Kyrgyzstan: Kezhige-Kol (Alay)
Kezhige-Kol, also locally known as the ‘Emerald Lake’, is a small lake tucked into a side valley of the Alay mountains just off the highway between Osh and Sary Tash. A quick and easy walk that will take a couple of hours max, this makes for a great stop on the drive down into the Big Alay to break up the journey and see just a little more of the region’s beauty.
Total km: 5 km
Elevation gain/loss: 433m+/433m-
Start point: Kezhige-Kol Pasture
Endpoint: Kezhige-Kol Pasture
GPS Files
At just 5km round-trip, this quick and easy walk his a nice payoff with minimal efforts, and in the heat of summer you may also have a chance to interact with locals who come up for a swim in the sheltered lake. Try to add this to your itinerary on the way from Osh towards the Alay Valley, if possible, as the starting elevation (about 2400m) will also help your body begin acclimatizing to hiking at elevation in the days ahead.
From the trailhead, a pair of yurt camps at the end of a dirt road, outside the village of Kezhige, follow the obvious trail that climbs more or less straight up towards the imposing rock face above. For a trail that’s just 2.5km each way, the 400m of elevation gain is no joke and you’ll get a sense of that almost as soon as you start walking – you’ll pick up 250m of that within the first one kilometer as you climb towards the obvious imposing rock face above.
Rounding the back of the main outcrop, the trail drops slightly into a shaded copse of small trees and attractive flowers, climbing fairly gently towards and above a scree slope for another strong 100m push of vertical elevation to the top of the retaining hill and the first views of the lake.
From the top of the hill, there’s a quick drop down to Kezhige-Kol, which itself stretches across to the edges of a sheer rock wall. The lake is quite shallow, and it is possible to wade through the the canyon some ways upriver, but as the weather was beginning to turn already we elected to scamper back down the trail before more serious rain kicked off and caught us in the open.
When you’re ready, head back to the top of the overlook above the lake and then carefully down the scree sleep and onwards along the same trail you came by. Overall it’s a touch under 5km for the full out-and-back, typically no more than two hours maximum unless you’ve really lingered long alongside the lake.
If you haven’t already made other plans, consider a lunch break at the trailhead yurt camps, where open-air platforms and a dining room in the main yurt make good options for a quick meal and a chance to interact with the really lovely family that runs the place.
Good To Know
Getting to Kezhige-Kol
While no public transport runs to the trailhead per se, the yurt camp at the base of the walk is only about 3.5km off the main Osh-Alay highway from a signed turnoff in the village of Uch Dobo. Getting a car from Osh or Sary Tash to drop you here should be no problem, though for a ride onwards you’ll be a little at the mercy of whatever empty seats are available in passing vehicles.
As with much of independent travel in Kyrgyzstan, the simpler option is just to hire your own car, parking it at the trailhead and then continuing along your journey once the hike is over.
Where to Stay and Eat
In the high season, several basic accommodation and dining options are available at the trailhead and right at the lake itself. The latter, which seems to operate on no fixed schedule, offers simple meals and tea overlooking the shore directly. The former, somewhat more reliable, also offers overnight accommodation for quite cheap – handy if you’ve arrived with public transport or hitching and don’t want to count on making it onwards to a major town on the same day. For either, bring cash.
