Inylchek glacier is the largest and fastest glacier in Tien Shan and the second largest in the CIS. It is located east of Lake Issyk Kul on the highest and most inaccessible part of all Tien Shan - Khan Tengri massif.
There is a great glaciation in this area; there are many peaks above 6,000 meters, the highest of them - Khan Tengri (7,005 meters) - and the northernmost seven-thousanders - Peak of Victory (7,439 meters). The glacier stretches for 60.5 km, and the total area of glaciation exceeds 657 square kilometers.
The thickness of the ice cover in the lower parts of Inylchek reaches 150-200 meters, so it stores huge reserves of fresh water. The glacier has two large sleeves, which are named North and South Inylchekov. South is considered the largest in the country. The two glaciers used to be connected, but now there is a patch of dead ice above which lies the Upper Lake or Merzbacher Lake.
