We got up at the crack of dawn (well, not quite – the call to prayer came at 4.30 a.m.) to drive for a couple of hours over a rather poor road alongside a beautiful green lake. Eventually we went through an extremely narrow tunnel and emerged rather suddenly at a tiny, chaotic jetty. Another charming young man confirmed that we had indeed got a booking on the ferry (done online weeks ago) and that I had booked enough space (our car was 8.51 square metres, he said, and I had booked 9!). Research pays off.
Lake Koman is part of an enormous hydroelectric scheme built in the 1970s and 1980s, with sheer cliffs in some places and terrific twists and turns.
I have always found it hard to capture landscapes with my ‘proper’ camera, so the video below is taken with my phone – here’s hoping you’re able to enjoy a little of our stupendous two and a half hour journey on Lake Koman.
Spectacular!!
It was quite extraordinary – you’d have loved it!
And you should have been with us! You would have loved it – though maybe not the rather Indian road experience beforehand.
Fantastic photos and description – I felt transported, not just to the mirror lake itself but to the whole rather eccentric experience. What perfectly stunning colours. (More short videos would be welcome!)
It was one of the most majestic boat trips we’ve ever had I think. The reflections were so deep they were almost hallucinatory.
Thanks for feedback on video – today’s was an experiment – so will include more when wifi permits.
Magical. What a great boat trip
It was really special but also very modest ( given the spectacular scenery): a small ferry with space for 9 vehicles and an upper deck with seats around its perimeter. The small Spanish tour party laughed for the entire trip, occasionally bursting into a song about bananas any time anyone ate one..
What was the destination of the ferry? Another tiny road?
Lovely to hear from you. It was a teensy place called Fierze – and then you are right: we ended up on an unpaved road for 5.8 km (note the precision – every 0.1 km was an effort of concentration!) before reaching our wonderful guesthouse in the mountains for tonight and tomorrow. We are not going back on that unpaved road until we have to leave, so expect wonderful wild flowers and some (probably not wonderful) views for tomorrow’s blog!
Extraordinary in every sense. What a journey you are having. And yes I am enjoying just a taste of Lake Koman. Xx
You may remember our trip to Mt Athos last year? Thankfully this trip involved no priests arriving on speedboats – just gorgeous scenery and green water
Video of great majesty, finishing with a little comedy with the feasting woman in the corner. Magnificent lake and impressive organisation, as always.
Re the woman eating, everyone seemed to have brought their breakfast with them. We had our car snacks though they’re not precisely appetising, just functional.
It does look truly wonderful! The driving must be a bit of a strain, though. But the scenery is just fantastic!
The driving needs total focus – in the towns, people just drive in the direction they fancy irrespective of road markings and outside the town’s many of the roads are in pretty poor condition. M is coping admirably of course
Looks spectacular! How extraordinary that you have to book space on the ferry by the yard (or metre if you want to be pedantic) and how apt that Miriam got it right!
Well, the ferry only takes 9 vehicles and they load them v carefully. Our car was parked for us by a v helpful young man. In terms of booking the right space online weeks before, well we are talking about Miriam here!