The most famous and beautiful lake in Tajikistan attracts not only for its amazing nature, but also for its many legends. Many tourists specially come to these places to be convinced of the splendor of a mountain reservoir and the veracity of interesting ancient legends.
The article provides information about the pearl of Tajikistan - Iskanderkul Lake.
general information
Many people know the pearl of Tajikistan, which adorns many Dushanbe banners about tourism, calling it the national treasure of the state. They say that the “pearl" is usually called any lake in the mountains, which can be reached by road. And in fact, of all the Central Asian mountain water bodies, Iskanderkul is the most accessible.
The name of the lake in Tajikistan Iskanderkul (photo is presented in the article) came from the name “Iskander” (means “Alexander”) and the word “kul” (in translation - “lake”). Some legends say that the name of the reservoir was due to the fact that Alexander the Great visited here during a campaign in India from Central Asia.
A bit of history
The lake, located in the amazingly beautiful Fan Mountains of Tajikistan, has a rather rich and long history. It is believed that it was named after the commander Alexander of Macedon, whom the locals called Iskander Zulkarnayn, which means "Iskander the two-horned" (because of the unusual helmet resembling horns). But this is just part of the assumption. In fact, the lake here existed even before the arrival of Alexander the Great. According to some reports, it had the name Iskan-dara, which literally translated as "high-water lake" or "high water", or, more simply, "high-mountain lake".
And after Iskander Zulkarnayn visited here, in connection with the apparent consonance, the name was changed to Iskanderkul. Disputes over this theory still exist, but there is no obvious evidence, only myths, legends, assumptions and conjectures.
There are many legends about Iskanderkul and they concern not only Alexander the Great.
Location
How to get to Lake Iskanderkul in Tajikistan? It is located in the northern part of the state, in the Sughd region. To get to it is not at all difficult. The distance from the capital of Tajikistan is a little more than 150 kilometers along an alpine and quite decent highway.
It takes about two hours to go all the way, along the way you can see bewitching natural landscapes with snowy mountain tops rushing into the deep blue of the sky. All this beauty is the Fan Mountains, which occupy an area somewhat larger than the territory of Moscow. This small piece of untouched land can show a lot of interesting things, including Lake Iskanderkul. In total there are 11 peaks with a height of 5, 000 meters and hundreds of smaller hills. There are magnificent blue lakes, fast mountain rivers and picturesque forests.
Description of the lake
Iskanderkul, considered the heart of the Fan Mountains, is surrounded by several five-thousand-meter peaks - Bodhon, Chapdara, Maria, Mirali, Zindon. The highest is Chimtarga (5, 487 meters). Nobody can say for sure where this name came from.
Lake Iskanderkul in Tajikistan resembles a triangle in shape. Its area is 3.5 square kilometers. The water depth is 70 meters. The mirror surface of the reservoir surrounded by mountains looks great. The uniqueness of the lake lies in the fact that it is the largest in the mountains and is located at an altitude of more than 2, 000 meters. The volume of water in the lake is 172 million cubic meters. The coastline is 14 thousand meters long.
The Hazormech and Sarytag rivers flow into the reservoir, as well as small mountain streams. The Iskanderdarya River flows out of the lake, flowing into Fan Daria after 30 kilometers. The latter carries its waters to one of the largest rivers in Central Asia - Zeravshan.
Neighborhood
Not far from Lake Iskanderkul there is an old juniper (juniper bush), whose branches are decorated with colorful ribbons. Everyone who comes to admire the amazing local waterfall leaves something of their own on this tree in order to return here again in the future. The nearby 43-meter waterfall is called the Fan Niagara. It is located on a river flowing from a lake. There is also a rock with an inscription dating from 1870. It was left by the expedition members under the guidance of the famous Russian traveler and scientist A. Fedchenko.
Not far from Iskanderkul there is another lake called Snake. According to the stories of old-timers, many snakes live in it. Locals argue that reptiles will not bite in two cases: when they are in the water and when people drink water. Some believe that such a name was given to the lake only to attract tourists. The water in it is warmer than in Iskanderkul, so it is quite possible to swim here.
There are quite remarkable mountain peaks in the vicinity of the lake. For example, according to one mountain, the people call it "Rain gauge", local residents determine the weather. If the top is hiding in the cloud, most likely it will rain. There is another version that it is called by the locals, due to the fact that it has a device for measuring the amount of precipitation.
There is another peak here - Chil Shaitan. Its name from the Tajik language translates as "40 devils." According to the stories of old people, shepherds and hunters there were devils. This name came from there. Therefore, people are still afraid to go up there, but tourists are not afraid of anything, since there is something to see there.
About the origin of the lake
Many scientists are still debating the origin of Iskanderkul Lake in Tajikistan. Most are inclined to believe that a pond was formed as a result of a blockage that occurred 11, 000 years ago. But on this occasion, local residents have their own opinion.
From generation to generation, the story is transmitted that the reservoir was originally higher in the mountains, and the water left it twice after the strong melting of the glaciers. It is believed that this is the third place of its location. Old-timers say that once there was much more water. This is also evidenced by the bands traced on the mountains (marks of the water's edge). The first, highest mark is at 110 meters, while the other is 50 meters lower. The current lake has a third mark - even lower. It is known that the reservoir broke twice so hard that its waters washed away everything in its path to Samarkand.
Rest on the lake
Lake Iskanderkul is called a pearl in the palms of the mountains. This mountain pond attracts many tourists. There are guest houses here for their stay, but foreign visitors prefer to relax in tents more. Swedes, British, French and Tajiks themselves come here. Moreover, they all rest in different ways. Some travel on foot, others on motorcycles, and others on rare cars.
People are attracted to the mystery of the lake, the secrets and legends associated with it. For example, there is one beautiful legend telling that at the bottom of a reservoir Rustam’s horse grazes from the poem “Shahname” (Firdousi) - fiery Rakhsh.
More about legends
According to the first legend, Alexander the Great came across a settlement of Sogdians who resisted his army. The commander was very angry and gave the order to stem the river, on the banks of which there were residential buildings. And so the lake appeared at the site of that settlement.
According to the second parable, the horse of Macedon, Bucephalus, during the break, drank water from the lake after a long passage and fell ill. The commander himself went on to India, leaving his faithful horse here. However, he even at such a great distance felt the death of his master and rushed into the lake, forever remaining in it. Since then, during the full moon, Bucephalus comes out of the water every month to graze: the waters part, and a snow-white horse comes to the surface of the lake, accompanied by grooms.
It should be noted that the pond is not suitable for swimming. The water temperature of Iskanderkul Lake, 10 meters from the shore, drops sharply to + 10 ° C, since here it is melted from mountain glaciers.
Lake features
The water in Iskanderkul contains a lot of mineral impurities, so there is practically no fish here, only small char is found. Residents claim that trout also gets here from mountain rivers, but it is immediately carried away by the current to Iskandarya, and then to a waterfall, against which no one can go. He overthrows his waters from a 30-meter height, and therefore powerful water dust forms around.
The canyon in which the waterfall is located is itself quite narrow, damp and gloomy, and you can only look at it from a specially equipped site. And only from it you can see a beautiful bright rainbow.
