Arslanbob - Walnut capital

Shepherd boy at Lookout Point

Arslanbob is undisputed the Walnut capital of the world. It boasts of 10,000 hectares of Walnut forests.

I Travelled to Arslanbob from Osh. The cheapest way to get to get there is by first hopping on to the share taxi to Jalalbad. Then get the bus to Bazar Gargaon. From Bazar Gargaon to Arslanbob on the next bus. There is no direct transport from Osh to Arslanbob.

Accommodation in Arslanbob can be arranged by CBT office. Its a 2 minute walk from the "City Centre".I chose to stay at the edge of town beside the river. As first Indians in Arslanbob CBT we got a free taxi ride to the guest house!!!

The owner of the homestay turned out to be the former village chief. He is a treasure-trove of information about the history of Arslanbob and that of its people. He would talk to us in the evenings about Arslanbob and its past. Having lived through the communist era he would often compare life in today's Kyrgystan with the USSR.He was happy being a free man in his own country with the freedom to practice his religion. But he was nostalgic about the past.

The only mosque in the whole district during communist times was in Bazar Gargaon . The mosque was permitted to open only on fridays. Now there are 13 mosques in Arslanbob .  The soviet state planners had envisioned 1 car for 40 families . Now each family has at least one vehicle. Unemployment is an issue now with many youngsters going to Russia in search for work. When our host built his house 30 years ago all the entire village came to help. Sadly such "traditional" practices were forgotten with the advent of capitalism.

These boys took me to the "farm"

We were offered  chance to visit the local high school.  This school building was constructed in the 1950's.School uniform demands that girls cover their head with scarves and that boys wear suits. Our host was the Kyrgyz-English translator at school.The only Indian cities the students could recollect were Mumbai and Delhi. I found it very difficult to explain how and why there are so many languages in India. Explaining hinduism with its huge pantheon of gods was ,as usual, an impossible task.Quite a few questions cropped up from the students about Sharukh Khan , Aishwarya Rai , Preita Zinta etc etc. Its quite embarrassing when they know more about hindi movies than the Indian "expert" from India :) I should watch a few hindi movies before going back. We were in the school for about an hour and half with the photo session taking most of the time.

The must-see places in Arslalbob are the two waterfalls called "Big waterfall" and "Small waterfall". There are treks to "Holy Lake" and beyond. In the month of May these were are in-accessible due to snow in the mountains. Skiing is becoming popular in Winter. CBT can hep arrange all these activities.

I was invited my Mashoorbecks son to go to the farm in the mountains to look for the cows at about 3 pm. I was told that the farm was 10KM away from the village. I agreed to do the trek. On the way we picked up 3 more of his friends. The trek was extremely beautiful. Enroute we stopped at a shepherds house for tea. I was later told that he was the former teacher at the local high school. We reached the "farm". The term "farm" is a misnomer. The cows are let free on top of the mountain for 3 months. there are no boundaries and cows are free to roam as they like. As were unable to locate the cow. I would have been really surprised if we did find the cow as the area we had to search was immense. On the way back the boys decided to take a steep shortcut. I decided against following them as they decided to take a near vertical path. I got lost on the way back. Was lucky to get home before sunset. 

For a day trip I suggest this following trek. CBT Office -Small Waterfall-Lookout point-Walnut forest-Big Waterfall-CBT office. Small waterfall is has a height 23 meters. There is natural cave at the bottom of the mountain. It has been considered a sacred spot for millennia. Lookout point has breathtaking views of the town and the walnut forests. The trek goes through the walnut forests to the Big waterfall. The most difficult part of the trip is the trek to the from the bast to the top of Big Waterfall.The big waterfall boasts a drop of 83 meters.

Getting there: There are direct share taxis from Arslanbob to Bishkek. It will be a bit cheaper to go to Jalalabad first and get a share taxi from there to Osh. Book for a share taxi directly to Osh and they will pick you up from your CBT guesthouse.