A trip to Lake Balkhash from Almaty -
Fishing and recreation on Lake Balkhash -
Lake Balkhash is a great huge lake that occupies a closed depression in the southeastern zone of Kazakhstan and Central Asia, which also includes the basin of the Caspian Sea and the Aral Sea. The area of Lake Balkhash is 16,996 km2. It is one of the largest lakes in Asia and the 12th largest lake in the world. Its average height is 320 meters above sea level and covers an area equal to countries such as Sweden, Uzbekistan, Morocco, Iraq or Paraguay.
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How to get there and visit -
Lake Balkhash is located in three regions of the Republic of Kazakhstan at once, these are the Almaty region, the Karaganda region and the Zhambyl region. The distance from Almaty to the lake is 342 kilometers, 5 hours on the way.
GPS coordinates: 46°10'N 74°20'E
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Tourist Information
Lake Balkhash has an area of about 16,400 km2, so it is the largest lake that is located entirely on the territory of Kazakhstan. There are many recreation and fishing bases on the territory of the lake. Kite surfing is also gaining popularity on Lake Balkhash in the summer, strong winds often blow on the lake, which is very good for practicing this sport. There is also winter fishing on the lake in winter.
You can rent a boat on the lake and take it to the island located in the middle of the lake. The Sariesik peninsula, located in the lake, divides the lake into two very different parts: the western and eastern parts, one part of the lake is freshwater, the other part is salty. The lake lies at an altitude of 340 m above sea level and has a shape similar to that of a growing crescent moon. Its length is about 600 km, and its width varies from 9-19 km in the eastern part to 74 km in the western part.
The Ili River flows into Lake Balkhash, which is its main water supplier, as well as other major rivers that flow into Balkhash are the Karatal, Aksu, Kapal, and Koksu rivers. In the place where the Ili River flows into Lake Balkhash, a beautiful delta of the Ili River has formed. The average depth of the lake is 5.8 m, and the maximum is 25.6 m.
The largest city in the lake area is also called Balkhash and has about 66,000 inhabitants. The main industrial activities in the area are mining, mineral processing and fishing. The lake remains under ice from the end of November until the beginning of spring.
Legend
Legend has it that the wizard Balkhash, who lived under a huge tree on the lake, had a beautiful daughter named Ili. Balkhash said he would marry her off to the richest and most handsome man. The richest people from China, Mongolia and Bukhara merchants came here. But the daughter did not want to marry other men. She loved a local man who was not very rich and his name was Karatal. When the men staged competitions, Karatal defeated everyone, but Balkhash kicked him out and did not let them get married. Then, at night, Balkhash's daughter Ili ran away with Karatal and the wizard Balkhash got angry and turned the lovers into two rivers, the Karatal River and the Ili River, which both flow into Lake Balkhash.
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