea.

The lake has a small size, but it is difficult to cross it, because. because of the high salinity it is impossible to swim there. Here, as in the Dead Sea, you can read a newspaper while lying on the water. The shores are covered with dark mud, which is considered curative. Around the lake there are picturesque canyons where you can take pictures.

Gorge of the Seven Bulls (Jety-Oguz)/

Scenic red rocks east coast Issyk-Kul. If you go further, you can see beautiful waterfall Girl's tears. In the gorge they offer horseback riding, tea drinking in a yurt, koumiss.

Here you can buy delicious mountain honey inexpensively.

It is impossible to tell about all the sights of Issyk-Kul in one article. Follow the site for updates. And if you are planning a trip to Kyrgyzstan - write questions in the comments, I will try to answer them.

One of the symbols of Kyrgyzstan is the legendary lake Issyk-Kul. This huge lake, located high in the mountains, has crystal clear water. Its transparent blue expanse extends for many kilometers. Issyk-Kul replaces the sea for all the inhabitants of Central Asia. Kyrgyz, Kazakhs, Uzbeks come here.

General information about Issyk-Kul lake

To find out where Lake Issyk-Kul is located, you can use the Google map, which can even determine the coordinates of the reservoir. They are 42.26.00 s. sh. 77.11.00 c. e. The length of Lake Issyk-Kul is 182 km, and the width reaches 58-60 km, its area is 6330 sq. km. km. Max Depth the reservoir reaches 702 meters, its height above sea level is 1608 meters.

Due to the fact that more than 50 rivers flow into the lake, and not a single one leaves it, many minerals are concentrated in it and the water here is salty like in the sea. Salinity in ppm reaches almost 6. In winter, the lake does not freeze due to the great depth and high concentration of mineral salts, the water temperature during this period does not fall below 2-3 degrees Celsius. Only in some places of the bays in especially cold winters can the water be covered with a crust of ice.

There are many different types of fish in the pond. In Soviet times, several fish breeding plants operated here, which supported the population of rare and expensive fish varieties: trout, pike perch, bream and many others. But even now fishing attracts many tourists to these parts.

Recreation and attractions

The reservoir has a unique pristine nature. On its shore, settlements built in the old days and cities with rich history and culture, as well as teeming with unusual sights. There are sanatoriums, children's camps, tourist centers and various complexes designed for recreation and recovery of health.

north coast

Lake Issyk-Kul is famous for its beauty, but there are many more interesting things in its vicinity. For example, an unusual Rukh-Ordo (spiritual center) complex was built on the northern side, the main purpose of which is to prove that God is one. At the entrance to it, 5 almost identical white chapels, museum pieces, symbolizing the main world religions, immediately catch your eye:

• Islam;
• orthodoxy;
• Buddhism;
• Catholicism;
• Judaism.

In cities known as popular resorts, Cholpon-Ata and Bosteri, located five kilometers from each other, vacationers are provided with all the conditions necessary for a good rest and entertainment. For example, in the city of Boster there is a huge Ferris wheel, which allows you to easily see the entire coast of Issyk-Kul. There is also a water park and many different attractions. Cholpon-Ata is famous for its unique museums, numerous restaurants and cafes.

Not far from these cities are mineral springs equipped with outdoor comfortable swimming pools. There are also beautiful unique gorges where tourists go in droves every summer, where they make interesting photos, admire the surrounding landscapes and forever take with them the love of the Issyk-Kul region.

On the northern shore of the lake, the climate for recreation is more favorable, and the swimming season lasts longer than on the opposite southern coast. There are a lot of sanatoriums, as well as private boarding houses and small hotels. The beaches are sandy, sometimes there are pebbles, or completely covered with clean fine sand, so relaxing and swimming in the lake are more convenient.

In the coming season of 2017, Issyk-Kul Lake is waiting for its admirers on summer rest. There is no sweltering heat here, as in the Black Sea, but the lake warms up quite well - up to 24 degrees. Water in its unique composition, purity and transparency is second only to Baikal. No wonder these regions are called the second Switzerland.

South coast

On the south side, the natural landscape is richer and striking in variety, the shores are rocky and inconvenient for swimming, but the water is much cleaner and more transparent. There are fewer vacationers, mini-hotels and boarding houses. The most visited places are Tamga and Kaji-Sai. There is a military sanatorium in the village of Tamga.

Few travelers know that on the southern side of the lake there is the Kyrgyz Dead Sea - Salt Lake. So it is called because of the mineral composition of the water. The size of the lake is about three hundred meters wide and five hundred meters long. The bottom is on average 2-3 meters deep. The water is saturated with trace elements.

Plunging into the lake, vacationers experience a feeling of weightlessness, as in the Dead Sea. In such water it is impossible to drown, it literally pushes to the surface. The properties of the water of the Salt Lake are in no way inferior to the healing water of the dead seas in Israel. In just a few days, you can improve your health here.

The south side of the lake is famous beautiful scenery. Here is the most beautiful gorge not only on the Issyk-Kul coast, but also in all of Central Asia. It is called Fairy Valley. Wind and water have created truly amazing and unusual landscapes here, the description of which is impossible in simple human words. These are one of the most ancient mountains of Kyrgyzstan, which have been formed for thousands of years. Mountain folds look like pictures depicting bizarre castles built of white clay. The found shells remind that once there was an ancient sea here.

The southern shore of Lake Issyk-Kul is more suitable for those who know how to appreciate the beauty of pristine nature. There are almost no sandy beaches, in most cases it is small pebbles, turning into large boulders. But South coast very picturesque, the very nature of Issyk-Kul has become its main attraction. Here you can take wonderful photos that will keep the memory of an amazing adventure for a long time.

Secrets and history of Issyk-Kul lake

The waters of Issyk-Kul are fraught with many unsolved mysteries. For many centuries and millennia, the surface of the lake fell and then rose again. When once again the Issyk-Kul lake overflowed its borders, its waters absorbed all the cities and settlements that were located in its vicinity on its way. So many villages of ancient people found themselves at the bottom. And in them, researchers discover household items that belong not only to different periods of time, but also to different cultures.

Historians explain this by the fact that trade caravans passed through this place in ancient times and in the Middle Ages. Due to the fact that the Silk Road ran there, signs of almost all mankind are found at the bottom of the lake and in its vicinity during archaeological research. In total, at the bottom of Issyk-Kul there are up to a hundred local objects, large and small, that can be identified as a settlement.

lake legend

Kyrgyzstan keeps many legends about amazing and wonderful lake Issyk-Kul. Here is one of them, which explains the origin of the reservoir. A very long time ago, on the very spot where the waves of Lake Issyk-Kul splashed, there was a huge beautiful city with magnificent palaces and numerous streets and houses where ordinary people huddled. But suddenly the earth began to tremble, and an earthquake of unprecedented strength began, which spared neither people nor buildings. Everything was destroyed, and the earth itself sank, and in this place a depression formed, which was filled with water. So a deep lake appeared on the site of the city.

Several girls from this city early in the morning, shortly before the earthquake, went high into the mountains for brushwood, and only therefore remained alive. They began to mourn their dead relatives and friends who were buried at the bottom of the lake. Every day they came to the shore and shed hot tears there, which flowed in streams into Lake Issyk-Kul. There were so many of them that the water in it became as bitter and salty as the tears of girls.