Son-kol lake

Lake Son-Kul

Son-Kul Lake (also Song-Kul, Son-Kul, Sonkul, etc.) is a large alpine lake, the second largest in Kyrgyzstan, located in the Naryn region, about 280 kilometers from Bishkek.

Son-Kul is located at an altitude of 3000 meters in a large intermountain valley, bounded from the north by the Sonkul-Too ridge and from the south by the Moldo-Too ridge. The lake is fresh and quite deep - the maximum depth of the lake is 14 meters. Around mid-November, Son-Kul freezes and thaws only by mid-April.

The area around the lake is very picturesque, especially in summer. Son-Kul is surrounded by low hills, behind which peaks and snows of the ridges of the Central Tien Shan are visible. Due to the high altitude, there are absolutely no trees here, since only short, stiff grass and numerous edelweiss grow in such conditions.

Although the lake is not very large in size, its shores are quite different from each other. The southern and eastern shores are quite gentle and in some places swampy, while the northern and western shores are rather steep and the road along the lake winds through the hills, either rising sharply above the water level, or just as sharply dropping. It is especially pleasant to ride a bicycle along it - it is from the western shore that the best view of the lake opens.

Son-Kul is a rather inaccessible place, and therefore anthropogenic influence is minimized here. Only in summer, nomadic camps arrive here from villages located in the neighboring Dzhumgal valley and from Naryn. The rest of the time, the Son-Kul valley is absolutely uninhabited.

On the northern shore of the lake is the only stone building in the entire valley - the mausoleum of Taylak Baatyr, built at the end of the 19th century.

Son-Kul Lake is very popular among tourists. A large number of tourist routes pass here, and due to the convenient geographical position of the lake, a trip from one part of the country to another can be combined with a visit to Son-Kul. Son-Kul is also very interesting because in the summer you can see the nomadic life live here and spend a couple of days away from civilization.