Boom Gorge
Traveling from Bishkek to Lake Issyk Kul, after 112km, the road enters “Boom Gorge”, which lies at the eastern end of the Kyrgyz Range and provides the only corridor between the two. Converging together through this narrow canyon are a highway, a railway, and the Chu River.
Sometimes translated into English as “shoestring gorge”, the name “Boom” actually means “evil spirit” – and the gorge acquired this name in recognition of the trials and tribulations it presented to anyone who tried to pass through. The first “outsider” to do so was the 19th century Russian explorer Pyotr Semyenov (Tienshansky) in 1850. He wrote in his memoirs:
“The Boom Gorge is a deserted death trap. We could hardly advance along our path, which didn’t always follow the riverbank, as sometimes the cliffs would drop strictly vertically forcing us to clamber up the walls of this stone corridor. To avoid such detours we preferred, where possible, to wade against the violent torrent that hid the bed of rocks and promised every second to wash us away.”
It took Semyenov and his party two days to cover the twenty two kilometers of the canyon’s length. He describes the night he spent in the gorge as “nearly the most anxious of my life.”
It was, however, as a result of his explorations that the widely held opinion of the day that it was the lake waters which drained out through the gorge to feed the Chu river was disproved. The river flows around the eastern edge of the Kyrgyz Range from Kochkor.
It took another twenty two years before a road was finally built in the explorer’s footsteps through the gorge – in 1871-73 – when a path was cut through following the contours and meandering course of the river.
The modern road is one of the best in the Republic and it may surprising to reflect on the fact that the first attempt to drive a vehicle from Bishkek to Balykchy failed – it ran out of fuel. This might well be the reason for the petrol stations located by the bridge taking the new road over the river to the Kubiki Pass towards Kochor and Naryn. The road is now one of the important links between these two important oblasts.
In the days of the Soviet Union access to Lake Issyk Kul was strictly controlled. To pass over “Red Bridge”, which crosses the Chu river at the mid-point of the Gorge and onto Issyk Kul oblast, it was necessary to have a putyovka – a voucher for accommodation in one of the numerous sanatoria and resorts which line the shores of the lake. Apparently there were long queues of vehicles on the Chui oblast side of the river where the Traffic Police post still stands. These days most people simply drive through and don’t stop – or give a second thought – as they speed on their way to their holiday destinations.
Past the bridge, on the right hand side of the river, (to the west), there is a path to the Konorchak canyons some twenty km further down the road.
The road is lined with statues of Snow Leopards Eagles and Stags and an occasional “pioneer”.
A number of roadside cafes have been established in the gorge to enable travellers to break their journey – taking much of the passing trade from the yurts and cafes at Holodnoya Voda (“Cold Water”) a little earlier in the journey. Although the dining rooms may be larger and more comfortable than in the yurts – the toilets, (like most of the public toilets in Kyrgyzstan), provide somewhat of a “challenge” for many Western travellers ( … and the vehicles in the car park need to be firmly secured – it may be “standard” advice anywhere, but it bears repeating – travellers would be advised not to leave valuables in an unattended vehicle).
There are walls at various places along the gorge designed to prevent landslides cascading down onto the road below – but despite these, occasionally landslips do manage to close the road for a time.
The Bishkek Balykchi railway also travels through the gorge – rising high above the road. Apparently built by German prisoners of war, the first train to travel along the 189km track to Balykchi was in 1948.
The gorge offers plenty of opportunities for rafting, camping and trekking. It also offers possibilities for White Water Rafting.
Bishkek