About the lake
Bartogai lake is a large water reservoir located 186 km East from Almaty in the mountain gorge of Chilik River.
An enchanting Lake with magnificent views. The reservoir was built in the early 1980s to store water in winter, and to provide the water for irrigating in the summer along the long water channel starting from here end ending in 160 kilometers in Almaty. The release of water through the dam at the Chilik River occurs from June to September. During that time the spillway volume reaches 100 cubic meters per second, due to which the water level in the reservoir can decrease for more than 100m revealing the reddish shores.
Surrounded by beautiful Kazakh steppe and mountains sky blue color of the lake makes the area exceptionally scenic. During migrations of birds you can see many of them on the shores of Bartogai lake.
There are also many ancient burial mounds in Bartogai. The stones that form the mounds are covered with soil and are barely distinguishable from the surrounding terrain. The abundance of mounds here is no accident. From time immemorial, attracting people, Bartogai was considered sacred. Rites were performed there, and holidays were celebrated.
Tour to Bartogai lake
Please see my extended tour to Charyn Canyon which includes visiting Bartogai Lake.