Kyrgyzstan is home to Lake Issyk-Kul, one of the world’s largest high-altitude lakes.
Issyk-Kul lies in the Tian Shan mountains of northeastern Kyrgyzstan at an elevation of about 1,607 metres. Its name is commonly translated as “warm lake,” because the lake rarely freezes despite its high altitude. Its considerable depth and slight salinity help explain this unusual characteristic.
The lake is endorheic, meaning that rivers flow into it but no river flows out. Snow-capped mountain ranges surround the basin, creating a striking landscape and a distinctive regional climate. Ancient and medieval routes around Issyk-Kul connected communities across Central Asia.
Issyk-Kul is not the world’s highest lake, deepest lake or largest lake overall. Those records belong to different bodies of water. Its importance comes from the combination of great size, mountain elevation, depth and cultural history.