Lake Kel-Tor

One of the most beautiful lakes in Kyrgyzstan - the dead lake Kël-Tor

It is located in the gorge of the same name. You can reach it from the Kegety gorge, which is 90 km from the city of Bishkek towards Issyk-Kul.

Lake Kël-Tor is situated at an altitude of 2725 meters above sea level. The lake has an unusual peak called "Sugar Head" with an overhanging glacier. The height of this peak is 4253 m. The lake is of dam origin, has no direct outflow, and goes underground, emerging several kilometers below the surface. For most of the year, the lake is frozen, and in summer, the water does not warm up to more than 5 degrees Celsius, making it unsuitable for swimming. Kël-Tor is notable for its stunning turquoise color, especially beautiful color combinations can be seen there in the summer.

The length of the hiking trail to the lake is 8 kilometers one way. The path is clearly visible, so getting lost will be quite difficult. The road itself is extremely picturesque: it starts from a fairly gentle and treeless area, gradually rising higher and higher to wooded slopes, and then to real high-altitude alpine meadows. There is a small ford along the way. There are many places for parking or picnics.

A large number of medicinal herbs grow along the riverbank. These include sage, St. John's wort, medicinal thyme, and succession. Among the bushes on the slopes of the mountains, forest berries such as strawberries and blueberries grow.

The semantics of the name Kël-Tor is transparent. Kël in translation from Turkic languages means "lake." In other mountainous areas, this word has a different vowel (for example, Kolsai). The word tor is apparently etymologically identical to the name of the river and gorge Dyure, which are nearby. Both tor and dyure trace back to the ancient Turkic word dore/dora – "gorge, mountain valley, and jailau."