Baraskoon Gorge - Of Yetis and UFO's

Baraskoon Gorge is on the north shore of Issyuk Kul lake at an altitude of 3819 meters above sea level. It take one hour from Kaji Sai Village.There are no buses or share taxis to Baraskoon so arrange for your own personal transport.

We were staying with the Jumagul family. There are no other accommodation in the vicinity.

We arrived there by mid day. Our car broke down enroute. We managed to fix the car by tying a seizing wire with a kitchen fork to the gear rod. Our temporary was strong enough to last for the rest of the trip.

The road to Baraskoon gorge is kept in good condition as it is the only road to Kumtor mine. Kumtor was a small mine during Soviet times. Kumtor mine is one of the largest gold mines in the world today. Mining does not stop even when the temperature becomes -30C. This Canadian mine has become a big employer of local people. There are controversies as some people claim that the country is not getting its fair of wealth from the mine.

Tears of Snow Leopard

I spent the rest of the day waking and exploring the neighboring areas. The Gumajul's live in an area of pristine beauty.Beside them is the sari Monyok river. I found a big amethyst rock in the river. I could not have asked for a better (or bigger) souvenir from Kyrgyzstan.

Next day we went to Baraskoon pass at an altitude of 4000 meters. Jumagul was the guide for the day. It was still snowed down even in May.On the way was the fozen waterfall called "Tears of the Snow Leopard". Had picnic at Sari Manyok pass. 

Further up from Baraskoon pass the road becomes slushy.To reach the village at the end of the road one would meed a powerful off-roader. In the mountains village live a group of hardy people. Some people believe that they are the original inhabitants of Kyrgyzstan. They live in the mountains all year long cultivating and rearing animals. These people are quiet reclusive and do not mix with others. Some of their kids do come down to the villages to attend school but even they the kids are "reserved". 

There is alot of mystery surrounding the mountains of Kyrgyzstan, especially the Baraskoon Gorge.My guide had the opportunity to visit this reclusive village by helicopter. All of then noticed that there were triangular patterns of burnt out vegetation. When they reached the village they were curious and asked the villagers. They told them without any hesitation that it was the marks caused by the spaceships landing!!! They claimed calmly that it was a regular occurrence. Juma Gul told me that he and Maiyam had seen a cigar shaped UFO  outside their house.

Yuri Gagarin mountain and waterfall

Our guide had once bought some tourists to Jumagul's house. As there were alot of people he was sleeping in the veranda in a sleeping bag. To prevent wolves from jumping in he had wedged a table to the entrance to the veranda. At night he heard somebody opening the bags. In the moonlight he could distinctly make out a human figure. It was about 6 feet tall, hairy, had very long arms and walked with a stoop. This humanoid was 1 meter away from our guide and rummaging through the backpacks for food.On seeing this he cried out and the yeti jumped over the table into the darkness.Next day they realised that the bags in the car had been opened at night and food taken. I've talked to people in Nepal who claimed to have seen yeti footsteps but this is the first time I've met somebody who saw a yeti up close and personal. And I was staying in the room adjacent to the yeti sighting room.

There were no Yeti's or UFO for me this trip. Or maybe they are scared of me.......

The "official" space connection in Baraskoon is the Yuri Gagarin Mountain and waterfall. The space pioneer practiced mountain survival in there mountains before his historic space flight. The waterfall was partially frozen in May.Walked over the ice and reached the top of the falls. Its easy to see why it was one of Gagarin's favourite places.

Baraskoon