Kitesurfing in Karakul Lake, Karakul, Tajikistan

121 windy days
/ year

Water type

lake

Beach type

—

Crowd

none

Rider level

expert

Tide dependent

—

Waves

flat

Overview

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Karakul Lake (or Black Lake) it’s a salt lake in the Pamir Mountains at 3914 m above sea level – powered by glacier water and surrounded by scenic up to 6-7k high mountains with snow peaks. It is the highest lake that’s ever been kitesurfed! The lake unfreezes between June and October and turns into beautiful turquoise color. When unfrozen, the water is still extra cold (0-5 ºC). Wind seems to pick up in the afternoon and there is some breeze pretty much all day. Due to high altitude, the air has reduced density and make it difficult to jump.

Karakul village is a very remote place, with no running water and electricity (except some solar panels).

Events

Roof of the world Regata

Wind

Always some light breeze.

Dangers

No specific dangers, be careful with the extremely cold water (and ice patches) and possible altitude sickness.

It is your responsibility to check whether kitesurfing is allowed at the spot; you might need a 'special permit' or membership from a local kite organization, etc. Local rules can change. Respect others - kiters or not; kite safely and enjoy the wind!

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Amenities

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Accommodation

Wind

Heads up: this is a thermal spot: the wind comes from the land heating up during the day. Thermal wind usually doesn't show up on the forecast and in stats as they're fairly local. The windy days include our modelled thermal days that should be sufficient to kite. The average wind speeds don't include the thermal, so expect more wind than they show.

Wind strength (kt)

Thermal estimate

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Windy days (12+ days, incl. thermal est.)*

Dominant wind direction

Avg. wind (kt)

Avg. wind (12+ days)**

Kite season

Windy days by wind strength

Wind rose

Wind speed (kt)

Avg. gusts (12+ days)

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Weather

Air temp. (high/low)

-13º -22º

-11º -20º

-7º -16º

-2º -10º

4º -4º

9º -1º

14º 4º

13º 3º

10º 0º

2º -7º

-5º -15º

-10º -19º

Water temperature

0º

5º

10º

11º

8º

4º

1º

Sunny days

Rainy days

Rainfall (mm)

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* Days with at least 12+ kt (or other threshold) of wind for at least 2h during daytime. Excluding thermal wind, unless the estimate is applied.

** Average wind for days that get at least 12+ kt (or other threshold) during daytime. Ie days with "no wind" are excluded. Does not include thermal boost.

Data stats by Kite Jungle are based on Open-Meteo.com and other sources More

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Karakul lake (Ej Wolfson)

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Be sure to travel abroad with a travel/medical insurance that covers kitesurfing activity.