Iskandar Kul is one of the most beautiful places in all of Central Asia. The cool, turquoise water, sitting in the middle of towers of rock and mountain, gathers from melted glacier water that descend from up high; the lake, which at the right hour, is a mirror reflecting the besieging mountains, bleeds into a river that cuts into a valley, only to spill down a mighty waterfall.
Last weekend, after four hours of mountain roads from Dushanbe, a drive no further than the distance from Baltimore to Washington DC, the Persian Undergraduate Flagship Program arrived at the
Iskandar Kul national park, named after Alexander the Great (who, according to legend dropped lots of treasure into the cold waters). At our campsite, near a presidential compound, which itself was opposite a small icy spring, we ate lunch in the overwhelming presence of mosquitoes. After some rest by our riverside campsite we circled the blue pool to hike a few kilometers to the waterfall.
Back towards camp, after backtracking to the lake, some friends and I opted to walk the four kilometers (instead of riding the jeeps) to our site. Under the descending sun and mountain shadows we made way--very leisurely at that--back. Trying to describe not just the beauty, but the feeling and recognition of the natural splendor would be trying to grasp the entirety of
For Whom the Bell Tolls from one paragraph; While I can give you a glimpse, a hint of what it was like to be there, it is an incommunicable sight and sensation.
Over the next twenty four hours our guides took us to fields, springs, streams--sites innocent contrasted by the sharp and cold gazes of the mountains above. Pleasantly, our treks were primarily guided by where we wanted to go--caves, flower patches, mountains--not paths. Very refreshing and forgiving were the frigid springs spotted throughout the area. Out of water? Go to the spring for water at the source--so cool and so great.
Arriving on Saturday and leaving on Sunday did not permit a lot of extensive exploration; nor would a lifetime there. If you ever make it out here, go to Iskandar Kul.
In addition here are some of my favorite pictures from the trip:
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