Kyrgyzstan

The city of Cholpon Ata is located on the northern shore of Lake Issyk Kul, 265 km east of Bishkek. There are about 11 000 inhabitants.

The city is known for its sandy beach, seaside resorts and hosts many tourists in the summer. Tourists come mainly from countries of the former USSR.

Many hotels, guest houses and apartments are open throughout the summer. Also, you will find animated streets ...

Things to see: The petroglyphs, the museum Rukh Ordo, the Regional Museum Cholpon Ata.

The scenary Song Kul (or Song Kul) lake is the main pasture of nomads. Hundreds yurts are built during summer. The beautiful lake large of about 25-35 km is a natural reserve. Many species of birds are stopping during their long migration. Some tombs from Sakh times and petroglyphs are most ancient traces of live. Different trekking or horseback riding roads are joining the place.

At the eastern tip of Lake Issyk-Kul, Karakol is a fertile garden town of wooden chocolate-box cottages and shady, poplar-lined avenues. Fringed to the east by the Terskey Ala-Too Mountains, which tower dramatically over its low-rise skyline, Issyk-Kul ripples 10 km to the west.

Karakol is the best base from which to explore the lakeshore and Central Asia's prime trekking and mountaineering routes. With the most spectacular parts of the Central Tien-Shan right on its doorstep and newly open to foreign visitors, the town attracts trekkers, hikers and climbers from all over the world.

Karakol and its surroundings have just as much to offer their less energetic visitors. Besides one of Kyrgyzstan's largest and most colorful bazaars, a nomadic livestock market and several good museums, its spectacular environs boast an endless array of truly unique day trips. Blood-red cliffs, hot springs, Scythian burial mounds, nomad camps and sandy beaches thousands of miles from the sea are all within easy reach.

The town was build since 1869, one year after Teplokluchenka (actually name Ak-Suu). There is a unique building in the center of Karakol - ancient wooden orthodox church. But you may visit also the zoo, the regional museum, the wooden mosque, the Panfilov park, the Park Victory, the museum and memorial Prejwalski.

Despite Karakol's status as the administrative center of the Issyk-Kul region, it has only 75,000 residents and a gentle, small-town atmosphere.

The historic-cultural area, which includes the most ancient memorial Tash-Rabat (the 14th century) is situated 110 km to the South from Naryn and not far from the border with China on the height of 3120 m in the canyon Kara-Koyun. Tash-Rabat (Caravan-Sarai) was the inn for merchants and travelers on the ancient Silk Road from Central Asia to China and was the place for rest protecting sellers from bandits in those ancient times.

Tash-Rabat is a comfortable and attractive place for a stop between Bishkek and Kashgar. Today the caravanserai is a square, rather squat-looking building that is much bigger than it appears from the outside because it digs deep into the hillside behind. Inside there is a domed central chamber leading to the remains of 30 dank rooms including, opposite the entrance, the khan’s own quarters. One chamber contains two underground dungeons, one of which has been filled in and another, which is apparently 10 meters deep.

There is also a well and supposedly an old tunnel, possibly leading to a look-out point. The chambers on either side of the entrance each have a broad, raised ledge, which is said to be a communal bed used by the caravanserai’s soldiers, who were garrisoned here to protect against bandits.

Kel-Suu (means lake of water) made for a long day of hiking or to spend a night in a tent.
It is an amazing place for photos during the summer or during the winter. You will have a view of colorful mountains, magnificent granite cliffs, meadows, icy peaks and canyons.
The mountain lake located at the altitude of 3510 m., In the Kurumduk valley (means "the preserved valley") between high cliffs and to the east of the peak Sary Beles (4726 m.). Certainly, formed after a landslide in the 80s. There are different paths to access the lake, the length of which is more than 10 km (100-800 meters wide), then three passes link neighboring China (officially closed).
Along the way, you must present a special permit which can be arranged 1 month before your arrival. If you need this permit, contact us.

Jalal-Abad (also Dzhalal-Abad; since 2003 also spelled Jalalabad and Jalalabat) is the administrative and economic center of Jalal-Abad Oblasty in southwestern Kyrgyzstan, with a population of about 75,000. It is situated at the north-eastern end of the Fergana valley along the Kugart river valley, in the foothills of the Babash Ata mountains (at 40°56′N 73°0′E), very close to the Uzbek border.

Jalalabad is known for a number of mineral springs in its surroundings, and the water from the nearby Hozret-Ayub-Paigambar spa was long believed to cure lepers. Several Soviet era sanatoria offer mineral water treatment programs for people with various chronic diseases. Bottled mineral water from the region is sold around the country and abroad.

One of the branches of the Silk Road

Jalalabad oblast covers 33,647 square kilometers in the south-west of Kyrgyzstan. Except for the small fringes of the Fergana valley, it is a land of mountains. The world's oldest and largest natural walnut forests are in the Arslanbob region of Jalalabad. A pearl of the region is the Sary-Chelek nature reserve with a beautiful alpine lake surrounded by wild fruit orchards and snow-covered peaks.

The region is a center for fruit and vegetable growing and people are engaged in producing wheat, fruits, vegetables, maize, nuts, tobacco and silk-worm cocoons. There are some light-industry plants and hydroelectric stations.
 

The Ala Archa National pass is situated at the end of the Ala Archa valley, at the top of the Ala Archa glacier (West). From entrance of the park, it takes about one day hiking to the foot of the pass. It's possible to sleep in the ancient refuge of the old skibase, or to install tents on the field of the old meteo station. At the pass, there is no track, and it's difficult to find his way. To have a guide is recommended.

At the pass, you can enjoy a great panoramic view of nearest peaks like Toktogul (4361 m.) and other 4000 m. peaks.

The pass open the way from Ala Archa valley to the Karakol-West valley on the other side of the Kyrgyz Alatoo range.