This land is a maze of rivers and mountains in the heart of Asia. She is beautiful from beginning to end, from the Pamir to the Tien Shan mountains. To the tourist organization here is still far, however, the undoubted advantage is aviamotornoi. This country, which is to meet in the summer.
It is a maze of rivers and mountains in the heart of Central Asia, its name is made up of all consonants, Kyrgyzstan, mysterious, like her place in the world. The mountain chain of the Tien-Shan and the plateau of Pamir, its geographical monuments, the tops of the first separate it from China and Kazakhstan, and high-altitude plains of the second linking it with Tajikistan. After the “Tulip Revolution” in 2005, tourism is becoming one of the main spheres of its economy, and the company of Europeans with backpacks back year after year explore its untouched nature.
Just so we’re clear: Kyrgyzstan or Kyrgyzstan, is not suitable for those who need comfort. Cities here are a few banks and exchange bureaus are even less; only main roads are paved, mobile communication is often lost. However, here just to fly, and this country can boast another very rare quality: every square kilometer of its territory is full of wonders. So in the summer you should decide on that at another time of the year is impossible, namely, to enter the country from the North, from Kazakhstan, across the border in the Karkara valley, which from autumn to spring inaccessible due to snow. The border can only be reached by taxi and it is a container standing near the unpaved road, surrounded by a plain, where freely grazing horses, as in the days of Genghis Khan. Officials at the border can not wait for this opportunity to speak with the Italians, but it is better to be careful, because one of the main hazards in Central Asia is the corrupt law enforcement.
The first city in Kyrgyzstan, located in dozens of kilometers from the border, and in this part of the country has no public transport. If you’re not in a hurry and did not accept the proposal of the police to you at exorbitant prices drove their friend — you can walk to reach the village of Karkara and there to wait until you pass someone, it would be possible to ask you for a ride. Better get used to it: in a country where few buses, but the taxis move, only when all the seats are occupied, Hiking and hitchhiking for money is the only thing you can rely on.
Two hours by car you can drive to Issyk-Kul, second largest mountain lake in the world, famous for the fact that it does not freeze even in winter, although located at an altitude of 1600 meters. Already long gone are the days of the cold war, when the entry into the region was banned to non-residents, as the lake was the base for military trials of the Soviet army. Now, Issyk-Kul is a tourist attraction with hotels and resorts that continue to Bud around the town of Cholpon-ATA, the capital of the resort nightlife, the main feature of which is the kitsch and crowds of Russian and Kazakh tourists, jet skis and tents where they sell t-shirts with a picture of Vladimir Putin. Western tourists it may seem unbearable, but this place is one of the few opportunities to find an ATM and restaurants that meet European standards of comfort. On the road running along the South side of Issyk-Kul there are no crowds of tourists, and the life of the Kyrgyz continues to follow its traditional course. Near Barskoon village, where the produce of the tent, and in the small town of Bokonbaevo every August is held the festival of falconry.
Kyrgyz city, which in the country quite a bit, not too remarkable. The only sights of Bishkek is buildings and statues of the Soviet period, and the millennial city of Osh, located on the southern border with Uzbekistan is stifling jumble of low houses, markets, and currency exchange. Landscape, when you move from one region to another, is always full of noise: the rivers flowing through the rocky gorges, blue lakes, snow-capped mountains on the horizon. One of the peculiarities of Kyrgyzstan is the possibility to find accommodation in the local community in private homes or yurts, typical of the Central Asian mobile homes similar to the round tents. Across the country there is a tourism office in helping tourists to find accommodation or arrange horse riding excursions. In Arslanbob, famous for one of the world’s largest walnut forest, is home to around 20 families host travellers on farms and in country houses, in the yards of which roam geese and chickens.
Sonkel ‘ lake, located at an altitude of 3 thousand meters above sea level, is the main attraction of the country. It is about a three hour drive from Kochkor, but the most interesting to get to the top. Local agencies offer a route in which you will have to spend at least two days in the saddle and two nights in shepherd’s Yurt. A guide can be a Kyrgyz lad, not knowing a word of English, but in order to understand the life of Central Asian nomads, the translation you need. Here drink Mare’s milk, eat pilaf; instead of the toilet dug pits in the ground, local water is flowing in the rivers water. Second day riding more than difficult test, because all the bones and muscles cry out for mercy, but the final goal justifies all efforts spent for years to come. Sonkel ‘ surrounded by mountains of Tien Shan and is located in the valley, dotted as far as the eye enough, yurts, flowers and summer pastures. Enough sun, clouds, stars, sunsets igniting the sky, and suddenly razrazilsya thunderstorms to the landscape unforgettable. However, a characteristic here and silence, broken only by the wind and the neighing of horses hundreds of horses running wild, galloping through the meadows this very secluded area in the world.
