The Celestial Mountains of Kyrgyzstan

Visited in August 2021

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Кыргызстанга кош келиңиз!!!

Kyrgyzstan is beautiful, amazing, charming...wait! wait! wait!! Kyrgyzstan is just Fabulous!!! Well, friends, I have to regroup my thoughts, align them, find the right words and this is becoming a bit difficult for me to express and convey to you all, how fascinating it was to live my dreams for a week! A week is just not enough to explore this wonderful country that offers amazing landscapes. Nevertheless, that one week will remain one of the most exciting times of my life forever.

How many of us have ever thought about this place even once in our travel plans? This beautiful landlocked Central Asian country has pristine landscapes and authentic experience to offer its visitors, but is yet to hold a well deserved position on the tourist map. I am sure, with time, it can be one of the most sought places to visit on this planet.

Celestial mountains, magnificent glaciers, unspoiled landscapes, dense pine forests, wild rivers and serene alpine lakes, rich nomadic culture and history, mouthwatering delicacies, millions of livestock and most importantly warm, friendly and loving people. What more do we need to prioritize this place over any other for a visit?

Our itinerary was around Issyk-Kul lake for a week. Plenty of options to hike all throughout the trip.

1) Bishkek City

2) Chunkurchak - Supara Resort and Paragliding

3) Burana Tower, Silk Road and Kaji Say

4) Skazka canyon - Jeti-Oguz valley - Karakol and Hot Springs

5) Altyn Arashan valley - hiking, hot springs and stay in nomadic Yurt

6) Kyrchyn valley and Kum Bel pass

7) Issyk-Kul lake

I have to mention about our tour organiser - Trip to Kyrgyzstan - https://triptokyrgyzstan.com/ I highly recommend them as tour planner and operator in Kyrgyzstan. They are super well organised, very detailed, understand customer needs, always available to help with suggestions and go that extra mile to make sure of customer satisfaction and comfort.

We landed in Bishkek's Manas International Airport early in the morning at around 430 am. The airport procedures of covid negative / vaccination certificate verification and passport control are very slow. We had to spend almost two hours at the airport to clear all the formalities and step out. We were warmly greeted by our guide and we started our first adventure in Central Asia!

Day 1 - Bishkek

Well, this was a first of its kind experience, where we landed in a country's airport, straight head to a cafe for coffee n breakfast and then start to see the city sights! That was real fun. Did we brush our teeth?? I would like to keep that as a secret :) We explored a few of the important monuments of the capital city and then headed over to Chunkarchuk - Supara Resort.

Ala Too Square, Panfilov Park, State History Museum are a few important sights in the capital. The best part is that the snow capped peaks of the majestic Tian Shan mountains are clearly visible right from the heart of the city. Ala Too is the Kyrgyz name for Tian Shan mountains. The flag of Kyrgyzstan is very unique in its bright red colour with a yellow sun that has the depiction of tunduk which is the roof of a traditional nomadic yurt.

Manas - This name is very prominent in Kyrgyzstan. He is the national hero of Kyrgyzstan and holds a very special place in the Kyrgyz history. The international airport in Bishkek is named after Him.

Chunkurchak Valley:

As we drove to the beautiful Supara Resort nestled in the scenic valley of Chunkurchak, we saw stunning views of Tian Shan, several herds of sheep and horse with herdsmen and shepherd's dog on the watch. We were viewing a trailer of what's waiting for us in this extra ordinary country in the days to come.

Supara Resort:

Supara resort has yurt rooms, which looks like nomadic yurts, but is modern and has all facilities. The resort's ideal location makes it a wonderful choice for acclimatization, exploring the pine forest, hiking up and down the valley. The unobstructed views of the mountains around is indeed a delight for eyes. The balcony in the yurt room has big French windows to get those beautiful golden sun rays to wake up and enjoy the morning in the valley.

Day 2 - Paragliding:

This was the first time for us to glide in the air like a bird. We drove upto the mountain and took a tandem paragliding of 1000m at the Ata Beiyt paragliding centre. This was the best way to enjoy the snow capped mountains in over a 40 minutes glide in the air, with the instructor doing some superb glide moves with the parachute for an unmatched experience. The entire experience can be shot on go pro cameras for an additional cost, and is worth it!

I have a very strong love for mountains. I realised this during my earlier trips to Kashmir, Tibet, Norway etc. I thought to feast my eyes with more sights of mountains and calm it with this trip to Kyrgyzstan. Well, the trip was indeed a feast for my eyes, but the thirst for mountains never get quenched. This is a hard realisation to make! I started to get the 'mountain calls' as soon as I reached back in Dubai and now got to figure out how to pacify my mind :)

On our way to Burana tower, we did a picnic lunch by a river side. It was splendid to have the salads made from fresh, organic veggies with yummy dressing, authentic Kyrgyz bread, cheese and nice tea and coffee. I call my dear guide, Pavel, a moving restaurant :) We all together chopped the veggies, prepared the dressing, set the table ad had the delicacies on nature's lap enjoying the beautiful sights all around.

Kyrgyz bread bakery:

Burana Tower:

We arrived at Burana Tower, which has a lot of history to say about the yesteryears of this amazing country. The reigns of various rulers, the invasions of Ottomans, Turks and Mongols who all wanted to seize the control of Silk Road. Burana Tower was part of a mosque built centuries ago and is the only remnant in the complex. There are many grave-markers known as Balasagun monuments near the tower.

Orto Tokoy valley, Boom gorge and Bactrian camels:

As we drove past the silk road, we bought fresh steamed corn from road side vendors and then drove past the beautiful Boom Gorge to get some fantastic views of the Orto-Tokoy valley. It was super windy at the view point that offered spectacular views of the valley.

The celestial mountains bestowed their most breathtaking views on us. I have no idea how many photos I would have clicked of every view of the mountains, but never felt enough :) We finally reached the Art Al Hayat guesthouse, situated in the southern side of the great Issyk-Kul lake.

The guesthouse has an amazing garden with fruit bearing tress like apple, pear, apricot, grapevines and lot of exotic flowers. Next day, it was interesting to take a morning walk in the garden.

Day 3 - Skazka valley, Jeti Oguz valley, hot springs:

The landscape changed as we entered the Skazka valley, aka Fairy tale valley. The name is perfect for the valley, with its bright reddish orange hillocks all around. The place is rich in minerals and has been undergoing corrosion over several thousand years, resulting in the amazing spectrum of colour and unique landscapes. We did a bit of hiking here to the top of the canyon, where we got lovely view of Issyk-Kul.

Issyk-Kul lake:

The largest lake in Kyrgyzstan - Issyk-Kul. Its large, beautiful and seems to be the 'sea in Kyrgyzstan'. There are picnic spots all around the lake, people also fish in the lake, kids play in the beaches and this place is awesome to spend time. The gentle breeze and the soothing sound of waves touching the shore gives a 'zen' effect altogether.

We took an off road drive to a valley for another picnic lunch. This time, it was on the way to the gold mines of Kyrgyzstan. We saw several trucks operating on the road, which are from the gold mine. It started to drizzle and the dense pine trees gave a good 'nature umbrella'. After lunch, we planned to drive to Jeti-Oguz. The rain continued and our guide made a wonderful plan to visit natural hot springs for a refreshing mineral water bath. This water is said to have therapeutic effect

By the time we finished the hot spring plunge, the weather changed dramatically. It was bright and sunny again and the best time to visit Jeti-Oguz. Pavel drove us to the summer pastures of Jeti-Oguz. It was the golden hour in the evening. Wow...the valley literally shone in the warm sunlight. The green meadows, grazing herds of cow and sheep - this was the kind of scenery I could see in my dreams. The Seven Bulls rock stood up high in the valley and hours just flew by while we enjoyed the landscape.

Berkutchi and Nomads:

The traditional eagle hunters are called Berkutchi. We met a little one training his eagle in Jet-Oguz. Also, nomads grazing their cows in the summer pastures.

After a nice Kyrgyz dinner at an ethno restaurant, we headed to Green Yard hotel in Karakol for a good night sleep.

Day 4 - Altyn Arashan and Yurt stay:

The most awaited day of the trip! Plenty of hiking, abundance of sceneries, snow mountains, natural hot springs and above all, YURT stay!!!

Altyn means 'gold' in Kyrgyz. We were told that UAZ Russian military van will be hired for our journey to Altyn Arashan, as only those vans can compact the roads to the mountain. Initially I felt a bit exaggerated, but this was 100% true. You can see the pics for yourself to know :)

We hiked and the van followed us. It was an amazing trek up the mountain to the yurt camp. The river always followed us, sceneries were amazing. Lots of fresh air and felt so good all over the journey, never felt tired! We did our all time favourite picnic lunch at a scenic spot by the river and headed towards the yurt camp, where we will stay overnight.

The beautiful yurt camp is nestled in the green valley with fantastic views of mountains. There are thermal hot springs which we explored in the evening, one by the river side and another set like an indoor pool. Yurt is a make shift home of nomads in Kyrgyzstan. They are cozy ones with beddings inside and a furnace to keep the interior warm. The roof is tunduk design.

Hotsprings:

After breakfast, we bid farewell to our host and hiked down for long. The views were amazing as expected. Flocks of sheep and horses grazing the lush green meadows. I am sure these animals must be very happy to feast on the best green grass that they produce the best milk and dairy products.

Day 5 - Karakol, Kyrchyn Valley, Kum-Bel pass:

We visited the Trinity Church and Dungan Mosque in Karakol and then drove to the beautiful Kyrchyn valley. We hiked down the valley, enjoyed the evening sun and the greenery all around.

We strolled by the river and finally drove towards the Azure Sports Resort by the side of lake Issyk-Kul on its north side.

Day 6 - Back to Bishkek:

We drove to Bishkek and stayed at a hotel in the city. A quick nap to catch the early morning flight back. A few final views of Tian Shan (Ala Too) from this trip.

Local Market:

Food:

Kyrgyz people are so loving and sincere, my experience:

We are usually very careful during our trips to make sure the safety of our belongings. In this trip, to my own surprise, I left my backpack which had all our passports ad money, at a cafe in Bishkek. After returning to hotel and another 30 minutes, we realized that my bag is missing. We ran back to the cafe (Boris Cafe, Bishkek) and the lovely crew had kept my bag safe!! No words to thank them, else the trip would have ended up as a disaster.

Similar to this, in the excitement of enjoying the beautiful views of the river, I left my sun glasses and cap by the riverside way below the valley where Supara resort is situated. I didn't realise this as by the time we hiked back to the resort from the river, it was already 8 pm. When we sought help, a staff from Supara quickly drove us in his car to the riverside and we got our belongings back, safe.

These incidents cement the warmth and sincerity of the Kyrgyz people in my mind. We felt very safe during our entire trip and enjoyed every moment in this incredibly beautiful country.

Well, Kyrgyzstan is an amazing travel package - To me, it resembled Switzerland, Norway, Tibet, Bavarian countryside, Jordan... The landscapes change dramatically as we drive a few kilometers, and you feel like in an altogether new land! So why visit all these places, just visit Kyrgyzstan :)

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кош болуңуз!!!

Capital City - Bishkek

Visa - e-Visa available. Please visit govt. website for more information

Currency - Kyrgyz Som

Best Time to Visit - June - October

Popular Souvenirs - Yurt miniature, woolen carpets, honey, woolen cloths, bags