Lake Aydarkul

Huge Manmade Lake in Kyzylkum Desert

Lake Aydarkul is a large artificial body of water, a part of the Aydar-Arnasay lake system in the north-east of Uzbekistan, 50 km from the town of Nurata. The entire system occupies an area of 4 thousand square kilometers and consists of three brackish lakes - Aydarkul, Arnasay and Tuzkan. The lakes are situated in a saline depression in the south-eastern portion of the Kyzylkum desert (Uzbekistan).

Endorheic Lake Aydarkul is often referred to as a ‘sea amid sand’ for its extensive sandy beaches and clear brackish water. There are no human settlements in Aydarkul’s neighbourhood, which is why the lake is enwrapped in an atmosphere of absolute silence and seclusion.

Huge, manmade Lake Aydarkul was created in 1969, when catastrophic spring floods made people drain excess water from the Syrdarya River into the Arnasay depression. Since then Aydarkul has been steadily growing in size. According to experts, the lake will become the largest in Uzbekistan within a century. A few dozens of fish species, such as carp, zander, bream, wels, asp, sabrefish, shakehead and others, have been introduced to the Aydar Lake. The lake has become a home for numerous birds, which migrated to the area from the inevitably shrinking Aral Sea, and fishermen, who have moved there together with their boats to develop fishery on the lake’s shores. Fishing on Aydarkul is also popular among tourists, and the best time for this activity is April to May and August to September.

The Aydar Lake is included in the Nuratau-Kyzylkum Biosphere Reserve, with a great number of aquatic and semi-aquatic birds and animals specific to desert and mountain ecosystems included in the Red Book, such as Dalmatian pelican, white-tailed eagle, black vulture and others, inhabiting the lake area.

Other attractions in the Aydarkul Lake area:

• Yurt camp - an exotic place where you can spend a night in authentic yurts (traditional nomads’ dwellings) amidst natural desert far from any civilisation.
• Camel riding/ Camel Safari in Kyzylkum desert. Camels (two-humped camels are called Bactrian camels) are domesticated and trained for riding.
• ‘Ancient rock paintings gallery’ in the Sarmysh Gorge. More 3 000 petroglyphs of Stone and Bronze ages were discovered there.
• Nurata town at the border of Nuratau mountains and the desert. The tourists will be interested to see the place of pilgrimage at “Chashma” “holy” spring with more than one thousand “holy” fish swimming there. Here you can also see irrigation systems - kyarizes, up to now delivering underground waters from Nuratau range.

Photos:

view all photos »»

Video: Lake Aydar

© Copyright © Central Asia Travel
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written permission of the copyright owner.