18 day Kyrgyzstan itinerary

Bread Maker

5th May : Arrived in Bishkek. Stayed at the Nomads home guesthouse. It is located behind Eastern Bus station. It is also walking distance from Alom Uddin market. It was here that I met a whole group of like minded backpackers. Two people that I remember were were the German Anthropologist and Japanese linguist. The German anthropologist was doing his research on Manjulata (around Issyuk-Kul lake). My Japanese friend had come with the intention of learning Russian but he got employment as personal trainer of the national wrestling team. Kyrgyzstan seems to be a good transit point to get visas for further travel. There were a fair share of people waiting for their visas. Make sure to buy freshly baked bread for the bread maker near the bus station.

Tok Mok Mountains

6th May : Went to Tok Mok mountains on the outskirts of town. We were in a bus arranged by Trekking Union of Kyrgyzstan (TUK). TUK arranges some of the cheapest treks in Bishkek. Must visit their website of call them for the latest info. Was pleasantly surprised to meet another fellow trekker who had done her schooling in Kodaikanal, India. Saw my first frozen waterfall. Trek was mod-heavy. Pristine natural beauty.It set the tone for rest of the trip.

Manas statue

7th May : Walked to Osh Bazar (Osh-Bazar is in Bishkek, not Osh!!). It is a pleasant walk through the heart of this beautiful town. On the way make sure to see the Manas square and the parliament building. The national museum is next to the statue of Manas. In Nomads home I had met a Czech traveller. There used to be a statue of Lenin when Manas now stands. He had come to look for the statue of Lenin. Few footsteps after Manas square is the new monument to the 2010 revolution. Osh bazar is a sprawling market, among the biggest in central Asia. Its easy to get lost in the maze of shops.

Burana tower

8th May : Met our guide. Was with him for the next 5 days. We stopped at Alom Udin market to pick some provisions. First stop was at Burana tower. This tower was once part of an ancient city on the Silk Route. Now it stays lonely and alone in the middle of large farm.There is a museum adjacent to the tower and quite a large collection of stone figurines. Final destination for the day was Kochkor .En-route we passed through Bon Gorge and Ortho Tokoi Reservoir. The CBT guest-house in Kochkor was run by Mr.Talai.

Issyuk Kul

My friends

9th May : We left in the morning towards Kieskin Bell pass (2109 mtrs). It makes a pleasant stop on the route to Bokumbaevo. Its there we saw hunting with eagles. Stopped at Tori Canyon famous for its beautiful rock formations. Manjul-ata is the place famous for its sacred springs. These collection of springs are famous for its medicinal and miraculous healing power. A blend of shamanism and Sufism is practised at Manjula-ata. Kaji Sai is on the banks of the Issyuk Kul lake. Issyuk Kul is the second largest mountain lake after Lake Titicaca in Peru. The lake is crystal clear but too cold for a swim in May. South shore of Issyuk Kul is more undeveloped than the north shore. We stopped at Kaji Sai village for the night. Went for a stroll on the bank of the lake. There I met a group of women who were having a picnic. Had their vodka and chicken.

Mugshot

10th May : We left for Kaji Sai village to pick up supplies. I was stopped by a policeman and was taken to the police station. My guide explained that this was rather very strange. The policeman was very friendly and wanted to register my name in his book for my own safety. I wanted to take a picture with the policeman outside the police station but he refused.He was happy to pose for a picture inside the station. Went to Kaji Sai Canyon and Fairy tale canyon. Fairy tale canyon is famous for its multi coloured hillocks.. Drove to Baraskaun Gorge and slept at Mr. Jumagul's House

Fairytale Canyon

11th May : Went to  Baraskaun Pass at 3819 mtrs. The road passes through pristine landscape. The only road to Kumtor gold mine is on the same dirt road. There is a constant flow of trucks to and from the mine. Sometimes the road is stopped for passage of the heavy Mack trucks. The road to Barskaun Gorge passes through Su-Yok. Su-Yok means the land on 1000 lakes.Had picnic lunch at Sari Monyok. Slept for the night at Jumagul's house.

Monument to Prejevalsky

12th May : We left Baraskaun in the morning. Was sad to leave Jumagul's behind. First sop was Yuri Gagarin mountain and waterfall. Next stop was the strange rock formation of Jetty Oguz. It means 7 bulls, but there are 10 rock outcrops. There is a wonderful trek that that lasts about an hour. We had lunch beside the brook at Jetty Oguz. Stopped for the night at Karakol. This town was founded by the the great Russian explorer Mr. Prejevalsky. The town gets its name from the coal mines around the town.(Karkol means black hands). Stayed at CBT run by Ms.Valentina. She made the fish and spaghetti for dinner.It was the best baked fish that I've ever eaten. Her house is typical of the houses in Karakol. The garden was well maintained and very beautiful.

Dungan Mosgue

Setu Bulak Lake

13th May : This was the most hectic day yet in our trip. We went to the church in Karakol. This orthodox church is one of the oldest churches in Kyrgyzstan and is completely made out of wood. It was spared from demolition during communist times as the building was used a gymnasium. As we had reached on a friday the mass was in full swing.We joined the mass. Most of the churchgoers were elderly people. The music had a mesmerising soothing effect. Left the church after about an hour. The next stop was the  Dungan mosque. This mosque was built in 1905. This mosque is built in oriental style with the roof pointing to the sky. Another interesting fact is that the the church is built without the use of a single nail.the next stop was the museum at the centre of town. It has a good collection of exhibits and is certainly worth a visit. The  Prejevalsky museum at the edge of town tells the story of the travels of  Prejevalsky. I could not stop admiring how this man managed to map central Asia on the back of his horse. One can only imagine the hardships he faced during his numerous expeditions.  Some people believe that his expedition also played an important role in the Tsarist expansion of Russia into central Asia.

Karakol

Dungan Mozque

He fell sick and requested that we was buried by the shores of Issyuk Kul. We proceed to Seminovskaya Gorge. After parking the car we had to walk for about 1.5 hours to reach Setu Bulak lake. This is one of the most beautiful little lakes I have set my eyes upon. This lake was created by the earthquake of 1911. Beside the lake the remains of the landslide that caused the earthquake can be seen.It is a good place to camp and spend a stress-free day. There are a few hillocks on the way down. These are old burial grounds.Its not uncommon for people to get ancient artifacts after a heavy rain. The next sop was Chopon Ata. There is an extensive collection of petroglyphs at the site.It was getting dark. The shortcut to the main road was through the old disused runway. This runway was operational during the USSR days. We drove to Kochkor and spent the night at Mt.Talai's CBT

View from my horse

14th May : Out guide left us and I was on out my own for the rest of the trip. We made the horse trip to Kol Ukok and back. Mr.Talai's wife makes excellent apricot preserves. Bought a bottle of yummy preserves from her.

15th May : Left for Bishkek in the morning by share taxi. Travelling has become easier thanks to the new silk road built by the Chinese. In Bishkek I went back to Nomads house. I got the Yurt for the night.

Yurts in Susamir Valley

16th May: Trip to Osh. I was advised to get share taxi from Osh Bazar. But the taxi driver suggested that I go to western bus station. Prices depend on the type of vehicle.eg A seat on Toyota stepwagon costs 1000 soms while on Benz costs 120 soms. There are no fixed timings and the vehicles leave once they get filled up. Interestingly some vehicles are left hand drive and others are right hand drive!!! I recommend that the trip be done during daytime as the route is very scenic especially in May. First the road winds through the plains around Bishkek. Then the

Traffic jam 

road snakes  through the mountains criss-crossing Kala-Bata river many times.The rad has to be shared with sheep and horses. It winds its way up to the 2 kilometer long road tunnel. The road then descends into the Susamir valley. Susamir valley is blessed with flat terrain as far as the eye can see. Bee keepers and shepherds make Susamir valley their home in summer. We stopped for luch at a picturesque hotel near the road. There Susamir valley gives way to a river beside the road. there are 2 reservoirs beside the road.The entire trip took us approximately 11 hours. Our share-taxi dropped us at CBT guest-house in Molinovskaya road.

17th May : Decided to see the Sulaiman-Too world heritage site. Took us most of the morning. went to the local market. Lots of local produce and Chinese products on sale. I could see a few burnt out shops -remains of the 2010 revolution. Now the city is totally safe. Had lunch in the market shop. In the evening went to the CBT office in town. They do offer a few good treks but sadly I did not have enough time. I was planning to leave Osh the next day.

Shepherds house at Arslanbob

18th May : The plan was to go to Arslanbob from the share-taxi station. But after reaching there i realised that there are no direct transport to Arslanbob. So I had to take the share taxi to Jalalabad. From there I got on the bus to Bazar Gargon.Bazaar Gargaon bus station we had to wait for a while for the bus to leave. The people in the bus become very friendly with us. One of the elderly passengers asked me to live in him house in Arslanbob.The bus driver put on some hindi songs while we waited!! I could not help noticing that the driver looked quite alot like Indian film-star of yesteryear's Mr.Raj Kapoor. Reached Arslanbob and we were staying with Mr.Mashoorbeck.

At Arslanbob High School

19th May : Morning session with school children at Arslanbob High school. We were palling day trek for the rest of the day but rains kept on coming. Evening I went to look for Mr.Mashoorbeck's cows in the village farm. Did not find the cow.

20th May : Went to Sunday market in the local bazar. It was a disappointment. I is alot bigger in summer, I was told. With a local guide went to the Small water fall. Next stop was lookout point. Onwards through the Walnut forest to Big waterfall. This took most part of the day.

Honey Seller

21st May : As arranged, local share taxi picked us up from Mr.Mashoorbecks house. The trip back to Bishkek is more expensive than to Osh. Entoute we stopped on the side of the road and picked up hordes of mulberries. I requested that the driver stop the car in Susamir valley to buy some honey. Honey comes in various colours an is freshly taken from the hive beside the road. The trip to Bishkek takes 10.5 hours.

Osh Bazar

22nd May : Went to the National museum. Loitered around in Osh Bazaar and did last minute shopping. Back to Nomads Home guesthouse for a well needed rest. Need to get up early to catch the flight.

23rd May : All good things have to come to an end. Left by 06:20am flight.