A Russian traveller named Putimtsoff was the first to knowingly visit the lake in 1811. He gave a good description of it, mentioning rocks of different colours in the lake, and the furious winds blowing around the lake. Thirty years later Alexander von Schrenk explored the lake and its surroundings.[1]

Literally, the name Ala-Köl would mean 'variegated lake,' although it probably takes its name from the Ala-Таu mountains lying further north.[2]