Inylchek Glacier

Inylchek is one of the longest glaciers outside the polar regions — about 60 km of ice in the far east of Kyrgyzstan, at the foot of the two highest peaks of the Tien Shan, Khan-Tengri and Jengish Chokusu (Pobeda).

The glacier has two arms, South and North Inylchek. Between them lies Merzbacher lake, a glacial lake that fills every summer and then suddenly drains through the ice — one of the great natural spectacles of the Tien Shan. On the moraine of the South Inylchek, at about 4,000 m, mountaineers set up the base camps for Khan-Tengri (7,010 m) and Jengish Chokusu (7,439 m).

This is serious expedition country. From Karakol a rough road leads over the Chong-Ashuu pass into the Sary-Jaz valley to the old mining village of Enilchek; from there you continue on a multi-day trek or by helicopter (in season) to the base camps. The weather is changeable, with afternoon snow even in summer; the most stable weeks are usually from early August to mid-September.

• Start: Karakol
• Altitude: base camps about 4,000 m
• Best time: July to early September
• Permit: border zone permit required; we arrange it in advance