Yilemu Lake
伊雷木湖
A fault-basin lake along the Fuyun earthquake fault zone, its turquoise water cradled by mountains and shaped like a giant “8.”
Yilemu Lake lies in a fault depression about 4 kilometres southwest of Koktokay town. Its Kazakh name means “whirlpool.” It was formed as the Irtysh and Kayirt rivers met and filled the basin. The lake is about 5 kilometres long from east to west and shaped like an “8,” and its water shows deep and pale blue-green shades from minerals. Seen from above, it looks like a huge sapphire, and up close you see cliffs rising on both sides. At its southwest shore is the famous underground hydroelectric station, Koktokay (Haizikou) Hydropower Station. You can drive to viewpoints to look out over the lake, and it is recommended to stay about an hour.
Opening hours
Open all day (viewpoint)