Karakul Lake 卡湖

It was a test of determination for me to go to Karakul from Kashgar. When the China Youth Travel Service agent heard I have a foreign visa, she said, you have to find a car and go by yourself; i.e. you can't join our bus tour; i.e. I have to pay a lot more for the trip. But why?  It's a 200 km trip one way, going through high mountains. The main thing is, there is one check point. So what's the check point checking? Do I need to get a permit?



It was still too early in the season, not too many foreign visitors in town yet, if I wanted to car pool with someone, I had to wait. There were 3 people mentioned in Lonely Planet that handle Kashgar's travel matter, I have asked two and didn't go anywhere. The travel agent at the lobby of my hotel, who turned out to be the third agent mentioned in LP, said they may be able to match up someone to go with me. So I decided to stay several days and see. Plus, the agent said a foreigner's permit is just a 2 minutes thing, no problem at all. It was good to hear that, but came from China and Laos boarder full of conflict information, I now only believed these things when it happens. Saturday the tourist office had more inquires and traffic. Sunday is the day to the Livestock Market, a big day for me.  I had yet to decide if I should just hire a car and go alone, or just given it up.  A lake is a lake, a lake with beautiful reflection is still a lake; there will be many lakes in this trip, do I really have to spend 700 Yuan in a day to see this one?

The Livestock Market was a blast, I was overwhelmed by the scope and reality of the market. Probably every single foreigner in Kashgar showed up there. The Chinese guy I met previous day at the hotel lobby came up to me and told me he decided to car pool with me to Lake K tomorrow. Was it because I passed along this great market info to him and he liked what he saw? But then, he needed a permit for the trip too. And he is a Chinese! Not only that, he needed to go to the office in person to get it, whereas I only need to give my agent a copy of my passport and visa. Is this reverse discrimination?

Once getting out of Kashgar, a snow capped mountain range was always on the horizon. The driver/guide said Lake K is on the other side of the range.  Along the way, we passed small villages and stop for pictures freely. That's the benefit of having only two person in the car. 

After this area, we get into the mountain road, then came the check point. Everyone got out of the car, passed through a window. Our guide showed the document from our travel agent, on which listed 3 persons in our tour group. We all had to show ID; for me, it's passport. For the Chinese guy, ID plus permit. Every Chinese ID had to go through the computer for checking. On our way back, we had to do the same check again.

Then I found myself already passed the lower mountains without snow, and was among those full of snow! Some grassland started to show, and yaks with calves, and sheep...

And finally, this is it! The very famous Karakul Lake, the highest lake in the Pamir Plateau. We now at the elevation of 3600m. Some part of the lake still covered with ice!  It's early in the season, not even May yet. 

This will be grassland in the summer, and the grass can grow to knee high. It's now warm enough for the livestock to come out of shelter and feed. A Kyrgyz village of around 3000 is depending on this grassland. The high mountain peak Muztagh is at 7500m, Chinese call it "Father of Glacier", and chance to see it clearly is not good. (Just think how often can we see Mt. McKinley clearly? You got the idea.)

Unfortunately, the cloud already came in, and the lake is not that clear for reflection. But I would just take what I can get and be happy with it.

The  Kyrgyz is starting a yurt. Tourist can stay in the yurt in the summer.

A mazar (cemetery).

A village near the shore. They are drying the yak dung on top of the wall for fuel.

A Kyrgyz, with the trademark hat. 

After reaching the lake, another option would be staying overnight, move on to Tashkurgan, which is very close to the Pakistan border (hence the check point), next day, take a look at the border and return.  I am extremely happy to just stop here and go home for the day. Beautiful Karakul Lake and beautiful scenery along the way, well worth the trouble and the wait.