Ken Powell, a seasoned globe-trotter and experienced photographer (powellphotography.ca), blogs (powellponderings.com) about his journey with Adventures Abroad’s 21 Day Five Stans Tour, which covers Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan. His insights, images, and expertise offer a wonderful glimpse into this extraordinary tour.

If you want something sometimes you have to do a little work for it. Iskanderkul Lake, Tajikistan and Issyk-Kul Lake, Kyrgyzstan are bodies of water high above sea level but each offers its own experiences!

Iskanderkul Lake – High in the mountains

One day from Penjikent, Tajikistan, we drove to this lake, high in the snow-capped Gissar Range of the Fann Mountains. It is also known as Lake Alexander, after Alexander the Great. This was a detour on our way to Dushanbe, the country’s capital.

Getting to this lake required a group of 4×4 vehicles heading deep into the mountains, initially following the very long (nearly 900 km) Zarafshon River. Besides the Fann Mountains, the south and east parts of Tajikistan are dominated by the Tien-Shan and Pamir-Alai mountain ranges. Stunning mountain scenes were a constant.

Roadside Attractions. Video by Brendan Powell.

Winding around hairpin turns, we dodged cows, goats and donkeys roaming free on the highway, along with sharp turns, honking and certainly my foot braking instinctively. Highway road repairs were taking place. I have a photo of our driver driving UNDER the enormous fully operating arm of a front-end loader, complete with a load of gravel in his bucket! Seriously.

The driver that day was typical. While we were never really in a hurry, you wouldn’t know it by his habits. While sombre looking, his aggression was palpable: honking was essential; riding tight on the ass of the car in front, standard. He would often use both his cell phone AND a walkie-talkie.

On the Road. Video by Brendan Powell.

After driving through the Varzob Pass, we finally reached this lovely glacial-fed lake at an altitude of around 2,200 metres. The lake was cool, running between 4 and 10 degrees Celsius. Legend has it that the local inhabitants resisted Alexander’s rule, and in fury, the king ordered the river to be diverted to annihilate them. He did that sort of thing, so it may be true.

Settling in by the lake we consumed the lunches we had bought earlier in our visit from a terrific marketplace when we exited Penjikent. Surrounding us were the abandoned buildings of an old run-down Russian holiday camp. It was a strange contrast to the natural breathtaking surroundings: high mountain peaks, soft clouds with the sun peaking out intermittently, and this stunning blue lake. A large tract of land including the lake and surrounding mountains has been designated a nature reserve where significant numbers of bird species are supported.

Amusingly, on the journey we passed quite a number of large (I mean large) pictures of the current president of Tajikistan, Emomali Rahmon. There is definitely a cult of personality going on here (a Stan theme?). He heads an authoritarian regime and has won five presidential elections since 1994. Important government positions are occupied by his family members. His 36-year-old son is the chairman of the country’s parliament and the mayor of its capital city, Dushanbe. Tajikistan’s parliament in 2015 gave Rahmon the lifetime title “Founder Of Peace and National Unity, Leader of the Nation”.

Issyk-Kul Lake

This lake is described as the “beating heart” of the Tien Shan mountains. The days we visited the lake and area were beautiful fall days. The mountain ranges, most of which exceeded 5,000 metres in height, were clearly defined. The combination of deep blue skies with billowy clouds sitting above blue-grey mountains topped with snow, and the cool blue of the lake was quite special.

The lake itself is enormous, being the second largest mountain lake in the world – 178 km by 64 km in size, plus it’s 1,600 metres above sea level. It’s the tenth-largest lake in the world by volume and the second-largest saline lake, after the Caspian Sea. It never freezes, hence its name, which means “warm lake” in the Kyrgyz language. It’s fascinating to realize that there are significant ruins under the waters from two periods (a 2,500 year old Saka settlement and an Armenian monastery from the 14th century) and they are now being excavated.

We climbed aboard a good-sized vessel and motored out quite some distance, whereupon beer, wine, and vodka appeared, to enhance the view. The ravenous seagulls gobbled up the pretzels we tossed.

The drive there highlighted the reality that mountains cover more than 80% of the country, Kyrgyzstan, and why it’s nicknamed the “Switzerland of Central Asia”.

Prior to our boat ride, we followed a fascinating walk among 1,900 to 2,800 year old petroglyphs from the time of the Saka-Usun peoples, along with wandering sheep who also seemed to be inspecting the stones. Images such as hunters pursuing wolves and deer were carved into the stones.