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WONDERS OF NATURE
Lake Issyk-Kul. Nature miracle
"It is difficult to imagine anything grander than the landscape that opens up to a traveler from Kungei-Alatau through the lake to the ridge of the Heavenly Mountains. The dark blue surface of Issyk-Kul with its sapphire color can easily compete with the equally blue surface of Lake Geneva, but the vastness of the reservoir, which an area five times larger than Geneva, seemed to me almost limitless. The incomparable grandeur of the background of the landscape gives it such grandeur that Lake Geneva does not have. " So wrote a century and a half ago the first European who saw Issyk-Kul, the remarkable Russian scientist and traveler P.P. Semenov-Tyan-Shansky.
Issyk-Kul, without a doubt, can be called the main, most precious pearl not only of Kyrgyzstan, but of the whole of Central Asia. This lake is located in the heart of the Tien Shan mountains, at an altitude of 1600 meters. Its depth exceeds 700 meters. From the north, above the waters of Issyk-Kul, rise the snow-powdered peaks of the Kungei-Alatau ridge, reaching almost 4800 meters in height, and from the south, the Terskey-Alatau mountains rise more than five kilometers above it. Closing in the west and east, these ranges form a closed intermountain basin, in the center of which Issyk-Kul is located. In translation, this name means "Warm Lake". This is how the Kirghiz called it because it does not freeze even in the coldest winters. In summer, the water temperature in Issyk-Kul reaches twenty degrees - (and in small bays even twenty-eight), and the marvelous Issyk-Kul beaches at this time are in no way inferior, for example, to the Baltic ones. In terms of its size (one hundred and eighty by sixty kilometers), Issyk-Kul ranks second in the world among high-mountain lakes after Lake Titicaca in South America. About eighty rivers flow into it, but not a single one flows out. Evaporation leads to the fact that river salts accumulate in the lake, so the water in it is brackish, however, only slightly - half as much as, for example, in the Aral Sea. Animals drink it, and tourists sometimes cook soup on lake water, although you should not consume it regularly. The climate and vegetation of the Issyk-Kul basin surprise the traveler with their diversity. In the west, its appearance resembles a rocky desert, with rare bushes of wormwood and saltwort. Only powerful bushes of desert oats - chia - stand out against the lifeless background of the coastal plain. And most of the eastern coast is occupied by tall grassy feather grass steppes, which are replaced at an altitude of two kilometers by luxurious forests of blue Tien Shan spruce. Above three kilometers, the forests no longer rise, and here the slopes of the mountains are covered with lush subalpine meadows, full of many flowers. Geranium and primrose, forget-me-nots and cuffs, wild onions and cobresia form a colorful carpet here. Even higher are typical alpine meadows with edelweiss and saxifrage, poppies and tulips, violets and alpine daisies. The difference in the appearance of different parts of the Issyk-Kul depression is associated with a change in the amount of precipitation. Winds, usually blowing from the west, lose all their moisture on the slopes of the high Tien Shan ranges, and get into the basin already dried up. And then, rushing over the expanses of Issyk-Kul, they again swell with moisture, and over the eastern mountain frame of the lake, heavy rains are shed. Therefore, in the east of the lake it rains six times more than in the west. The fauna of the lakeside mountains and plains is peculiar. Here, in the neighborhood, or even on the same territory, typically forest and steppe animals live. In the western, desert part of the basin, one can meet characteristic inhabitants of the desert: jerboas, gerbils, and in some places graceful goitered antelopes. In the east, in the lower belt of mountains and in the foothills, you will most often meet ground squirrels and hamsters. There is also a small Central Asian tolai hare. They are actively hunted by foxes, ferrets, steppe cats and porcupines. Roe deer come across in mountain forests, and among predators - brown and Himalayan bear, wolf and lynx. Even higher there are ibexes and argali mountain sheep, as well as their main enemy - the snow leopard. Small but brave hunters are hiding in the stone scree: ermine and weasel. Their main food is small rodents, but they can also attack a low-flying bird by jumping on its back and biting its head or neck. A characteristic inhabitant of the highlands is the gray marmot. These large animals (up to eight kilograms in weight) live in colonies in which their many-meter-long burrows are interconnected, allowing the marmots to escape if a fox climbs into their underground "apartment" or a clubfoot begins to dig it out. Marmot burrows, reaching fifteen meters in length, have bedrooms, pantries, haylofts and even ... toilet rooms. For eight months a year, the groundhog sleeps, eating at this time from the reserves of accumulated fat, and in the summer it is troublesome to prepare supplies for the winter. In case of danger, the animals squeak piercingly, raising the alarm, and run to the holes. Another inhabitant of the highlands - the Indian pika - lives in burrows in families and, unlike the marmot, is active all year round. In summer, she dries hay in front of the hole for the winter, collecting it in a neat stack in case of rain. In the 1940s, the fauna of the Issyk-Kul region was also replenished with squirrels, columns and muskrats brought here. There are many birds in Issyk-Kul, and quite exotic, in the opinion of a resident of the middle zone. Near the villages, along with sparrows and starlings, hoopoes live; pheasants live in thickets of prickly sea buckthorn and coastal reeds in Issyk-Kul. In winter, countless flocks of ducks, geese, and swans flock to the ice-free lake. And high in the mountains live huge vultures with a three-meter wingspan, tireless hunters of hares and foxes - handsome golden eagles and partridges hiding in stones, kekliks, strong ash-gray birds with black and white stripes on the sides, red beak and pink legs. Alpine jackdaw, Himalayan finches and red-bellied redstarts can often be seen here. The red plumage of this bird, usually covered by wings, seems to flare up when the redstart takes off. But the most characteristic inhabitant of the highlands is the Himalayan mountain turkey ular. In areas located in the upper rocky zone of the mountains, each day usually begins with the melodic pre-dawn song of the ular. The only road to Issyk-Kul from the north, from the foothill plains, passes through the narrow rocky Boam gorge, cut through the mountains by the stormy and abundant river Chu. For millions of years, it has gnawed its way, or rather, a narrow gap between the Kungei-Alatau and the Kirghiz Range, and for thirty kilometers it roars and rages in it, overcoming rapids and waterfalls with furious jumps. The formidable gorge of Boam is beautiful in its own way, especially in the bright sun, when the colors of the rocks that make up the walls of the gorge are clearly distinguished: purple and green porphyry, black diorite and reddish granite. In sunlight, multi-colored rocks and a brown-foamy river boiling below are a very spectacular sight. The Chu River descends from the Tien Shan mountains and comes close to Issyk-Kul. However, having not reached the lake only three kilometers, it suddenly turns south and goes down through the Boam Gorge to the expanses of the Chui Valley - the main granary and cotton treasury of Kyrgyzstan. However, in especially high-water years, Chu, through one of the side channels, still dumps part of its water into the lake in spring. When you drive up to Issyk-Kul from the side of the Boam gorge, you are struck by a sharp transition from a narrow gorge compressed by rocks to an unexpectedly huge and endless expanse of a giant body of water. The first impression of the approaching blue pond is the sea! Real, southern, warm, sparkling, boundless... It looks somehow alien among the dead, rocky desert. The view of the western coastal plain can be called Martian. Not water, but wind, heat and frost were the creators of this wild landscape, painted in reddish-brown tones. Red sandstone is the main rock in this area, very malleable and easily weathered. So nature has created a whole museum here - either sculptural or architectural. Gothic cathedrals and Empire mansions, Buddhist pagodas, medieval castles and temples are guessed in the contours of the remnant rocks... Near the shore, the sandstone layer breaks off. The lake wave runs onto the beach, sometimes sandy, sometimes pebbly, but always flat, wide, clean and completely deserted. Of course, every year more and more tourists come to Issyk-Kul, and although most of them go deeper into the mountain valleys of the Issyk-Kul region, coastal beaches, of course, do not go unnoticed either. But, nevertheless, one tourist in Issyk-Kul still accounts for one hundred square meters of beach. This is probably a hundred times more than on the Black Sea coast! The road from the Boam Gorge leads the traveler to the city of Issyk-Kul (formerly called Rybachye) - the main port on a large navigable lake. From here, the mountainous shores diverge, opening the eye to the expanse of Issyk-Kul, fenced by mighty ridges. The mountains are all covered with glaciers and snowfields, which is why they are called Alatau - motley mountains. The ridges in the distance dissolve in the midday solar haze, the shores of the lake seem to disappear ... Only in some places above the endless blue surface of the water hangs high a ghostly, like a chain of clouds, a ridge of white peaks. The lake is elongated from west to east. It is shaped like an amygdala one hundred and seventy kilometers long and sixty kilometers wide. It has long been famous for its amazingly clean and clear water. A device for measuring the transparency of water - the so-called Secchi disk in Lake Ilmen or, for example, in Lake Khanka, disappears from the eyes already at a depth of five to seven meters. And in the Issyk-Kul water, a white disk is visible even at a depth of twenty meters. Clean water is a favorable environment for the life of fish. From time immemorial, fishermen caught chebak and carp, osman and marinka on the lake. And in 1930, the Sevan trout was added here. The fish has taken root, and grows in a new reservoir even larger than in its homeland. Later, Aral bream and Seliger pike-perch were also acclimatized in Issyk-Kul. Arriving at Issyk-Kul, every traveler will certainly sail on the lake. It is best to cross it entirely, ending the flight in Karakol, as the city of Przhevalsk, memorable to every Russian, is now called. Here in 1888, at the very beginning of his fifth trip to Central Asia, the great traveler N. M. Przhevalsky died. Since 1889, the city has been named after the pioneer (until 1889 and in 1921-1939 Karakol), here on the shore of the lake there is a majestic monument with a bronze eagle on top and a simple inscription: "Traveler Przhevalsky". From the boat, the view of the lake is no less beautiful than from the mountain passes. At sunset, it turns from blue to purple, and in the rays of the morning sun, its surface is slightly silver. "A reservoir of unforgettable charm..." - famous geographer and traveler academician Berg said about Issyk-Kul. You can enjoy the scenery of the lake endlessly. They will not bore the eye, even if you spend a month or more on the Issyk-Kul shores. But not only warm beaches and azure waters beckon the traveler who has reached through the mountains to the "blue heart of the Tien Shan", as Issyk-Kul is called. Natural curiosities are hidden in their valleys and mountain ranges surrounding the lake. Kungei-Alatau, more accessible and better studied, will give you a meeting with noisy waterfalls on the Kyzyl-Boyrok River and with a picturesque mountain lake in the wooded gorge of Chon-Aksu, with severe glacial cirques and friendly forests of blue spruce, slender and graceful, like a cypress . This is the most developed part of the Issyk-Kul region, and most travelers limit themselves to acquaintance with it, not suspecting that the opposite shore of the lake hides much more interesting creations of nature from them. And the Terskey-Alatau ridge, located on the southern side of the lake, is best known for the famous Dzhetyoguz ("Seven Bulls") gorge, whose seven bizarre red rocks are not inferior in beauty to the most famous cliffs of the Colorado Plateau or the Atlas Mountains. Tourists are also attracted by mineral springs, which are many in Dzhetyoguz. And in Twelve kilometers from it there is a "Glade of Flowers", representing all the colors of the subalpine meadows. Forget-me-nots and geraniums, starflowers and gentians, small petals and primroses - white, blue orange, bright blue, pink and yellow - literally make you forget about time and wander, wander endlessly through a flowering meadow, enjoying this fabulous floral abundance. In the very center of Terskey-Alatau, cutting it in half, the picturesque gorge of Barskoon descends to the most beautiful bay on the lake, Quiet Bay. And behind the ridge, at a three-kilometer height, lie harsh cold deserts - syrty, dotted with strange-looking pillow plants. The world of the Syrts is so unusual and strange that it seems to have been transferred from another planet. But getting here is not easy. To the south, beyond the ridge, there is only one road, and all other routes through four-kilometer-high passes will require good mountaineering training from travelers. But no matter what routes the tourist travels: on boats or a motor ship on the lake, with a backpack through gorges, mountain passes and glaciers, or just for a couple of weeks climbing with skis on the dashing tracks of the Karakol Gorge, almost unknown to slalomists, he will still keep the feeling of touch for a long time to a miracle. And, returning from Issyk-Kul, he will later recall more than once the picture he saw from the pass, when “precious aquamarine in a silver frame of mountain snows” unexpectedly opened below to the entire horizon, as this lake was once called by a completely, it would seem, not a sentimental person - a respectable scientist Peter Petrovich Semenov-Tyan-Shansky. Author: B.Wagner
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