Kargush Pass 22

Yack horn

We cross Khargush Pass at 4,333m en route to Yashikul Lake and stop nearby Bulunkul village, population 200. The people here spend their whole lives in this spot. Some leave, but nobody immigrates, and it is easy to understand why - it feels like sci-fi, the nearest village or town hours away across a moonscape desert. The outpost survives on small tourism, animals/ herding and fish from the lake; there is no fruit nor vegetable. Remarkably there is a basketball court (Macfhider and Aziz have not heard of Michael Jordan).

Along with the lonely beauty of the place is the temperature. While today it is a very pleasant 25C, in January the needle will drop to -60C, the coldest point in Central Asia (along with weather meters and some solar panels there is a large satellite dish). For a nearby comparison of extremes, Dushambe will hit 50C in the summertime.

Bulunkul recreation