Kochkor & Kol Ukok lake

Kochkor is a sleepy town in the near the western shore of Issyuk Kul.

Ortho Tokoi  Reservoir

While arriving from Bishkek make sure to stop and enjoy the breathtaking views of the Ortho Tokoi Reservoir. This man make lake is the source of River Chui.

I was staying at one of the CBT guest houses. CBT (Community Based Tourism) homestays are the best ways to enjoy Kyrgyzstan. Sadly there were no CBT guest-houses in Bishkek when i visited in May 2012.

There isn't much to do in Kochkor. The visit to the traditional carpet makers is a wonderful treat. They will show you how carpets are made the traditional way. This institution has become a wonderful way of preserving local customs and practices. Traditional carpet making is quite laborious and time consuming. In the good-old-days when a kid was born, the village would get together and have a fiesta. they would make a carpet. Traditional carpet making involves alot of jumping and dancing on the wool to soften it up. If the carpet came out well, it was said that the kid would get a good spouse :) On the wall I could not help noticing that there was a portrait of Lenin. Unlike most of the countries that have broken off all links with communism, Stalin is quite a popular figure in Kyrgystan.

My Horse

Kol Ukok is one of the many lakes in the mountains above Kochkor. It can only be reached by foot or house-back. As I had only one day, i decided to do rent a horse for a day. My horseman arrived at 8 with my horse. The house was much bigger than me!! She was a beautiful.(See pic) This was the fist time i had been on the horse. Jumping on to the saddle on this big horse required all my acrobatic skills. After I sat on the horse I received by driving instructions. Say "Chu Chu" to make the horse move. "Brrrr Brrr" and tug the lead to stop the horse. Instructions lasted a minute and I got my driving licence. The horses for tourists are quite well trained and never difficult to handle. But I did have my fair share of "communication" issues with the horse.

Once we leave the town behind us, the scenery changes. Farms give way to majestic rugged mountains. The mountains are occupied by shepherds in the summer.They live in yurts or have semi-permanent hutments.In winter they all move down to Kochkor or to other plains in the mountains.

On the way to Kol Ukok my horseman stopped at his friends house.While we waited outside the shepherds little boy came and started talking to us. I'm not sure if he was talking kyrgyz or russian, not that I can understand either of them. That did not seem to matter to the little boy. I offered him a kit-kat and and he took it and ran inside the house. Then he came running out and pulled me into the house. He woke up his little brother and gave him half of what he had got. I continued on the trip.

On the way we met numerous shepherds. Most of them had USSR military issue binoculars with them. Past of the route was covered with ice even in May.

Reached Kol Ukok by 2:30 Pm. It was a major disappointment. The lake looked like a big puddle!!! I was told that the puddle becomes a lake in summer when the ice in the mountains melt. But i would not have missed the trip for the awesome scenery. But the adventure was only beginning.

The sky started getting cloudy. We could see rain  beside us. When it rained I dismounted at another shepherds cottage. The were warmly greeted into the house. We were offered tea. There was a little girl in the house. She was as friendly as the little boy we met earlier.

We did not get rain for a while. But our luck did not last long. It started raining heaving when we reached the outskirts of the village.It was getting cold and dark. I was totally wet.My hands were freezing and it was difficult t to hold the reins of the horse. The house started running as though it was in a hurry to drop us off. I called the CBT guest-house and Mr.Talai came to pick us up in a taxi. Reached the guest-house drenched and shivering by 7 PM.. Nothing like warm tea and home made vodka to calm the nerves.

Kochkor City Centre

Enroute to Kol Ukok Lake