Finally, in the Fan Mountains. Our host in Artuch is a guide for “well-known French trekking agencies” (French is spoken here), and he also provides the lodging for the tourists … we are of course invited. They convince us that there is a much better way to visit the Fan Mountains than the one we have planned: “just visit Kulikalon, then cross the Alaudin pass; don’t worry for the bikes, we transport them on the mules – easy. Then you have an easy day by bike to Iskanderkul”. We don’t hesitate for long, this is totally unexpected, but indeed a great idea.
Here is the map of the following 4 days .

Day 1: From Artuch to Kul-i-kalon
Kul-i-kalon means simply “big lake” in Tajik. The 4-wheel road to the “Artuch Alplager” – which looks quite nice –is quite acceptable by bike, sometimes a bit steep, small portions on which we have to push (1h1/2 for the 7km). There, we transfer our luggage on the mules and continue (for a little while) on the bikes. First it feels great, incredibly light, but quickly it gets clear that Kulikalon is NOT reachable by bike. The mules wait for us in the shadow where the path gets really steep and stony. The lake and the surrounding area are beautiful (see photos as an evidence). We put up the tent close to our friendly shepherds’ / tourist guides’ camp, not the best but a nice place close to the lake.

Day 2: Around Kul-i-kalon
This is supposed to be a pretty touristy place but we don’t see any organized groups, just a few individual travelers camping around the lake. We are at 2800m and it’s very calm. We visit the series of 6 lakes starting from Kulikalon all along the valley leading to the foot of the north wall of Chimtarga, the highest Peak of the region. We go straight to the 5th and 6th lake to admire the colours and the impressive Chimtarga wall (not much is left of the glacier). In the afternoon, we visit the 4th lake hosting the camp of a group of Russian climbers who are here for a month; we skip the two smaller lakes to explore a bit the 1st lake before the sun disappears behind the clouds.

Day 3: Over the Alaudin Pass to the Alaudin Lake
We are supposed to leave early but, of course not. We must first take a shepherd’s breakfast, and charging the bikes on the mules is more complicated than the other day. Our guides are two boys (I don’t remember their age, the older one is perhaps 10) and a dog, to take care of the boys on their way back. All the way to the pass, we have nice views on Chimtarga, then on the lakes, and from the pass a stunning view on the surrounding summits and down to the Alaudin Lakes with their astonishing colour. Vegetation is quite different on the other side of the pass. On the way up (on the west side), only short grass and tiny flours, whereas the way down (east side) is awfully stony but covered by a much more generous vegetation. The shores of the Alaudin Lake are much more touristy than Kulikalon: several camps of larger (organized) groups, as well as a number of smaller ones. Here, we get some information from the troubles in Khorog, entry point to the Pamir. We are again almost at 2800m but not even half an hour from the Alplager and the (dirt) road.

Day 4: From the Alaudin Lake to the Mutney Lake and back
We spend a day exploring the valley climbing up to the Mutney Lake. From there start the climbs to the Chimtarga pass and summit, and to the Kaznok pass (without the bikes, we would cross the latter to reach Iskanderkul). In the morning, the weather, the views on the Alaudin Lake and the mountains towering up above the valley are magnificent. From the muddy Mutney Lake, to reach the Chimtarga or Kaznok Pass we would need another day, and our tent --- as we don’t have either with us, we have to start our descent in the rain. At Alaudin Lake it's almost crowded now, but plenty of nice people to talk to …