Lake Charvak

How it came to be

Lake Charvak lies in Bostanliq District between the Ugam, Pskem and Chatkal ranges of the Western Tian Shan. It was created by the 168-metre rock-fill dam of the Charvak hydropower station, built on the Chirchiq River just below the confluence of the Pskem, Koksu and Chatkal. Work began in 1964 and was completed in 1970. Today all three rivers flow straight into the reservoir, and their old meeting point lies under water.

The reservoir holds about 2 km³, covers more than 37 km² and has nearly a hundred kilometres of shoreline. The average depth is 36 m and the deepest point exceeds 120 m. The level drops noticeably in summer, when the water is released to irrigate the Chirchiq valley. The name is thought to come from the Persian char bagh, “four gardens”.

History under water

Before the valley was flooded, the Institute of History and Archaeology of Uzbekistan surveyed it; some 150 archaeological sites now lie beneath the surface. The shores still hold plenty of antiquities, from the Obi-Rakhmat grotto in the Paltau valley to the Khojikent petroglyphs and the tombs of sheikhs at Bogiston.

Holidays by the lake

Guesthouses, holiday camps and children’s camps line the shores, and a ring road runs around the reservoir. Villages such as Yusufkhona, Burchmulla, Nanay, Charvak, Sijjak and Bogiston are full of hotels, dachas and teahouses with raised tapchan platforms. The hills above Yusufkhona are popular with paragliders, and Burchmulla became famous across the former Soviet Union through Sergei Nikitin’s song “Brichmulla”, set to verses by Dmitry Sukharev.

Since 10 July 2020 motorboats have been banned on the reservoir; non-motorised craft and boats powered by alternative energy are allowed. The water holds carp, marinka, trout, whitefish and peled.

Did you know?

Charvak is the uppermost of a chain of reservoirs on the Chirchiq; the much smaller Khojikent and Gazalkent reservoirs lie downstream. The lakeside village of Bogiston is said to be the birthplace of the 13th-century Sheikh Khovendi at-Tahur, whose mausoleum stands in Tashkent; his father, Sheikh Umar, is buried here.

Getting there

From Tashkent the road runs through Gazalkent; after crossing the crest of the Charvak dam, the ring road leads to all the lakeside villages. Expect heavy traffic at weekends and throughout the summer.