A longer day in the saddle as you ride up to Kol-Tor Lake at 2,720 m. Lunch is a picnic by the water, with time to rest before riding on. Dinner and overnight in an A-frame cabin.
Kol-Tor Lake: a turquoise lake in the mountains
Kol-Tor is a turquoise lake among the mountains of the Naryn region. On our tour its altitude is given as about 2,720 metres. There is no road to the lake; we reach it on horseback.
On day 4 of Atla Yolculuk's 7-day tour we have a longer day in the saddle and ride up to Kol-Tor Lake. Lunch is a picnic by the water, with time to rest before riding on. On the pasture you see the daily work of local families, such as milking mares and cows.
At this altitude the air is thinner than in the valley. A mild headache on the first night is possible; the pace is kept slow so your body can adjust.
- Altitude
- about 2,720 m
- Region
- Naryn, Kyrgyzstan
- On the tour
- Day 4
- Access
- On horseback, no road
How high is Kol-Tor Lake?
On our tour it is given as about 2,720 metres.
How do you get to Kol-Tor Lake?
There is no vehicle road. On the Atla Yolculuk tour we ride up on day 4.
Kol Tor sits in the foothills of the At-Bashy range, one of the mid-altitude alpine lakes in the Tien Shan mountain system. It stretches at 2,720 metres and is fed by mountain springs.
The lake holds its clear ice-blue colour through the summer, reflections, snowmelt streaming down the slopes, and the hills on the far shore are all visible in sharp detail. Along its shores there's a small nomadic summer settlement; in summer a family raises their yurts and grazes their animals.
On Atla Yolculuk tours we spend a night in a yurt by the lake. Evening means a mountain fire, traditional Kyrgyz food, beshbarmak, komoch, tea. The night sky at 2,720m, far from city light, is something else entirely.
