The lake is located 260 kilometers from Tashkent, in the Jizzakh region and is part of the Arnasai lake system. We were there at the end of November 2022. At this time, it is no longer hot in Uzbekistan, but it is still warm. This is a great time to travel around the country.
One day the photos of the lake impressed me so much that I wanted to go to this amazing place right away.
We left at 05:00. The road was exhausting: the highway towards the Jizzakh region was broken in places, the car was shaking on potholes, so it was impossible to take a nap and compensate for this early ascent. In the end, a small part of the way was off-road. But in any case, it was worth it.
We got on the track at 10:00. It was cloudy in the morning, but by the beginning of the journey it had cleared up to +15 °C, the sun was shining. The lake exceeded all my expectations. It is really huge and looks like the sea, besides the water in it is salty.
The scenery there is incredible. Nature is not at all like the Uzbekistan that I saw when I went to the Tien Shan Mountains near Tashkent. In the Tuzkan area, the short green grass is perfectly smooth and there are no trees. Just rocks, grass and water. To some extent, this area resembles the north, but it feels like eternal spring here. I haven’t been to Iceland, but the photos I’ve seen seem similar to me.
This is an amazing place where, apart from our group of 15 people, there was not a soul, except for sheep, horses and cows grazing here and there.
In total, we walked 11 kilometers along the coast in 5.5 hours. Everyone moved at their own pace. We stopped for half an hour for a small picnic — we took tea and sandwiches with us. At the end of the track, a bus picked us up.
The route is simple, even a beginner can handle it. Special equipment is not needed. I go hiking sometimes, so I had boots and sticks. But it is also comfortable in ordinary sneakers — most of the group were wearing them. There are no difficult sections, the ascents and descents are small — 300-400 meters. Sticks make walking easier for me, but it’s not convenient for everyone. For example, they interfere with my husband, he walks without them. There were only three people in our group with sticks. It’s not a bad idea to have something to sit on, such as small foams. Someone had small blankets. And someone was just sitting on the rocks.
On the way back, our group stopped at a cafe in the city of Jizzakh, where they sell the famous Jizzakh samsa. It’s gigantic, you can eat one. Two samsas and a pot of tea for two cost about 70,000 UZS. We returned to Tashkent at about 22:00.
The tour cost 300,000 UZS per person. The price included a transfer and guide services. I would really like to return to the lake in the summer, not only to enjoy the views, but also to swim.