Uzbekistan: Fazilman Lake Loop
Ўзбекистон: Фазилман кӯл

This one-day loop to the summer pastures at Fazilman Lake is the best option on offer for longer trekking in Uzbekistan‘s Nuratau Mountains. Epic landscapes combine with interesting insights into the culture of the local pastoralist communities for an overwhelmingly positive trekking experience.

Total Km: 25km
Total Days: 1
Elevation Gain/Loss: 1141m+ / 1141m-
Start Point: Sentob Village
End Point: Sentob Village
GPS Files

The Fazilman Lake Loop is among the more demanding treks in the Nuratau Mountains of Uzbekistan, in part for the total distance and in part for the elevation gain, both of which are far more than the more typical village-to-village hikes that tourists in the area favor.

Climbing from Sentob

The trek starts from Sentob village (known elsewhere as Sentyab, depending on which language you transliterate from), one of those delightful routes in which you simply walk out your guesthouse door and keep going. The GPS file linked above starts from the main village road just up from the small village spring, a few steps down from Komil’s guesthouse across the river. If you’re staying elsewhere in the village, you can either backtrack a bit to catch the trail as mapped or cut over the small ridge that runs parallel to the north of the village road and catch the hiking route on the far side as it climbs slowly up the side valley towards the ridge southwest of Sentob.

From the village, this path climbs along an obvious trail first to a small saddle at 1019m and then south to southwest curving higher up the rise of the ridge, obviously following around the impressive bulk of the Shakhrisurkh Peak that dominates the ridge both from the village and from up close. Along the way are a handful of viewpoints just above the trail that are worth cutting up to for the views, particularly if you wont have time to visit them on the Sentob Panorama Loop discussed elsewhere.

Approximately 4.5km from the beginning of the route, the trail steers firmly into the higher reaches of the Sop valley and begins to climb towards a cliff face just above. When we visited, an illegal gold mining operation had been set up at the base of the cliff, where locals dig out soil to cart back down to the village and sift for small nuggets. Even if the camp itself is gone by the time you visit, keep an eye out for large holes alongside the path – both as safety hazards and as peculiar indications of the lengths some have to go to eke out a living in this unforgiving terrain.

The trail continues to loop around the imposing side of Shakhrisurkh Peak until, at around 5.5km, it departs from the obvious beaten paths worn by shepherds to climb the hillside opposite.

Descending to Fazilman Lake

Climbing up a grassy green hillside for about 365m of vertical elevation in a little over 3.5km of lateral distance, the path eventually levels out above the Fazilman Yailook at 1655m asl nearby a small shepherds’ hut alongside a very old and rutted jeep track. Though you’ll see the lake beforehand, the first proper viewpoint from which to appreciate the full lake and pasture is around one kilometer further on, also an excellent stopping point for lunch or a snack.

Resist the temptation to beeline straight down to the lake’s shore, and instead follow along the short protrusion to the southwest for a few more angles on the lake and the loop around the backside of the lake’s shore, making your way along the muddy beach to the far side. You’ll have to hop a barbed wire fence on the far end, but the payoff for doing so is a fairly clean spring protected from livestock with fresh water  where you can refill your bottles if necessary.

Along the way, keep an eye out for the many types of animal life that call the area home. As with any Yailook, or summer pasture, Fazilman Lake is a highly-desirable grazing area where shepherds bring their flocks in the warm season to fatten up on grasses and rear their young. Further, the presence of the lake here attracts significant bird life, and even a short time by the shore should introduce you to at least a handful of the species that call Fazilman Kol home.

Return to Sentob

From the southeast side of the lake, follow the lie of the main valley northwest roughly parallel to the track we approached on, threading between a run of small hills towards a 1513m saddle just visible at the end of the valley, from which there are excellent views of the backside of the Shakhrisurkh ridge and on a clear day all the way down to Aydar Kol lake to the north. After a little over 3km of very gentle descent through the main valley, from the saddle the trail drops into precipitous switchbacks down towards the Kadvan Valley and Sentob. The first two kilometers lose about 450m in elevation, passing at one point through an obvious rockfall area that you’ll do well not to linger in any longer than necessary.

Once the trail drops to a small permanent stream at 1058m asl around 17.9km into the day’s hike, the steepest sections are done. From here, the path continues downhill through increasing vegetation (a nice change from the sun-beaten route we’ve experienced all day so far!) and into some of the ruins of an old village, including paths surrounded by beautiful stone walls that are slowly falling into ruin. Our guide noted that these walls and the many ruined buildings in the area were much older than him (he himself no spring chicken), but had no specifics on when they were actually constructed.

The route continues downwards to join the main Kadvan Valley, including over some old trail sections built from rocks piled against the sheer cliffs of the valley. Along the way it passes many of the same Kadvan Valley Ruins, an abandoned gold mine, and a small memorial to victims of historic landslide in the valley. It finally returns to Sentob along the main village road, which you’ll follow back to your guesthouse to complete the hike.

Alternate Options for Fazilman Lake Loop

Though we haven’t attempted it, a rough jeep road from the south side of the mountains connects almost to Fazilman Kol Yailook, while another even worse road runs up in a much more circuitous route from the village of Sop one valley to the west of Sentob. Though either of these could give access for hikers who don’t feel up to the full 25km round-trip, the more exciting option might be to drive up with a bunch of mountain bikes and then bomb back down to Sentob along the Kadvan valley. It should be quite a ride.

Our local guide Komil also noted that routes stretch out from Fazilman over the passes to the southeast to other village, which could be handy for visitors with more time on their hands but which we weren’t able to explore.

Good To Know

There are no entrance fees to the Fazilman Lake Loop hike and no special equipment necessary – though it can get quite hot and sunny even in late spring so be sure to pack a hat and sunscreen. Water is available from a small clean spring in the village and a slightly dodgy spring just past the lake, and you’ll have regular access to the stream on the downhill in the Kadvan Valley, but given the amount of people and livestock in the region you’ll absolutely want to bring a purification system if you plan to rely on any of this water.

We traveled throughout the region with Ruslan of Nurata Tours, and were happy with the service and prices. Our friend Shivya of The Shooting Star visited the Nuratau region with Responsible Tourism, another local operator, and also reported being pleased with the experience.

Getting to the Fazilman Lake Loop

As with most destinations in Uzbekistan’s Nuratau Mountains, getting to the village of Sentob is possible on infrequent share taxis do run towards Jizzakh, but given the possible time wasted on waiting for it most visitors would be best off visiting with a local tour operator to combine the village with others in the Nuratau region.

Where to Stay and Eat

We noted at least six guesthouses in Sentob – see our Kadvan Valley Ruins hike for the locations. We like Komil’s guesthouse for location, comfort, hospitality, and food. If you want to book online, the large hotel-like Manzarahoi is currently the only choice in town. Otherwise, just rock up and see who has a bed available – Sentob is popular among tourists to the Nuratau mountains, but it’s still rare that you’ll show up to the village and every place will be booked up full. All guesthouses can prepare meals for guests, or with advance notice for drop-in visitors as well.