Iskanderkul Mountain Lake Day Journey
Make the spectacular journey from Khujand toward Iskanderkul lake in the Fan Mountains, passing through dramatic gorges and mountain villages to reach one of Tajikistan's most beautiful high-altitude lakes, said to be named for Alexander the Great.
- 1
Khujand Departure Point
Set out from Khujand southward into the mountain interior of Tajikistan, leaving the flat Fergana Valley floor and beginning the ascent into the spectacular Fan Mountains that rise to the south and east.
- 2
Syr Darya Gorge
Travel through the dramatic gorge where the road clings to cliff faces above the rushing Syr Darya, the narrow canyon walls rising hundreds of meters on either side in bands of red, orange, and grey rock.
- 3
Mountain Village Stop
Pause in a traditional Tajik mountain village where flat-roofed mud-brick houses are terraced up rocky hillsides, and life follows rhythms of agriculture, herding, and community that city life has long abandoned.
- 4
Iskanderkul Approach Road
Follow the increasingly spectacular approach road through forests of walnut, wild apple, and juniper as altitude increases and the surrounding peaks close in, creating an amphitheater of stone and snow.
- 5
Iskanderkul Lake Shore
Arrive at the turquoise lake sitting in its mountain bowl, legend claiming Alexander the Great's horse Bucephalus is buried beneath its waters, giving the lake its name — Iskander being the Persian form of Alexander.
- 6
Fann Mountains Viewpoint
Climb to a viewpoint above the lake where the peaks of the Fan Mountains — some exceeding 5,000 meters — create a dramatic horizon of glaciated summits that forms one of Central Asia's finest mountain panoramas.