Kayaking Karakul Lake in Tajikistan
9-minute read + 5-minute video
Karakul Lake in the Central Asian country of Tajikistan is a large, high-altitude saltwater lake surrounded by both desert and snow-capped mountains. Not the likeliest choice for a kayaking destination, but certainly an interesting one!
Hugo ready to launch on Karakul Lake, Tajikistan
Hugo Desrosiers is a resident of Quebec, Canada. We first met him after his 2022 kayak journey around Lake Issyk-Kul in Kyrgyzstan. He wrote a guest post for us a few months later about that trip, which you can read here.
In 2024 he chose Karakul Lake for a multi-day kayak trip, an even more remote destination. We were fascinated to learn why he opted for Karakul, how he prepared for his trip and what he experienced while he was there.
Here’s our interview with Hugo Desrosiers…
AQUA BOUND: What keeps drawing you to Central Asia for kayak expeditions?
HUGO: Back in 2022, I was looking for a unique paddling destination. I was playing around on Google Earth and I realized Central Asia has these beautiful alpine lakes and rivers. Some of them are nearly untouched by modern development. Then you add the local culture and you have this very interesting mix of ethnic groups that are still very close to their traditional nomadic tradition. That was really interesting to me.
This area was part of the Soviet Union, so they speak Russian, and it’s such an interesting mix of cultures and history. The hospitality and generosity of these people are tough to beat. And then you’ve got fairly relaxed visa policies for Westerners which makes travel around Central Asia incredibly appealing.
A few village friends offer their help
I’ve traveled quite a bit across Eastern Europe so it’s not unusual for me to think about international travel. People at work always ask me around the coffee machine what my next destination is. I’m sort of known for these weird travel ideas!
AB: Tell us about your kayaking background.
HUGO: I started kayaking seriously at the beginning of the 2020 pandemic. I took some classes here in Canada and started going on solo expeditions around the province of Quebec. We have amazing rivers and lakes. I went on a few group expeditions here and there, but mostly by myself. Then I went straight away for the big international expeditions right after that. There might have been a middle part I skipped!
Kayaking is a pretty easy entry-level sport. You can do some pretty cool stuff without a huge budget. People pick up the sport very, very quickly and within a few years some are teaching it already, it seems.
AB: Why did you choose Karakul Lake this time?
HUGO: When I returned from my Kyrgyzstan trip in 2022 I was looking for the next project and Karakul Lake just jumped out of the map. You could tell by looking at the photographs it’s a pretty unique place. This beautiful, pristine alpine lake with its desert-like landscape. It looks like Mars up there. And you’re surrounded by snowy peaks. It’s not quite Nepal, but you do have some 7,000-meter peaks! The landscape is absolutely amazing.
The salt-dusted shores of Karakul against the Pamir Mountains in the background
And in the case of Karakul [the village], there’s really no tourist infrastructure whatsoever. It’s just this tiny little village on the eastern shore. It looks like it’s right out of a Mad Max movie or something—apocalyptic. There’s only limited electricity, no running water, very basic conditions. Half the houses are abandoned. They do have wells for fresh water, but life over there is harsh.
During the summer it largely empties out because most of the families there rely on nomadic herding of sheep and goats, cattle and yaks. They take their animals to grassy lands. The village was nearly empty when I was there. You can’t help but feel the desolation, which was sort of an attraction for me.
Karakul village—most of the families rely on nomadic herding and leave for the pastures at the beginning of summer
There was something attractive about this—on one side, this beautiful lake, and on the other, this sort of end-of-the-world environment. I thought it would be an adventure to bring a kayak over there and perhaps bring a spotlight on this place.
It’s on what’s called the Pamir Highway, a classic road trip for a lot of people. Most take 5-7 days to drive the 1,200 km between Dushanbe, Tajikistan and Osh, Kyrgyzstan. The village, Karakul, is a pit stop for these people. There were a handful of athletes who had met there between 2014 and 2018 for an annual kite surfing competition. Other than that, it just felt like a nice little challenge. Let’s bring a kayak over there and see what happens!
Another reason I picked this lake is because, for a high-altitude lake, this one is big. You can spend a good week just paddling around and camping. It’s sort of a unique combination.
The blue shades of Karakul contrast with the rugged snowy tops of the Pamir Mountains, including 7,134-meter Lenin Peak
AB: What prep work has to happen for a trip to Karakul?
HUGO: This was the most complicated trip I ever had to prepare for. The first thing was to confirm whether I’d be allowed on the lake, as it’s part of Tajik National Park. When you look at the map it’s in the northeast part of the country. It’s actually easier and quicker to reach the lake from Kyrgyzstan.
But unfortunately, the two countries have been in a military conflict for a couple years now, so the border between them is closed. Only tourists are allowed to cross the border so you need to set this up in advance. You need a travel visa and have your name on an official list by local authorities. There was a lot of back and forth with local travel guys just to make sure I’d be allowed to get in.
Then the weather. I knew I would have to deal with massive UV levels at the high altitude. I was on a Facebook group of cyclists who ride the Pamir Highway and the first thing they told me was to watch out for UV levels, especially on the water with the reflection. So I chose to come in late spring (third week of June) instead of mid-summer. But that’s not great because then you’re dealing with much colder temperatures.
And I couldn’t get there too soon because it needed to be thawed of its winter ice—that was the other potential problem. I took time to check some satellite images from the past few years to get an idea of when the ice is usually gone.
There’s not much documentation of the lake’s shoreline outside of the little village. So I spent some time looking at old Soviet maps, which were the most detailed maps available. They gave me an idea of where I could camp and where the freshwater streams were. I entered those locations in my GPS inReach device.
There were some exchanges with local guides regarding potential dangers. I wanted to make sure this wasn’t a stupid idea. I mean, it was crazy, but I wanted to make sure it wasn’t stupid! The main concern would be wolves, as they do have some problems with wolves at night roaming the shoreline. I was told the wolves usually like to go higher up the mountains in summer, though, so I was all alright.
The lunar-like landscape of Karakul ("black lake" in Kyrgyz)—the lake is believed to have been formed by a meteor impact
AB: Tell us about your gear and how you got it there.
HUGO: The country isn’t known for kayaking or any paddling activities, so anybody going there will have to bring their own equipment. I’ve got a couple of portable kayaks. For this trip, I used my Itiwit Strenfit X500 inflatable kayak. It’s pretty durable and packs into a big backpack so it’s quite compact. I was able to fit my dry suit and all the regular sea kayak safety gear, plus, of course, my 4-piece [Manta Ray] carbon paddle. I didn’t have room for an emergency paddle, so that was always on my mind.
Hugo’s inflatable kayak and 4-piece paddle
It’s always a big gamble when you see your equipment packs transferred from an airplane to a bus to a shared taxi. It was quite a big relief when I arrived to the village with everything still intact. My second backpack was for all the camping gear and clothes. Carrying those two backpacks around the country for a couple of weeks wasn’t particularly fun!
But I like to get to my destination using public transportation. It’s not really to save on cost, but you just get the full local experience when you’re on the buses and shared taxi rides. The easy way would’ve been to just rent a car waiting for me at the airport. Then I could’ve brought all the gear I wanted. But where’s the fun there?!
Getting to Karakul meant a number of shared taxi rides trying to fit all the gear. It was a tight fit for some of these rides but it worked out alright. I got caught in a landslide at one point. We waited about 12 hours before they were able to clear the road. That might’ve been the most stressful part of the trip when we finally got on the way—it was close to midnight and you got these crazy drivers going down the mountain road texting at the same time in complete darkness!
Like I said, because of the border closure between the two countries, the driver has to drop you off at the border, which is literally the top of a mountain pass. But he can’t continue on, so I had to hitchhike. This happened both ways—on the way in and on the return. I was lucky I didn’t have to wait too long.
Hitchhiking on the Pamir Highway and waiting for a ride with my portable kayak at the top of the Kyzyl-Art Pass (4,280 meters)
AB: What about language?
HUGO: If you’re part of a group it’s not a big deal, but on your own, you’ll want to be able to speak some Russian. In this part of Tajikistan, the people are mostly Kyrgyz, not Tajiks. So the Kyrgyz phrases I learned during my previous trip were still useful.
It’s like anywhere else in the world with globalization, though. I did meet some younger people who could speak a bit of English.
AB: How is kayaking Karakul Lake different than other destinations?
HUGO: I had two main concerns for Karakul. I was surprised there were a few articles with reports that the salinity level was so high it was almost impossible to navigate a boat on the lake without capsizing. I didn’t know what to think of this. I mean, it was a BBC article—surely the BBC know what they’re talking about?
I even messaged some of the athletes who had done the kite surfing a few years ago and asked what they thought. I think it was exaggerated because I didn’t have any problem floating. Either that or the weight of the luggage, food and fresh water acted as ballast.
A small tornado is visible in the distance, appearing early on Day 1
The salt residues on the shore were much, much more of a concern because now you have to keep your gear clear of salt. The paddle pieces, the tent. From the water looking at the shores, it seems like the shores are covered with snow and ice. But then you get closer and realize it’s salt.
The second concern was altitude. This lake is located at 4,000 meters. That’s 13,000 feet. You’re looking at about 60% of the oxygen level available at sea level. I didn’t have any experience at that sort of altitude.
From reading travel reports I know some tourists who travel on the Pamir Highway struggle with altitude sickness. I tried to acclimate because of the altitude, so I first spent about a week hiking in the region. I was definitely short of breath on the water. I watched some of the GoPro footage I recorded and I’m struggling! It’s bad enough as I’ve had asthma since I was a kid, and this wasn’t helping. But it did improve after a couple of days so it was fine.
Dressed for the hard sun and for immersion—the last remains of ice had only melted a couple of weeks prior to my arrival
Unfortunately, I got sick even before I got on the water. When I finally got to the village I spent 48 hours in this little guest house just sleeping. They were bringing me hot tea and making sure the fireplace next to my bed was on. After two days I needed to start this trip, but I had to cut off on the total distance I wanted to do. Part of that was also because I realized I was running out of fresh water.
I might’ve been able to find some streams coming down from the glaciers—that was a 50/50 call. I couldn’t use the water from the lake. So I was out for four nights. I could’ve pushed for an extra one, but I was getting weak since I was never a hundred percent for this one. I’d like to go back one day and finish it, do the entire shoreline.
AB: Anything you’d like to leave us with?
HUGO: I think these solo expeditions into untapped locations are about the most rewarding. Just to prepare for them and do your research—that’s something I actually enjoy doing. You find out your own personal limits. You get yourself into unique situations. You meet people that otherwise you might not have met.
But you owe it to yourself, your family and the local people to come prepared, to do your homework. I remember as I was getting ready to go to the shore and get on the water, a local woman from the guest house where I had been staying looked at me and said, “Please be careful!” There was a look of concern on her face. I understood that. So you can’t act like a cowboy expecting outside help will come quickly because it’s not going to come. Not in that part of the world.
I had an inReach device from Garmin always attached to my life vest, so I could push a quick SOS button if necessary. But I’m not naive. I know that even though you push that, it might take a while before they’re able to send help.
* * * * *
Here’s Hugo’s (5-minute) video about his trip:
A big thanks to Hugo for sharing his Karakul Lake kayak adventure with us!
All photos courtesy of Hugo Desrosiers. Follow Hugo on Instagram.
What paddling questions can our friendly Customer Service team help you with? Contact us at 715-755-3405 or [email protected]
More for you...