Brad’s guidebook
Kyrgyzstan - Our Favorite Places
We have travelled a lot around the country. Here's some of our favorite places.
The Madanur Hotel in Karakol is our go to in Karakol. We know the owners well and there is a Sierra cafe on the first floor. A great base for skiing and exploring Karakol and the region. Mountains, valleys, rivers, lakes and history.
Otel' Madanur
ToktogulaThe Madanur Hotel in Karakol is our go to in Karakol. We know the owners well and there is a Sierra cafe on the first floor. A great base for skiing and exploring Karakol and the region. Mountains, valleys, rivers, lakes and history.
Fairytale Canyon is Kyrgyzstan's answer to Colorado's Garden of the Gods. Amazing place. Take water!
Canyon de conte de fées "Skazka"
Fairytale Canyon is Kyrgyzstan's answer to Colorado's Garden of the Gods. Amazing place. Take water!
Kaji-Say and it's beach are a great place to stop to get a feel for both Soviet and Modern Kyrgystan.
This is where the uranium came from for the first Soviet bomb. It is a spectacular ruinous town where you can sense the old glory of 1940's and 1940's USSR and modern Kyrgyzstan all at once.
Kaji-Say
Kaji-Say and it's beach are a great place to stop to get a feel for both Soviet and Modern Kyrgystan.
This is where the uranium came from for the first Soviet bomb. It is a spectacular ruinous town where you can sense the old glory of 1940's and 1940's USSR and modern Kyrgyzstan all at once.
Plan ahead and go to one of the most remote and spectacular places on earth. One most obtain border permits and it is advised to work with an operator like Iron Horse Nomads to arrange this trip. We have driven there ourselves and it is not for people of nervous disposition. High, remote, no cell phones, thin air, yaks, horses, sheep, Soviet gun emplacements, alpine, scary and exhilarating.
Kel-Suu
Plan ahead and go to one of the most remote and spectacular places on earth. One most obtain border permits and it is advised to work with an operator like Iron Horse Nomads to arrange this trip. We have driven there ourselves and it is not for people of nervous disposition. High, remote, no cell phones, thin air, yaks, horses, sheep, Soviet gun emplacements, alpine, scary and exhilarating.
Chunkurchak
Skiing close to Bishkek. Great place to learn.
A trip up Barskoon valley is a must. Continue up unbelievable switchbacks to the Arabel Valley. Bring warm clothes in July as it will be cold up top!
Barskoon Waterfall
Jety Oguz AlleyA trip up Barskoon valley is a must. Continue up unbelievable switchbacks to the Arabel Valley. Bring warm clothes in July as it will be cold up top!
Do NOT miss Arslanbob. Walnut forests and ancient Uzbek culture.
Association de tourisme communautaire d'Arslanbob (Kyrgyz)
Do NOT miss Arslanbob. Walnut forests and ancient Uzbek culture.
To experience the ultimate in classic nomad culture a visit to Song-Kul is a must. Accessible from four directions by four equally spectacular roads, the lake is desolate, cold, and surrounded by beautiful grass covered hills and peaks. The lake itself is at 3000m, around 10,000 feet. It is cold in the summer and can experience high winds as well.
All accommodation is in yurts and each yurt camp provides food and most essentials. There are some yurts around the lake that act as stores, but you should bring supplies with you as well.
The stars are very bright at night here too!
Song-Kul
To experience the ultimate in classic nomad culture a visit to Song-Kul is a must. Accessible from four directions by four equally spectacular roads, the lake is desolate, cold, and surrounded by beautiful grass covered hills and peaks. The lake itself is at 3000m, around 10,000 feet. It is cold in the summer and can experience high winds as well.
All accommodation is in yurts and each yurt camp provides food and most essentials. There are some yurts around the lake that act as stores, but you should bring supplies with you as well.
The stars are very bright at night here too!
The Chui Valley is actually littered with history and ancient sites.
The Burana Tower is perhaps the most famous, but there is much more than just the tower.
Balasagun was an ancient Soghdian city and the tower was part of the city.
Balasagun was founded by Soghdians, a people of Iranian origin and the Soghdian language was still in use in this town until the 11th century.
It was the capital of the Kara-Khanid Khanate from the 10th century until it was taken by the Kara-Khitan Khanate in 1134. It was then captured by the Mongols in 1218. The Mongols called it Gobalik ("pretty city").
Founded by the Kara-Khanid Khanate in the 9th century, Balasagun soon supplanted Suyab as the main political and economical centre of the Chuy Valley; its prosperity declined after the Mongol conquest. The poet Yusuf Has Hajib, known for writing the Kutadgu Bilig, is thought to have been born in Balasagun in the 11th century. The city also had a sizable Nestorian Christian population; one graveyard was still in use in the 14th century.[2] Since the 14th century, Balasagun is a village with plenty of ruins, 12 km southeast of Tokmok.
The Burana Tower, located at the edge of Tokmok and 6 km from the present village of Balasagun, was the west end of the ancient city. It includes the Burana Tower and a field of stone petroglyphs, the bal-bals. The Burana Tower is a minaret built in the 11th century on the ruins of the ancient city Balasagun. It is 24 m (79 ft) in height, though when it was first built it topped 46 m (138 ft). Several earthquakes through the centuries caused much damage, and the current building represents a major renovation carried out in the 1970s.
Tour de Burana
54 БорончиеваThe Chui Valley is actually littered with history and ancient sites.
The Burana Tower is perhaps the most famous, but there is much more than just the tower.
Balasagun was an ancient Soghdian city and the tower was part of the city.
Balasagun was founded by Soghdians, a people of Iranian origin and the Soghdian language was still in use in this town until the 11th century.
It was the capital of the Kara-Khanid Khanate from the 10th century until it was taken by the Kara-Khitan Khanate in 1134. It was then captured by the Mongols in 1218. The Mongols called it Gobalik ("pretty city").
Founded by the Kara-Khanid Khanate in the 9th century, Balasagun soon supplanted Suyab as the main political and economical centre of the Chuy Valley; its prosperity declined after the Mongol conquest. The poet Yusuf Has Hajib, known for writing the Kutadgu Bilig, is thought to have been born in Balasagun in the 11th century. The city also had a sizable Nestorian Christian population; one graveyard was still in use in the 14th century.[2] Since the 14th century, Balasagun is a village with plenty of ruins, 12 km southeast of Tokmok.
The Burana Tower, located at the edge of Tokmok and 6 km from the present village of Balasagun, was the west end of the ancient city. It includes the Burana Tower and a field of stone petroglyphs, the bal-bals. The Burana Tower is a minaret built in the 11th century on the ruins of the ancient city Balasagun. It is 24 m (79 ft) in height, though when it was first built it topped 46 m (138 ft). Several earthquakes through the centuries caused much damage, and the current building represents a major renovation carried out in the 1970s.
Lose yourself in history. Look for human bones at the Necropolis. Imagine Genghis Khan storming through in slaughter.
This is Navekat.
Navekat Archaelogical Site & Necropolis
Lose yourself in history. Look for human bones at the Necropolis. Imagine Genghis Khan storming through in slaughter.
This is Navekat.
This is a place to lose yourself in time at. Open your eyes and look at the walls, find the necropolis and human skulls and bones, then close your eyes and imagine this as a thriving city a thousand years ago. Imagine Genghis Khan streaming through with his hordes slaughtering the population.
That is Navekat, easily accessed and visible from the highway as modern Kyrgyzstan races to and from Issyk Kul.
Navekat Archaelogical Site & Necropolis
This is a place to lose yourself in time at. Open your eyes and look at the walls, find the necropolis and human skulls and bones, then close your eyes and imagine this as a thriving city a thousand years ago. Imagine Genghis Khan streaming through with his hordes slaughtering the population.
That is Navekat, easily accessed and visible from the highway as modern Kyrgyzstan races to and from Issyk Kul.
While the Kyrgyz Republic is littered with petroglyphs, the park or museum in Cholpon Ata, located just on the uphill side of the old airport, is stunning.
Well worth the visit and the chance to really understand what an ancient place Issyk Kul is.
Museum of Petroglyphs
While the Kyrgyz Republic is littered with petroglyphs, the park or museum in Cholpon Ata, located just on the uphill side of the old airport, is stunning.
Well worth the visit and the chance to really understand what an ancient place Issyk Kul is.