Back in Penjikent, after my adventure in the Fan Mountains, there was one more hike to do. A chain of seven lakes, known to the locals as Haft Kul, is a popular spot to visit from Penjikent. Many people do it as a day trip, renting a 4WD and driving up all the way to the last lake on 2400 meters above sea level. As I had enough time and as renting is not as much fun as doing it all by yourself, I decided to use public transport to the first lake and then walk from there to the seventh, staying in a guest house along the way. Public transport in Tajikistan usually means a shared car and consulting my guidebook, it told me that they would be leaving around noon from a place close to the Bazaar. Making my way there a bit before noon, I told a couple people where I wanted to go and soon found somebody that was willing to take me along. About half an hour later we got out of the Bazaar and first had to drive up a steep street. The 4WD was roaring like hell, while the driver handled 4 (!) gear changer to get up there. :) After a short stop in town to get some watermelons, we left the centre of Penjikent just to stop again at the outskirts of the city. What's the matter now? Motor too hot, it had to cool off. So we waited there for 15 minutes and when we finally started again, the driver only made a U-turn and drove to the next gas station. :) Filling up on gas and waiting another 15 minutes, we eventually continued our ride towards Haft Kul. The road we were on was actually a really good one, but nevertheless the ride was super slow, as the driver apparently wanted to prohibit the motor of getting too hot again. Trying to see how fast we were driving, I had a look on the speed indicator and could hardly keep from laughing out loud. The needle was jumping up and down in a frenzy, somewhere between 20 and 40 kilometers per hour. Suited the rest of the vehicle perfectly. :) Well, we made it on the dirt road towards Haft Kul with a couple more stops and interestingly drove faster on the unpaved road, than before on the paved one. When we finally arrived in Shing, the biggest settlement in the area, we took a longer break and I had time to peer into the front of our 4WD. All I could see was loose cables and a rope that was holding the motor together. While I was worried before, if we would make it to the first lake, my feelings changed to pure astonishment to have come that far at all. :)
From Shing it was another 6 kilometer on a bumpy dirt road and when at last we arrived at the first lake, it had taken us more than 3 hours to get there. This was longer than expected and after saying goodbye to the driver and the other passengers, I started my walk straightaway. Unfortunately the first lake was completely in the shade already and therefore was just a "normal" mountain lake. At the end of the lake a steep ascent waited for me and while the road led up in serpentines, there also was a short cut that went upwards straight ahead. That saved some time and gave me the opportunity to take a moment and enjoy a panoramic view of the first lake.
The second lake waited just beyond the ascent and while in the beginning it was in the shade as well, the sun came out behind the clouds when I reached the end of the lake and turned the water from black/blue into a beautiful deep green/blue. The only downside of the stunning sight were the telephone masts. They were in the way more than once and I can tell you already that they were part of the view, all the way to the end of the sixth lake.
The third lake was just a stone's throw away from the second one and for the first time there was a real shore to walk up to the edge of the water. It was full of people, mainly locals that had a BBQ and enjoyed a swim in the lake.
So far this lake was the most beautiful one, as it had a stunning scenery with some impressive mountains around it. After a couple words and pictures with some locals, I made my way to the road again and before I could walk on, another local stepped up to me and wanted to chat a little bit. As usual there was not much English, but I learned that they weren't locals after all. They came from closeby Uzbekistan to have a holiday here at Haft Kul and were staying in a place at the sixth lake. Of course they offered me some food and after eating a little snack to not be rude, I said goodbye and carried on. The third lake was quite long and it took a while until I left it behind me. Going up another gentle slope, the next lake was again just beyond the ascent and what a beauty that was! A rugged shoreline with some deep green water greeted my eye and I had to take a break to enjoy this marvelous panorama.
Following the edge of the lake, the landscape stayed great throughout. Stunning mountains, beautiful water, rural villages and the sun shining upon everything, made for a lovely walk.
As it was kinda late already, I decided to stay in Nofin, a village close to the end of the fourth lake. I knew that there was a guest house in the village and with the help of some locals found it soon enough. Tea and dinner was served directly and I was joined by a dutch couple later on. Although we had a nice chat about our trips, sleeping time came early, as a long day awaited us tomorrow. Tom and Saskia, the dutch couple, had the same plan for today as I had and after breakfast we decided to do the walk to the seventh lake together. Venturing out under bright sunshine in the early morning, we soon left the fourth lake behind us. Following a river, we ascended a gentle slope up to the next village called Padrud and to the fifth lake, that awaited us just beyond the last houses. This one was the tiniest of all and somewhat couldn't keep up with the beauty of his two predecessors.
Anyway, we enjoyed the surroundings for a while and then carried on. Soon it went upwards again and it took us quite a while to bring this ascent behind us. The sun was scorching hot and as there was almost no shade, the walking was pretty tough. We were glad whenever there was a little wind to give us a break from the heat. The scenery though was once more superb, with many colorful mountains around us and a nice view back towards we came from. Already before we reached the next lake, we agreed to take a rest there and that was a good decision. First, the sixth lake was truly beautiful with the most stunning scenery so far. Second, a nice and constant wind was blowing at the shore of the lake. And third, a sign told us that there also was a place who sold some food and drinks.
Making our way to that place, a stout man introduced himself as the owner. Again there was no English and when we asked for food, the reply was that they had none. As the locals in Tajikistan eat a lot of bread, we asked for some, but apparently they didn't even had bread to sell. :) Well, no point in staying there and we made our way back to the shore of the lake. Sitting down, we had some cookies and enjoyed the view for a while. When our batteries were loaded again, we kept following the road along the lake. As this lake was the longest of the seven, it took the best part of an hour until we reached the end of it. To be fair, we also took a lot of tiny breaks to take some pictures, as the scenery stayed marvelous all along the way. :)
Arriving at the end of the lake, we came upon another village and an elder local was so friendly to point us into the right direction. Of course there was another ascent and right in that rather steep slope we met the first tourists of today. First a rented 4WD passed us going to the lake and a bit later a couple from Germany came along, going back from the seventh lake towards the sixth, where their camper was parked. We chatted with them for a while and then were on our way again. As Saskia was not that used to hiking, the ascents combined with the burning sun had taken its toll on her and she was struggling to get further up. We took a couple breaks, but it didn't really got better. So a little later, Saskia and Tom decided to eat something and take a longer break.
As more and more clouds were appearing, I decided to carry on and try to get to the last lake while the sun still was shining on it. It was not that far anymore and luckily the major ascent was already behind us. About 15 minutes later I stood at the shore of the seventh lake and with towering mountains all around it, it turned out to be as beautiful as the one before. Unfortunately the sun was behind the clouds now pretty constantly and during the whole stay at the lake, the water never got fully enlightened. Nevertheless, the steep mountain wall on the other side and the snowy peak at the end of the lake definitely made up for the lack of sunshine.
As Haft Kul is a popular tourist attraction, I expected many more people than there actually were. A group of four from the 4WD, another car with a couple Asian tourists and some locals working on future guest houses, that was all. Hungry as I was, I sat down and had my lunch, which the guest house in Nofin was friendly enough to have prepared for me in the early morning. Tom and Saskia arrived about half an hour later and as they didn't had lunch with them, they asked the locals for some bread. Of course they had some and when we wanted to sit down close to the lake, they waved us towards a cloth they had laid out for us to sit upon. We sat down and they brought 3 huge breads for us to eat. Tea was served a couple minutes later and once more we were engaged in a conversation with our hands and feet. :) Having had enough bread, we sat for a while enjoying the scenery when our host suddenly said: "Plov!" He walked away and came back with a small plate of yoghurt, tomatoes and onions and a little bit later his wife emerged with a huge plate of Plov, a dish made out of rice, vegetables and eggs. We were speechless about the hospitality, as all that Tom and Saskia originally had asked for was a couple pieces of bread.
As I had eaten lunch before, I was not hungry at all, but there was no other choice than to eat as well. When we couldn't eat anymore and the plate was almost finished, a watermelon was served for dessert. We felt like in a five star hotel and were overwhelmed by the friendliness of the local people. Luckily there also was no rain so far. The clouds were thick and grey above us, but we were able to sit outside and enjoy the moment to the fullest. Time passed fast though and too soon it was time to head back to Nofin. Leaving the seventh lake and our host, we descended down to the sixth with a marvelous view ahead of us.
Arriving back at the sixth lake, we started to walk along the edge again and right there a car passed us going into the direction we were going to. Saskia was tired from all the walking and asked the driver if she could join until Nofin. No problem and away she went. Tom and I had decided to keep on walking and we hiked steadily back towards the fifth lake and further on to Nofin. When we arrived there a couple hours later, Saskia was greeting us at the entrance of the village. She was so immersed into the conversation with the family in the car, that she had gotten out at the wrong lake. :) So she had to walk back and would even have passed Nofin, if we didn't had showed up right then. We laughed all together, as at the end of the day, she probably walked as much as we did. Well, everything was fine in the end and we finished the day with a well deserved dinner and some Cognac for dessert. :) This was my last hike in the Fan Mountains, as the next day I headed back towards Dushanbe. It did the mountain range absolutely justice, as it was a beautiful hike, like all the other ones I did in this area!
Highlights of the hike: the beauty of lake 4, 6 and 7, the superb hospitality of the local people
This hike is for you if:
- you want to see seven different lakes in one or two days
- you want to do a hike without guide and without any camping
- you want to get up close with the life in the mountain villages
- you want to have a swim during the hike
This hike is not for you if:
- you want to scale a mountain
- you're looking for a place that is not scorching hot
- you're looking for a difficult hike
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