The ice river
Between peaks.
Maryliflower — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Maryliflower — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Maryliflower — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Jürgen Grösel — CC BY-SA 4.0
Engilchek is a vast glacier in the Central Tian Shan of eastern Kyrgyzstan. A long ribbon of rubble-covered ice runs down a valley between towering white peaks, side glaciers pour into it, and 7,000 m summits rise at its head. Its snout is 50 km east of the village of Engilchek. The South Engilchek Glacier is the sixth-longest non-polar glacier in the world and the largest and fastest-moving in Kyrgyzstan, 60.5 km long, with ice 150 to 200 m thick in its lower parts. It flows from the Khan Tengri and Pik Pobedy massif, and its upper reaches lie in China, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. Its meltwater feeds the Engilchek River and the seasonal Lake Merzbacher. Most visitors fly in by helicopter to the base camps on the glacier's edge in July and August to see the ice and the peaks up close, and some walk in on long guided treks. The glacier is about 130 km in a straight line east of Karakol. The area is very remote and high, so only go with a licensed operator, and bring clothing for severe cold.
Between peaks.
On the skyline.
To base camp.
Central Tian Shan, Issyk-Kul Region, northeast Kyrgyzstan
By helicopter or a long trek with a licensed operator.
July and August.