Colette's Grand Detour

Kolsay lakes are also known as the ‘Pearls of the Tien Shan’ and are a trio of high-altitude lakes within the Kolsai Lakes National Park. We visited the lowest lake which sits at ~1800m altitude and is easy to reach. It takes about 1.5 hours drive from the Charyn Canyon viewing platforms. You can see the lake from the carpark and also walk down the hill a short way to a better viewing platform. There is then another set of stairs heading down to the lakeshore. I chose to grab a drink at the viewing platform and enjoy the scenery. There are lots of local tourists visiting from Almaty, and very few foreign tourists. Many of the local tourists choose to stay in local yurt hotels that are about 10 minutes drive from the lake, or camp in the national park itself.

The Kolsay lake chain was formed in a similar way to Issyk Lake – either a landslide or earthquake would have blocked the river valley many thousands of years ago, creating a natural dam. These are known as tectonic-glacial barrier lakes. The lowest lake is also the deepest at ~80m, and this deep trough would have been a result of the erosion caused by glaciers progressing and retreating over time, resulting in steep-walled valleys. This gives the lake quite a distinct look. These lakes don’t have the same spectacular blue color of Issyk Lake but the scenery was still very dramatic.

We are now heading to a town called Saty, close by to the Kolsay Lakes, where we will stay in local guesthouse for the night.