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Sarez Lake: how to get there?

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Sarez Lake: how to get there?

The Lake Sarez is one of the most beautiful and mysterious lakes of Tajikistan, which area is 80sq km and 60 km long. The gem of the Pamir Mountains is called “sleeping dragon”. In winter 1911, a huge landslide that happened in the mountains of the Pamirs, in the south-east of Tajikistan, which fully blocked the valley of the river Bartang (Murghab) – the upper reaches of the river Amudarya. Formed as a result of an earthquake the obstruction was named Usoy. The village Usoy was fully buried under the debris of the rocks with its inhabitants.  Beside the village Usoy which was demolished by the fallen mountain, another four villages (more than 50 households) were fully destroyed. This obstruction is the highest dam in the world (567m, volume 2,2 km3). Behind the formed dam a big lake started to form which in October 1911 swallowed up the village Sarez; afterwards the lake was named after the village. No one knew about this neither in Khorog or in the Pamir post. The massive obstruction utterly destroyed simple “artificial construction” made from poles in the form of staircases and balconies, which are usually made by locals on the impassable areas (ovring) for maintaining communication across the valleys. In 1911 the water increased in 36cm, in 1915 – in 18cm and in 1934 in 10cm per day.  By 1913 the length of the lake reached 28 km; by the end of 1930 – 75km. In the beginning of 1940 the level of the lake was set in 40m from the edge of the obstruction.

Sarez Permit

Visiting the Lake Sarez is open for foreigners since July, 2015. It is worth to mention that the lake has been forbidden to visit for foreign citizens before. Visiting the lake requires special permission - Sarez permit.  The price of the Sarez permit is 250TJS per day per person.

How can I get Lake Sarez permit?

In order to obtain the Lake Sarez permission to the least visited and the most wanted Lake Sarez, the following documents are required:

1) Insurance card;
2) Copy of passport;
3) Tajik visa;
4) GBAO permit.

Warning: if you intend to visit the lake Sarez, you need to book tour at least 2 weeks before the departures so we organize the permit for you.

Tours to Sarez Lake

Discover The Pamirs operates trekkings to the Lake Sarez which can be found here: http://discoverthepamirs.com/tours/filter/?Title=Sarez .

If you want to join a group to cut down the cost of the tour, please book a tour with fixed departures here: http://discoverthepamirs.com/tours/tour-2/trekking-to-the-lake-sarez/#Departures (a ten-day tour designed special for trekking to the Lake Sarez). You can book the tour as private tour also.

 


Posted on: July 6, 2022, 7:12 a.m. by Admin

Related tags: #sarez lake #sarez


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Author: Admin