Hidden deep in the Tian Shan Mountains in Kazakhstan is a breathtaking natural wonder – a lake filled with crystal-clear mountain water. Within it, a sunken forest of spruce trees stick out above the surface.
Lake Kaindy is located in Kolsay Lakes National Park in southern Kazakhstan, around 130 kilometres from the city of Almaty. It’s a small lake, only 400-metres-long, reaching depths of maximum 30 metres. The lake is at an altitude of 2,000 metres above sea level, offering peaceful and quiet views of the breathtaking landscape.
How did Lake Kaindy form?
In January 1911, an 8.0 magnitude earthquake struck the Northern Tien Shan region near Lake Issyk-Kul, which spans parts of present-day Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. This led to an array of landslides and rock avalanches, and one of those ended up forming a natural dam, blocking off the narrow valley where Lake Kaindy now lays.
Then, the valley filled with mountain water. The floodwaters trapped the forest upright, so it remained standing. Thanks to the lake’s glacial origin, the water remains extremely cold, around 4 to 6 degrees Celsius even in summer.
More than a century later, the spruce trees still stand – the parts above the surface are now barren and bleached, but below, the trees remain eerily intact.
Thanks to the limestone deposits in the lake, the water maintains a surreal blue-green hue, and its clarity allows a glance into this underwater marvel – in some cases, even the bark and fine branches remain visible.
Lake Kaindy in photographs
Top image credit: AnnaTamila/Getty Images
