 | Kyrgyzstan Off the Beaten Path | Tips 1 - 10 of 18 |  |
Popular Off the Beaten Path | Miscellaneous Off the Beaten Path Tips | All Tips (18) Cholpon Ata, on the shores of Lake Issyk Kul, is a popular resort place where you can have a swim, burn in the sun at the beach or -if you have more days- hike up some snowcapped mountains around.
As soon as I stepped off the bus, a young girl offered me room at their family home. For $5, incl. bf and diner. A really lovely family. And great food. The mother presented a fantastic salad, -it must have taken her long time to prepare- but the other 2 (French) guests refused it, didn't eat anything of it because they didn't trust her hygenic standards. I felt so ashamed and sorry for her! I ate a lot and had no probs, of course!
So I went to the beach in the afternoon, very exciting because where can you have such a pleasant swim (22c) at altitude like that (1600m), with views on impressive white peaks?!
Next morning I went out for a look at the petroglyphs, a field of stones with pictures scratched on it, dating back 500BCE, but I got lost in the countryside and none of the locals could explain me the location or even understand what I meant only using handsigns!
Back to the family, I took the oldest daughter to the small museum. Quite interesting, with good displays on ethnology and the Kyrgyz "Manas" epics, that take reputedly some 500.000 pages! Leave a Comment |
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From Karakol you can arrange a lot of superb trips such as trekking in the Tian Shan or Alatau Mountains, but it’s very hard to do this independently and cheap. An easier option is Altyn Arashan, a few yurts and basic guesthouses around a hot spring set in a beautiful valley (2600m), surrounded by some snowcapped peaks!
You can choose various options for Altyn Arashan. I chose for "Yak Tours" Valentin who offers all inclusive stay -*transport by army vehicle "The Voyager" , stay in yurt, meals and guiding*- for $25/day, which was- thinking back, relatively expensive and bad value but convenient.
Another -more rewarding-option is to go trekking -which should take about 6 hours from Ak Suu village-from where you can arrange a cheap taxi.
Once in Altyn Arashan you can stay in a guesthouse for few $$ or camp. You may hire a local guide or go on your own. Leave a Comment |
As I’m not a citylover, I didn’t explore Biskhek very well during my 9 days stay. Still I can say that it’s a pleasant and useful stopover to relax and do your formalities within a bit of luxury between tough travels.
The highlights to me included enjoying the wide variety of restaurants with it’s nice terraces, hanging around the Ala-Too Square watching life going by, hanging around in the parks and meet some students, a quick walk over the lively markets and buying an English book at the Akademkniga shop on Moskva Road and reading them in my hotel.
I stayed in Hotel Semetey, enjoying the most luxurious room I ever had, with TV, separate living room, sleeping room, balconies, bathroom with unlimited hot water, fridge and all that stuff for $14/room.
But much of the time I spent on arranging my Turkmen and Uzbek Invitation Letters, a Kyrgyz re-entry visa and later –when I received the Letter- the Uzbek visa. It takes too much efforts to explain all this, but if you’re interested please mail me! Leave a Comment |
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In the fairly nondescript –but friendly and scenically located- town of Karakol I had myself dropped at Yak Tours, the business of Valentin who runs a backpackers hostel here .
I was quite happy to stay at Valentins’, as since my start in Moscow 3 weeks before, I didn’t meet any English speaking traveller. The Hostel was full of backpackers, bikers and mountaineers. For the first night I could stay in a tent in the garden.
Next day I spend 2 hours on the internet –during that time I was only able to open just 1 message and reply a short one (it was there that I decided to quit Hotmail in favour of Yahoo!),- after which it took another 2 hours to change a traveller’s cheque. In the afternoon I spend 3 hours on police registration.
The night time was more exciting. Some of Valentins’ staff took us to a local disco in a huge concrete hall full of Xmas tree lights, where we enjoyed the local vodka, the company of reasonably attractive girls and of course the local trend –break dance!
It ended all up with a very annoying streetfight between Russian and Uzbek youth. Leave a Comment |
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Just having lost $100 on the “militsa”-check **, I was really annoyed when sitting on the back seat of the shared taxi to Osh. But this 22 hour journey soon did me forget everything that had happened before!
The road to Toktogul, over high mountainpasses and through dark tunnels, was covered in mist and mostly under construction, and traffic jams were abundant. It’s the only road connecting the isolated South with the rest of Kyrgyzstan.
I had company of 3 young women, one of which Uyghur and 2 Kyrgyz.
After about 6 hours in the car, around midnight, we stopped at a teahouse along the road where they also served fish from Lake Toktogul, which was not very nice, but with 2 bottles of vodka to wash it down, it was all right.
The mood was improving fast. We moved some furniture away so that we had our own dance floor! Think we have been dancing their, along the road, for more than an hour!
When we continued, I was hanging between the two exuberant and half drunk girls. Music loud, singing, the same tape a hundred times. Modern Talking “girl, you’re so sexy don’t you know”. We stopped couple of times to buy new drinks and buy snacks –mainly made from sour milkproducts.
At dawn we stopped at a house on the shores of the beautiful turquoise coloured Lake Toktogul. I went with one of the girls to the lake. Sunrise! Outside the house –in the open air- a few beds were rented out to travellers. We used them for some hours. The driver had to rest.
The second part of the journey, with daylight, was just as fantastic. Some of the most beautiful mountain scenery I ever saw. So many different colours, the Naryn River. Incredible!
Eventually we arrived in Osh after 22 hours in the Daewoo Nexia. A great ride! I had to pay $11 +$3 for not taking the shortcut through Uzbekistan.
Important: the Kyrgyz wanted to take a shortcut near Jalal Abad through Uzbekistan, but if you agree on this, you likely lose your Uzbek visa on just a 15 minute visit!!!!
** see under “tourist traps” Leave a Comment |
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Once in the beautiful Altyn Arashan Valley you can do a lot of outdoor activities, have a bath in the hot springs and -if you dare-, jump in the ice cold river afterwards!
It's amazing to see how the Kyrgyz nomads control their horses. When I came back from the springs one day I was lucky enough to witness a traditional game of Ulak Tartysh , in which two teams on horses at full speed fight each other for a sheeps' carcass. No limits, very cheerful, very skilled, absolutely entertaining!!
I went on a half day hike, crossing a lush valley full of horses, cows and yurts to reach a mountain lake (3300m) and another half day we spent on climbing a nearby (minor) peak.
Then it started to rain, and rain , and rain...it didn't stop! Playing cards in the yurt. Bored.
Decided to go down next day, a thrilling ride in bad weather along deep gorges!
Tip: don't go there when it rains... Leave a Comment |
Osh is Kyrgyzstan’s 2nd biggest city, located in the Islamic Fergana valley and gateway to China (via Irkeshtam), Tajikistan and Uzbekistan as well as a base for trekking the Pamirs.
I stayed in Osh for only 2 days on my way to Uzbekistan, and spend my time mostly in the Park, hanging around the open air Choykana’s (teahouses), where jobless and old men were socializing.
The common seat is the takhta, a square raised platform that you share with some half a dozen of others while sitting on a carpet and leaning on cushions. The teapot is in the middle.
Actually Osh is mainly Uzbek and to be honest I found the people here more welcoming and open than in the rest of urban Kyrgyzstan.
Also don’t forget –although it’s difficult to overlook- to check out the huge and fabulous bazaar!!
Flying to/from Bishkek cost around $35 one way I local currency. But if you're not comfortable in a modern plane I would think twice ;-) Leave a Comment |
This 700km trip over the 3752m Torugart Pass between Bishkek and Kashgar (China) is one of the most exciting road trips I undertook during my travels
The scenery is breathtaking on both sides of the border. At the Kyrgyz side mostly uninhabited wilderness and icy mountains, on the Chinese side it's dry, with steep, red coloured canyons, a red coloured river and some Kyrgyz or Uyghur villages.
Although there's a direct busconnection, foreigners are not allowed to use this (2001).
In fact it was almost impossible to do it independently because of all the hassles and formalities.
I'm not gonna list these here (that's what a guidebook is for), but almost all travellers have their crossing pre-arranged by a travel agent. You can only cross in summer, but even then it's occasionally closed.
I used "Edelweiss" in Bishkek, they took care of everything, including putting me up with other travellers to share the 4WD car. It was not perfect but you are not very realistic if you demand so. It did cost an expensive $140 each with 6 persons including everything besides the night in Naryn ($4) and food.
But it's absolutely fantasic to arrive in Kasgar after the 2 day journey.
important note
"A lot" of travellers nowadays cross the border at Irkestham between Kashgar and Osh. It opened recently and, according to reports, it's hasslefree, even for independent travellers (if you have the proper visa).
The Torugart Pass still remains the complicated, minor crossing as described. Leave a Comment |
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This ride is really fantastic as you will enjoy amazing mountain scenery, interesting birdlife, tiny remote villages and -in summer- yurts and cattle everywhere in the lush and quiet valley!
An interesting option for the more adventurous, If you want to travel to/from Kazachstan or just do some sightseeing or hiking in the Valley.
Arriving from Kazakstan there's no public transport between the border and Karakol, but the relaxed Kyrgyz border officials will help you to get a ride (if there's anything passing).
Otherwise for a good looking $10 note one of the guys was certainly prepared to bring take me the 90 km in his Lada to Karakol! Leave a Comment |
I guess not so many mosques around the world have such a distinct Chinese style. This is because the border with China is so near. The Mosque is located 600 meters from the Main Bazaar in direction of Ak Suu; it was build without nails by architects and artisans belonging to the local Dungan community (Dunga: term used in the former Soviet People to define Muslim people of Chinese origin who feld China in the 19th century).
Non Muslim women cannot enter the mosque itself, they have access to the gardens and to the backyard as besides in all the mosques I've seen in Kyrghyzstan. Leave a Comment |
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on May 19, 2003
on January 12, 2006
