Karakul (China)

The Karakul ( Kyrgyz: " Black Lake " ) is a lake in the far west of China.

Geography

It is located in Xinjiang about 200 km south of Kashgar away in the Kyrgyz Autonomous County Kizilsu on the Karakorum Highway. With a height of 3600 m, the lake is the highest in the Pamirplateau.

At the highest snow-capped mountains surrounding the lake include Muztagata ( 7509 m), Kongur Shan ( 7649 m) and Kongur Jiubie ( 7530 m).

Tourism

The lake is a popular destination for adventure travelers and famous for its surreal scenery, which with great clarity is reflected in the lake water, which takes a variety of stains from dark green to azure and light blue. There are two Kyrgyz settlements on Karakulsee: a collection of nomadic tents of about 1 km east of the bus Absetzpunktes, and a village with stone houses close to the western shore.

The Karakulsee is one of the most beautiful natural destinations in Western China - a fact that is not lost on the Chinese tourism. Until now, a Chinese resort was built, where tourists can spend the night in tents or rooms in a restaurant eating, riding on camels or. This development is limited up to now mainly on the hours around noon; in the evening and in the morning the traveler has the lake all to yourself together with the Kyrgyz locals. With the beginnings of the Chinese resorts and the current expansion of the highway, it is however expected that this remote part of China will soon be connected close to the mother country and its booming tourism.