|
www.greatgametravel.co.uk One of the most amazing features of the Pamir region is Lake Sarez, hidden in the central knot of mountains. The lake was formed after a massive earthquake on 18 February 1911 (estimated to have scored eight or nine on the Richter Scale). Two cubic kilometres of rock were dislodged, burying Usoi village and blocking the Murghab River.
The lake is one of the natural wonders on the 21 day Dushanbe to Bishkek trek organized by the Great Game Travel Company.
The Usoi Dam is one of the largest natural dams in the world: 700m high, 4 Km wide and 4.5 Km long. The lake which formed behind the dam is 60 Km long, and contains an estimated 17 Km3 of water, equivalent to the annual discharge of the Amu
Darya River.
Some scientists fear that an earthquake of similar magnitude to the one in 1911 could dislodge the dam, which would cause a natural catastrophe of Biblical proportions, flooding an area of 52,000 Km2 across four countries.
South of Lake Sarez in the Alichur river valley is the picturesque Yashikkul Lake (“Blue Water”). It is a much more ancient lake than Sarez, and there is a legend among the population that an animal known as the “water camel” lives in its waters – perhaps a distant relative of the monster that inhabits Loch Ness.
This trek begins in the Gunt Valley near Khorog, and passes through diverse terrain: mountains and rocks, deep rivers and rapids, imposing heights, glaciers and green gorges. After reaching Lake Sarez, the “Sleeping Dragon”, there is a descent to Yashikkul and
Bulunkul lakes, strung out like blue pearls along the valley. | 
