The path from Dushanbe to Timur-dara Lake looks as follows: Dushanbe - Shahristan - Karatag - Hakimi village by transport and then on foot to the lake. We set off from Dushanbe by hired car straight to Karatag, where we rented a UAZ car and drove to Hakimi village. We made an agreement with the driver and he drove us back to Shahristan and from there we took a minibus and arrived in Dushanbe. As far as transportation is concerned, everything is very accessible, or maybe we were just lucky, we didn't have to wait anywhere, we just approached, got into the car, and drove off.
After Hakimi village, you need to go through border control - the route passes through the border zone, not far from the Uzbekistan border. There are no particular problems with this border control, but you must have a passport, otherwise, you will not be allowed to pass. They may also inspect your backpacks and photo-video equipment. But, in general, if you are an honest tourist with a passport, you will have no problems...we went through the check and went further, and just beyond the border guards, let's say, the wilderness begins.
The path passes through the picturesque Karatag Gorge, along the fairly full-flowing and turbulent river of the same name - Karatag.
After about half an hour along the gorge, you need to turn right to overcome a rather steep, prolonged climb and get on the plateau. The juniper grove immediately begins, respectively, air, species, everything is transformed. The clean, mountain air mixes with the coniferous smell of juniper and the aroma of alpine forbs. This airy cocktail leaves no trace of fatigue after lifting. And your legs, as if by themselves, carry you along a convenient path, without distracting you from watching the breathtaking views around.
There is such a funny effect on the rivulet that comes from Lake Timur-dara and passes through the entire plateau. Water goes not only along the channel, but also flows from the shore. There’s a little lake on top, it’s like going from there.
Now, this is a small lake, by the middle of summer it usually dries up, so they say experienced...
And finally, the path rests on the huge boulders of the blockage, which created Lake Timur-dara. Apparently, during a major earthquake, the tops of neighboring mountains collapsed, filling up this small rivulet..
Having overcome all the blockages of the trail, he leads us to Lake Timur-dara, we approached the lake from the side where the river flows from it.
We go around the lake on the left side, our goal is a sandbank, where the river flows into the lake, there is a very convenient parking place, literally the beach. Another bonus is that we will go around the lake and, accordingly, look at it from all sides...
Here we are.
Having set up a camp, those who wish, including your humble servant, bathed. Water is about +7 degrees Celsius, invigorating, I even had to wear a sweater after water procedures, otherwise it would not get warm. Meanwhile, while we were having dinner and poisoning the bikes, the sun went downhill, it was getting dark and that day we only had to watch the sunset on Lake Timur-dara...
На следующий день мы запланировали обойти озеро Тимур-дара до завала. И по этому завалу подняться вверх, сначала хотели до перевала, но потом, решили дойти только до ледников. Дело было даже не в конечной цели, до куда-нибудь дойти, важен был сам путь, то есть, этот самый завал, он крайне живописен, необычен, нельзя было не сходить и не поглазеть на него. Этот завал состоит из разных камней и огромных валунов, и он довольно древний, там растут деревья арчи, которым примерно по 200-300 лет. Выглядит этот завал как-то фантастично что ли, не удивительно, что кому-то взбрело в голову тут снежного человека искать. Ну и конечно, ещё вид на озеро Тимур-дара с другого берега.
The next day began with a view of Lake Timur-dara, just a magical morning.
The path we keep, over there, over the lake and over this ridge.
Here again is a photo of Lake Timur-dara, but now with a different sanctification, morning.
The promised blockage, it is quite long...
This mountain apparently collapsed, a long time ago.
We climbed the ridge, glaciers became visible.
Such a valley opens behind the rubble.
Small river, alpine meadows - beauty...
We got to the snow, though it’s a little disappointing, in the sense it’s kind of dirty gray, but the water from it is clean, I think so :)
We returned to the camp, after lunch it began to rain, but somehow, intermittently.
But after the rain, the air cleared and in the evening these shots turned out.
The next day, while we had breakfast, we observed such an effect, it rained in the mountains behind the lake, fog, and here it was clear.
In the morning we set off on the return trip, a farewell glance at Lake Timur-dara, I hope we will see you again...
A couple of frames on the way back, but in fact, everything is already exhausted, so really only a couple...
We went to the Karatag river, from here you can see the border part, then everything is in the same order, passed the test again and then to Hakimi, where the car was waiting for us, we drove to Shakhrinau on it, from there to Dushanbe.
Photos of this trip were used to create a slide show, see it here:
Source in Russian: "Поход к озеру Тимур-дара, ущелье Каратаг, горы Таджикистана"
