Postcard from Bishkek

A couple of weeks ago there was an interesting news report which said that an project established with the aim of helping the development of tourism in Kyrgyzstan had identified the ten most popular sites in the Chui oblast here in Northern Kyrgyzstan.

The results were based on requests for information that they had received and responded to in their first year  of operation … I am told that they received over 4000 such requests.

That made it a particularly interesting list.  Most lists of highlights are composed by people like me … people who know the places and list some of their personal favourites – places that they found interesting – but this list was comprised of places which people had heard of form one source or another (perhaps friends or family who had already visited them, or a blog post, or a reference in a guide book), and had decided that they were interested in seeing more.

I scanned this particular list with interest …

Some of the entries were no surprise – but some were a little unexpected unexpected.  I was intrigued by the range of geographical areas covered (within the oblast), the types of sites and the different activities could be undertaken.

The list included, (as far as I am aware, in no particular order):

• The Ala Archa National Park … no surprise here because this seems to be on everyone’s list of “Must see … Must do” lists – a beautiful alpine valley just 40 kilometers south of Bishkek in the Kyrgyz Krebet with a variety of routes for trekking, or places to simply relax and have a picnic.  It stretches for some 18 kilometers up the valley, covering about 194 square kilometers and the altitude varies from 1500 to 4895 meters above sea level.  It contains within its boundaries something like 50 mountain peaks, 20 glaciers, waterfalls and springs feeding two major rivers.
• Zhashyl Kol or Green Lake … this refers to a lake at the head of the Chon Kemin valley just over 150 kilometers to the East of Bishkek, in the Kungey Ala Too just North of Issyk Kul.  From the end of the Road, a trek or horse ride takes one to Green Lake set in a stark picturesque valley.
• Suusamyr … Most people simply zoom through this lush green high mountain meadow on the far side of the Kyrgyz Krebet as they travel along the Bishkek-Osh highway but it’s worth staying longer.
• The Kegety Waterfall … up a side valley from the narrow Kegety Gorge in the Kyrgyz Krebet, a trek or horse ride can take one up to the Bel Saz jailoo, the Sharkyratma waterfall, Kushkonok forest, Kisl Beles forest, Chaunde Gorom viewpoint and Kara Unkur (Crying cave).
• The Chunkurchak Gorge … Only 25 kilometres from Bishkek, this tiny gorge lies to the east of the village of Tash Dobo. It is the home of the Chunkurchak State Biological Reserve – created to protect the sites where rare verities of tulips grow – such as the Craig Tulip (“King Tulip”), which can grow heads as wide as 15-18 cms, and the Zinaida Tulip which sports bright red flowers with green veins on the outside and yellow-gold inside. The flowers usually bloom in April and May. The gorge itself is very narrow at the mouth and not easy to find. Once inside it opens out to form a wider Tahr valley, which boasts 200m cliffs towering over a rushing stream. It is famous for the Pigeon’s waterfall. 
• Coronet Peak … at the head of the Ala Archa valley, at the head of the Ak Sai glacier, comprising of six individual peaks, (or towers), arranged in a semicircle, or  horseshoe … or crown – hence the name Coronet Peak.
• Kol Tor Lake … a trek from the narrow Kegety Gorge in the Kyrgyz Krebet takes you up the Kol-Tor gorge, a side valley, to the Kol-Tor lake (Dead Lake) with it’s turquoise water and numerous beautiful waterfalls.
• The Chon Kemin National Park … founded in 1997 in the Chon-Kemin river valley, the park included almost all the forest farms of the Kemin district. The park’s main task is to preserve the unique landscapes with their diversity of fauna and flora. It contains a hunting and a botanical reserves – and the mausoleum of Shabdan Baatyr.
• The Konorchak Canyons … some 125 km from Bishkek these canyons stretch for nearly 200 km. To see Konorchak Canyons completely would take a long time – but it is possible to spend a few days exploring the spectacular scenery. The canyons have romantic names like “Grand Canyon”, “Bobsleigh” and “Skyskraper”. They were formed about one and a half to two million years ago and since that time erosion by wind and water has turned a plain plateau into gigantic stone pillars, some of which are 400-500 meters high. The canyons see almost no precipitation at any season of the year – between 1980 and 1990 the canyons received no snowfall at all, and in the last decade of the twentieth century snow has fallen twice. If the air temperature in Bishkek is 20 degrees below zero, in the Konorchak Canyons it is +5 degrees – however, in recent times the climate in the Canyons is becoming a little colder. One peculiarity of the Konorchak Canyons is that plants growing there tend to be very large – much larger than usual. One of the main attractions at Konorchak is Segizkhan Shokhy, with slopes covered with fossilized seashells the size of the child’s fist and the remnants of lava.
• The Burana Tower ... Some 10km south of Tokmok, the Burana Tower is all that remains of the ancient city of Balasagun, set at the foot of the Shamshy valley. The city was established in the 10th century on the site of an older settlement, and was the birthplace of the philosopher and poet Jusup Balasugyn who wrote an epic poem called Katadgu Bilig, (“The knowledge which brings happiness”), which has been translated into several languages. The tower itself is thought to have been a Minaret and is the site of a museum complex which, in addition to the tower, includes reconstructions of mausoleums found on the site; a mound that is all that remains of the palace/citadel; a collection of balbals, (grave markers used by nomadic Turkic peoples who used to roam Central Asia), and petroglyphs, (paintings on stones) and a small museum.

In some respects it was a limited list – restricted as it was to just the one oblast – the Chui oblast here in Northern Kyrgyzstan. As a result it was missing such sites as:

• Altyn Arashan, Dheti Oguz, Ala Kol Lake, the Semenovka and Grigorievka Gorges, the Enilckek flacier and Merkbazzer Lakes, Peak Pobeda and Khan Tengri, Karakol – teh church, the mosque the museum and animal market – and not forgetting the resorts, beaches and towns on the shores of the Pearl of the Tien Shan itself – Lake Issyk Kul … because they are in the Issyk Kul oblast;
• The walnut forests of Arslan Bob, Lake Sary Chelek, the Besh Aral Nature Reserve and the Petroglyphs of Saimaluu Tash  … because they are in the Djalal Abad oblast;
• The Kan-i-Gut cave, Karavshin and the home of the Aigul flower … because they are in the Batken oblast;
• The Holy Mountain of Suleiman Too, the Uzgen Mausoleums and Minaret, Lenin Peak, Abishir Sai Canyon, Aravan and the Chil Ustin Caves … because they are in the Osh oblast;
• The Manas Gumbez, Besh Tash and Sheker – the home of Chinghiz Aitmatov … because they are in the Talas oblast;
• Kochkor, Son Kul, Torugart, Chatyr Kul and Tash Rabat, (one of my personal favourites), because they are in the Naryn oblast.

Even in Bishkek there were sights missing like the main Ala Too square, the central greenway and the the Historical Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts, the Orthodox Cathedral and the Opera and Ballet Theater …

And that’s only for starters …

The question of what counts as a “Must Do …” or “Must See …” is a matter of individual choice and personal taste … and there is no point in arguing over such things.

What we can say is that Kyrgyzstan is blessed with a wide variety of possibilities – there’s something for just about everyone – and that …

“… in Kyrgyzstan, it is possible to run out of superlatives when trying to describe what you can see and do”.

 

 

Tags: Kyrgyzstan, Tourism