Iskanderkul is a mountain lake of glacial origin in Tajikistan’s Sughd Province which lies at an altitude of 2,195 metres on the northern slopes of the Gissar Range in the Fann Mountains. Widely regarded as one of the most beautiful mountain lakes in all of the former Soviet Union, it is a popular tourist attraction, the most visited spot in the Fann Mountains by far.
The scenery around the lake is so rugged and picturesque that it defies description. Huge towers and ridges of rock rise to 4,000 meters, nearly two thousand meters above their reflections on the serene surface of the lake; most of the year the forbidding summits seem even more surreal sporting a fresh coating of snow, though the glaciers have retreated out of sight.
It is impossible to imagine a trip to Tajikistan without paying a visit to Iskanderkul Lake.
