Karakul Lake
Interesting facts
- The lake fills a fault valley between Muztagh Ata and Kongur Tagh, held back by glacial moraine, and is the largest natural lake of the eastern Pamir.
- Muztagh Ata, which rises directly south of the lake, takes its name from Turkic words meaning 'father of ice mountains'.
- Sven Hedin tried and failed to climb Muztagh Ata in 1894; a joint Chinese–Soviet party finally reached the summit in 1956.
- In 1980 a team led by Ned Gillette skied up and down Muztagh Ata, the first ski ascent of any mountain above 7,500 metres.
- Kongur Tagh, the highest peak of the Pamirs, is so well screened by neighbouring summits that Europeans did not know of it until 1900.
- Kongur Tagh was first climbed only in 1981, by the British team of Chris Bonington, Alan Rouse, Peter Boardman and Joe Tasker.
- Seen from above, the lake has a roughly triangular outline.
- It is often confused with Karakul in Tajikistan, a much larger, salty lake of about 380 square kilometres on the other side of the Pamirs.
Why it is worth it
High on the Pamir plateau in far western China, Karakul Lake reflects the snowfields of Muztagh Ata, 7,546 metres high, and Kongur Tagh, 7,649 metres, in water that shifts from dark green to azure. Its name means "black lake" in the Turkic languages of the region.
The lake lies at about 3,600 metres above sea level, near the meeting point of the Pamir, Tian Shan and Kunlun ranges, in Akto County of the Kizilsu Kyrgyz Autonomous Prefecture of Xinjiang. Three giants are visible from its shore — Muztagh Ata, Kongur Tagh and Kongur Tiube (7,530 metres) — and they remain snow-covered throughout the year. Meltwater from the Muztagh Ata glaciers strongly shapes the chemistry of the lake's water and sediments. It covers about 4.8 square kilometres.
Karakul lies beside the Karakoram Highway, the mountain road that runs from Kashgar through Tashkurgan to the Khunjerab Pass on the border with Pakistan, about 196 km southwest of Kashgar. Kyrgyz families live along the shore: a cluster of yurts stands about a kilometre east of the roadside stop, and a village of stone houses sits on the western side.
Akto County, where the lake lies, occupies China's westernmost corner and borders Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan; its name means "white mountain" in Kyrgyz.
Getting there
The lake is on the Karakoram Highway about 196 km by road southwest of Kashgar, which is served by Kashgar Laining International Airport (KHG). Tashkurgan Khunjerab Airport (HQL), opened in 2022, is closer — about 90 km to the south in a straight line, also along the highway. The nearest county town in a straight line is Yengisar, about 110 km away.
On these lists
From the encyclopaedia
The Karakul or Karakuli, is a lake located 196 km southwest of Kashgar, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China. It is located in Akto County, Kizilsu Kirgiz Autonomous Prefecture on the Karakoram Highway, before reaching Tashkurgan, the Khunjerab Pass on the China – Pakistan border and Sost in Pakistan.
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