Mountain hikes from the Big Almaty Gorge to Prokhodnoye Gorge -
Routes and trails in the area of the Dzhusaly-Kezen Pass -
Lake Karniznoye is a picturesque moraine lake, located at an altitude of 3507 meters above sea level in a mountain valley between Karnizny Peak (Momushyly), Tourist Peak and Turan Peak (Institute of Nuclear Physics). The lake is not large, but very picturesque, the water in the lake is turquoise and green, the color of the water changes depending on the sunlight. The lake is filled with water from the glacier that descends from Karnizny Peak.
A mountain route leads to the lake from the Dzhusaly-Kezen Pass, where the Cosmostation is located. The lake is easily accessible if you start your route from the pass, having previously reached it by car through the Big Almaty gorge, through which the picturesque Big Almaty River flows and the famous Big Almaty Lake (BAL) and the high-mountain astronomical observatory of Tien Shan are located here.
You can also take a mountain hike to the lake through the Prokhodnoe gorge with an overnight stay on the Terra meadow or the Vladimir Vysotsky meadow surrounded by the most beautiful Tien Shan Forest. The path that leads to the lake is marked by stone pyramids (tours), closer to the lake it passes over stones, here you need to be extremely careful and cautious. The stones are called alive, because they can tilt and swing when you step on them.
How to get there, visit -
Lake Karniznoye is located in the Zailiyskiy Alatau mountains in the area of the Dzhusaly-Kezen pass, the lake is accessible from the Big Almaty gorge and the Prokhodnoye gorge, Ile-Alatau Mountain Park, Almaty region, Republic of Kazakhstan.
GPS coordinates: 43°01'16"N 76°56'52"E
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