Kulikalon sits at around 2,800 metres in the Fann Mountains, in a broad basin below the wall of Mirali and Maria peaks. It is not a single body of water but a group of connected lakes, and the name is often used for the basin as a whole.

The lakes are fed by snowmelt, and their colour shifts through the season from deep blue to a paler turquoise as the sediment load changes. Shepherds bring flocks up to the surrounding meadows in summer, and the basin holds a scattering of seasonal camps rather than permanent settlement.

Trekking#

Kulikalon is one of the standard bases for trekking in the Fann Mountains. The classic route crosses the Alauddin pass to the east, linking the basin to the Alauddin lakes and on towards Artuch, and takes a few days at a steady pace. The area is high enough that acclimatisation matters, and the passes hold snow well into the early summer.

Access is on foot or on horseback from Artuch, which is itself reached from Panjakent. There is no road to the lakes.