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Kaindy lake surrounded by trees

Kaindy Lake, an Enchanted Forest of Submarine Trees and Turquoise Water

Inspire

Over the mountains of Kazakhstan there is a captivating lake and a beautiful floating web of dead trees.

Arboreal ghosts and turquoise water make for a surprising enchanted paradise in the Tian Shan Mountains of Kazakhstan. Kaindy Lake is an idyllic body of water nestled amongst mountains which was formed after the heavy earthquake of 1911 triggered a huge mudslide. Little by little, rain filled the valley and turned it into a lake.

What’s so striking about this place is the lacework of dead spruces peeking up from the water. These trees, casualties of the flood, have been surprisingly well conserved and look as if they were the work of some ghoulish taxidermist. And certainly one of the most poetic tourist activities you can take part in is diving into the enchanted blue cloth of the water in the middle of a submarine forest.

Though the Bolshoe Almatinskoe Lake attracts more visitors than the Kaindy Lake (as it’s far easier to get to from the largest city in the country, Almaty), this allows for Kaindy Lake’s secret to be conserved. This lake is a hidden blue jewel in which time seems to hardly even tick.

Kaindy lake surrounded by trees

 

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