On the edge of Tajikistan’s Pamir Mountains, at 4,000 m above sea level, just kilometres away from China’s Xinjiang, lies the Rangkul Valley: one of the country’s most remote locations. The landscape is arid, barren, and hostile, save for two brackish lakes—Rangkul and Shorkul—whose nutrient-rich waters attract migratory birds from as far away as the Himalayas. After several hours of driving along the single gravel road, we caught our first glimpse of the lake just as the sun had set. The unexpected splash of greenery on the shores, beneath the deep purples of the high-altitude dusk, provided this unique scene.
