Postcard from Bishkek

Talas is a town in a valley of the same name … and the administrative center of the oblast, which also shares the name. It is cut off from the rest of Kyrgyzstan by the mountain ranges and the “easiest” route is via Kazakhstan – involving the need for a transit visa. It is, however, […]

In the remote north-western corner of Kyrgyzstan is the valley of the Talas River.  There are, basically, only three roads into the valley, one over the mountains from the main Bishkek-Osh highway, another over the mountains from the even more remote Chatkal valley (which is open only for a few months each year) to the […]

To help preserve the priceless, pristine, virgin, natural resources that it possesses, Kyrgyzstan has a total of 83 Specially Protected Natural Territories, (SPNT), with a total area of about 800,000 hectares, which is 4% of Kyrgyzstan’s total land area. Perhaps, the most famous of these specially protected regions is Ala Archa – just outside Bishkek. […]