Sights of Bayankol gorge.

“Well, what lies ahead of us?
Over there are hanging over the bowl of the valley
The rains not shed
Lurking avalanches."

Yuri Vizbor. 1963.

Walk in Akkol gorge in Bayankol valley.

The flowing, moraine lake Akkol is located at an altitude of 3069 meters above sea level, located in the upper reaches of the Akkol River, which is a left tributary of the Bayankol River, on the northern slope of the Terskey Alatau ridge in the Narynkol district of the Almaty region.
The river of the same name flows through the lake, which is located in the interfluve of the Buzunbai river in the west and the Izbushka river in the east. The Akkol River originates in the upper reaches of the gorge of the same name at an altitude of 3483 meters above sea level.
The mouth of the river is located at an altitude of 2233 meters above sea level in the vicinity of the border outpost. The length of the lake from southwest to northeast is 658 meters, the greatest width in the central part is 314 meters.
The perimeter of the lake reaches 2456 meters, the area is 210027 square meters. In the southwestern part of the lake, there is the mouth of the river; the Akkol River flows out of the northern and northeastern parts of the lake.
In the northwestern part of the lake there is a narrow bay 260 meters long, which in turn has formed a 270 meters long peninsula. The peninsula juts out into the lake with its sharp end. In the northern part of the lake there is a small island 60 meters long and 20 meters wide.
In 5.3 kilometers to the south-west at the headwaters of the Buzunbai River there is the Akkoldekol Lake located in the upper reaches of the river of the same name at an altitude of 3995 meters above sea level. Lake Karakol is located 4.5 kilometers to the northwest in the upper part of the Buzunbai gorge at an altitude of 3102 meters above sea level.
4.7 kilometers to the east and a little to the north, there is a lake in the headwaters of the Izubushka River - Lake Izubushka Nizhnee at an altitude of 34,468 meters above sea level. This is one of the most beautiful lakes in the Terskey Alatau mountains in the Kazakh part.
Geographic coordinates of Lake Akkol: N42 ° 29'26.86 "E79 ° 57'35.66"

Authority and photos by
Alexander Petrov.