Photos

Silkroad travels: Pamir

I present you the 25 km-diameter Kara kul (=Black lake; Schwarzsee; thanks for translation, Tolga). The lake is salty as it has no issue. It is 230 m deep. At 3913 m altitude the lake freezes over in winter. Therefore no algae and no fish are to be found. The lake is lying in a ≥5 million year-old impact crater.

The view is Northwest to the Chong-Alai kirkasi (=mountain range). A whole series of 6'000-ers clusters around broad shouldered Pik Lenina (7134 m asl). Look the region up in "Google Earth" (coordinates 39.0 and 73.0), it's worth it. Of course, pik Lenina was called differently before the Russian revolution, named after another Russian conqueror, pik Kauffmann.

Another cyclist established eleven years ago a new altitude record for bicycling, Tomasz Swinarski from Kraków. He climbed the Pik Lenina with his fully assembled spike-tyre bike!

In the workshop area I present a typical cushion plant of the region.