Set in the heights of the towering Tian Shan range, Lake Son Kul is Kyrgyzstan’s second-largest lake. Unlike Issyk-Kul, its location on a 9,600 ft plateau is difficult to reach and freezes in winter. During the late spring and summer, however, its shores and surrounding meadows are used by the nomadic sheep-herding tribes around Naryn, Kochkor and Al Bashi. Weird stones and stone circles suggest the region has been used as summer pastureland since the dawn of humanity. The air is fragrant with the scent of herbs and diverse bird species and animals including lynx, leopards and wolves spend their summers on the plains backed by the snow-capped peaks.