“It’s Divya’s middle-aged gap year,” my work colleagues said, giggling. Because in 2022, bored and exhausted in the aftermath of the pandemic, I set out on a world trip.
The target: 15 countries in one year – travelling through the Middle East, Indochina, southern Africa, India via Singapore to New Zealand and Australia. And finally, Central Asia – attractive, because it had always seemed remote and mysterious.
The 15th country on this once-in-a-lifetime trip was Kazakhstan, after a stay at the otherworldly, high altitude Song Kul Lake of Kyrgystan. My mind was prejudiced by Borat and his Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan. I didn’t expect to find a country as exquisite and unspoiled as Kazakhstan turned out to be. The much anticipated highlight was Kaindy Lake – the Lake of the Dead or the Submerged Forest. It’s part of Kolsai National Park, 80 miles from the sophisticated city of Almaty surrounded by snow-capped peaks.
The lake formed in 1911 after the Kebin earthquake. With a seismic moment of 8.0, this massive upheaval destroyed almost all of Almaty. The tremors triggered severe landslides. The limestone slippage in Kaindy was one of the largest, killing 38 people. Locals claim a single baby girl survived.
The falling debris dammed the gorge which slowly filled with water from the Tian Shan mountains, submerging the forest. The lake water is very cold, and has preserved, almost perfectly, the dead trees for over a hundred years.
Surprisingly few visitors go to Kaindy despite the ethereal, eerie beauty of the lake. Chiefly, this is because it is pretty difficult to get here. I was put up in a guest house run by locals in Saty village 10 miles away, where the haunting call to prayer from the mosque rang out through the day.
Saty village and its mosque. Photo: Divya Maitreyi Chari
An ancient, creaky Russian 4×4 picked me up from the guest house and the Kazakh driver hurtled through the roads at maniacal speed. Up the mountain forests, over rocky washed out roads and through fast flowing streams. The driver could barely see through the heavy rain and misted windscreen as the vehicle bumped and careened.
The van on its way to the lake. Photo: Divya Maitreyi Chari
We got out half an hour later and waited. Another ancient vehicle – the shuttle to the lake – screeched up. I got in with a large Kazakh family. Toddlers, teenagers, parents, grandparents – everyone packed in tightly. We set off at breakneck speed through twists and bends up the mountain, to the deafening sound of a Kazakh pop song blaring from the van’s speakers, creating a pleasant party atmosphere.
You walk the last bit, about 20 minutes down a steep, rocky path which probably is inaccessible to anyone with mobility troubles. I trod carefully, and soon, through the trees, the lake came magically into focus.
I am not ashamed to say I would have been deeply spooked if I had been on my own. A heavy mist hung over the distant Tian Shan mountains. Out of the translucent, still green water rose dead spruce trees, submerged roots visible in a watery grave. Chained to a wooden log nearby, in a final surreal touch, was a large eagle. I looked away, repelled, not wanting to see this majestic bird unable to fly.
I spent a long time peering into the water, marvelling at the small army of silvery spruces at the edge of the lake. The still water seemed to change colour as I watched – full of light and deep greens and blues. Then dusk fell and as the skies darkened, I began the steep walk back up, panting and out of breath.
We waited a long time in the rain, but the shuttle failed to appear. The guide, exasperated, told us they wouldn’t come unless they had fares to bring up. We abandoned the wait and walked the mile or so through the mountains, to our waiting driver. Back to Saty village, and a large Kazakh feast accompanied by a bottle of Russian vodka. Perfect.
Divya Maitreyi Chari is a neuroscientist and Professor of Neural Tissue Engineering at the Keele School of Medicine in the UK. She has previously published articles on a jungle survival course in British Guyana, travels in Patagonia, Norway, New Zealand, the Galapagos islands, Southern Africa and along the Bhutan-Tibet border.