Almaty region is famous for its mountain lakes.
The azure-blue or turquoise water surrounded by pine-covered mountains looks stunningly beautiful. One of the lakes near the city is Lake Issyk.
The lake is located at an altitude of over 1700 m. It was formed more than 8 thousand years ago, was 1850 m long, 500 m wide, and went 50-70 m deep.
In the 1960s, it was used for recreation - a sanatorium was built on the shore.
In 1963, the lake was covered with powerful mudflow, which reached the Kuldzha road.
Now the area of the lake is almost two times smaller, but it is still as beautiful.
Lake Issyk is located 50 km from Almaty, and 15 km from Issyk city, in Issyk Gorge. Located at an altitude of 1700 meters and having a depth of about 50-70 meters, the lake is a favorite place of rest for local residents and guests of the city.
Wedding corteges often come to the lake for the sake of beautiful natural photographs.
In the warm season, you can rent a boat and sail around the smooth surface of the lake. On the way to Issyk Lake we pass a stunningly beautiful gorge, which is beautiful at any time of year.
As we approach the town, we will see steppes of hills. These are the famous mounds where the ancient nomadic tribes, the Saki Tigrahauds, buried their dead. In one of these mounds in 1969-1970, the famous Golden Man was found. For a long time in the excavations was the so-called "open-air museum", but in recent years in its place built the Museum of the Golden Man, where you can look at household items and clothing of the Sak tribes. The Golden Man himself is kept in Nur-Sultan. The image of the Golden Man on a winged snow leopard has become one of the national symbols of Kazakhstan.
For lunch we suggest visiting one of the trout farms, where you will be cooked your own caught rainbow trout.
