The INCREDIBLE ISKANDERKUL - TAJIKISTAN - The Way Overland - Episode 74
With the Troopy greased up and the fridge stocked, we said goodbye to the lush green spring city that is Dushanbe and headed North.The road northbound hugs the mostly raging Varzob river as it winds up the valley through the towering Fann mountains. The road surface here is great compared to the previous several hundred kilometres and in places is perfect freshly laid hot-mix. Leaving the valley floor we passed through countless avalanche protection tunnels before we reached the big one, the notorious “tunnel of death” or if you prefer the less dramatic official name - The Anzob Tunnel. Perched at around 2700m the 5km tunnel cuts through the mountain range to create a connection between North and South Tajikistan without having to cross through Uzbekistan. Something which wasn’t possible until the tunnel was open again in 2015. The tunnel originally opened in 2006 though almost immediate remedial works on the road surface and construction resulted was required resulting in it not being reopened to the public for years. The tunnel was awarded the grim name by locals due to the lack of ventilation, dim lighting, and less then ideal road conditions. Living up to its name we were met with huge water filled potholes, pollution so thick you could only clearly see maybe 20 metres at best, and zero lighting in places besides the dim oncoming headlights of other vehicles. With no emergency stopping bays, or phones to call Tunnel Control for a tow, the worst situation possible would be to break down in the tunnel. Apart from not being able to see theres’s also the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning and/or being ‘collected’ by one of the many Chinese freight trucks. Given the road conditions, seeing someone in this predicament is not an uncommon sight. The Troopy however gobbled up the adverse road surface and we made it out the other side and into fresh air in one piece.
The plan once on the other side of the range was to head to Alauddin Lakes. On the way however there is a much more popular lake known as Iskanderkul. We decided, seeing we were in the area and didn’t know when we would be back, to take the 25km drive up the side valley to Iskanderkul at least for a night. Iskanderkul is named after Alexander the Great, Iskander being Alexander in Persian and Kul or Kol being lake in Turkic. It’s said that Alexander and his army stopped here around 2300 years ago on his way to India. When awe arrived we ventured nearly completely around the lake and down a ‘fun’ track to a nice level pad with a great view; a perfect spot to set up camp. The weather was less then favourable on our arrival so Jolie whipped up some pasta for dinner and we bunkered down for the night to wait for the better weather due to arrive the next day. The following morning we weren’t disappointed when we woke to a beautiful clear blue sky day with the bright turquoise lake glistening in the sun and the birds chirping.
We enjoyed the scenery and solitude for a few hours before packing up camp and doubling back around the lake to the Iskanderkul waterfall otherwise known as “Fann Niagara”. The 40 odd meter waterfall flows from Iskanderkul lake with a huge amount of force creating a deafening sound and strong wind as it carves out the cliff faces. The fall itself is tucked in a bit of an awkward position to see so a viewing platform has been constructed which juts out from the cliff face to give a better angle. The platform looks like it dates from the Soviet era, supported by some I-Beams, with round steel tubing spaced about 2 inches apart for the platform. It gives a great sensation of standing on top of the falls though took a little while for some of us to muster the courage to take the walk to the edge.
With Iskanderkul off the list we were back to the original plan and on the road to Allaudin Lakes. Catch the next episode where we explore this crystal clear lakes.
If you liked the episode let us know in the comments below!
Thanks for watching!
Jolie and Mark
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