The Land of Nomads: Kyrgyzstan
Fixed Departure Tour

Arrival in Bishkek. Transfer to the hotel for a rest. Bishkek is a capital and the largest city in Kyrgyzstan, located at the foothill of magnificent Kyrgyz Ala-Tau mountain range. Bishkek is a city of many green parks and marble-faced public buildings combined with numerous Soviet-style apartment blocks and thousands of smaller privately built houses. It is laid out on a grid pattern, with most streets flanked on both sides by narrow irrigation channels that water the innumerable trees which provide shade in the hot summers. The city is believed to be the greenest in Central Asia with more trees per head of population than any other. Our sightseeing tour includes: blooming Osh Bazaar, Historical Museum, Museum of Applied Arts and Ala-Too square, the main square of the country. The square serves as a place for state events and celebrations and includes many monuments, open-air picture gallery, famous Oak Park, marble government buildings and theaters.

On the way to the second largest mountainous lake in the world we make a stop at Karakhanid’s minaret of the 12 century - Burana tower.

In Cholpon-Ata we visit the petroglyphs ‐ a large open-air collection of rock carvings sometimes referred to as a Stone Garden, which covers some 42 hectares and contains a number of prehistoric monumental structures (stone circles, tombs, the remains of a boundary stone wall, balbals) and petroglyphs (dating from the II millennium BC thru the Middle Ages and up to the VI century AD).  The stones have plaques giving some information (a short description and a date), and there are several routes marked with arrows around the “stone garden.”

Also visit Cholpon‐Alta Museum of History. It exhibits a wide collection of national embroidery.

In the morning we visit an astonishing cultural center Rukh Ordo named after Chyngiz Aitmatov, combining the history and spiritual heritage of various cultures and nationalities of the world. Rukh Ordo is famous not only for its unusual architectural monuments, but also for the most beautiful pier on the shore of the lake.
Transfer to Karakol along beautiful landscapes of the lake and mountains. Excursion to Semenov gorge with amazing view of the lake from the top. The atmosphere of Karakol town will bring you hundred years back and give you an impression of Tsarist Russia. Karakol in previous times had another name – Prjevalsk, in honor of the famous Russian explorer of Asia – Nikolai Prjevalski, whose grave is situated at the shore of Issyk-Kul Lake. Visiting of Prjevalsk Museum. The town was founded in 1869 and constructed in an old Russian style with many buildings from Tsar time.

On the way we visit Jety-Oguz gorge with famous “7 bulls” and “Broken Heart” rocks and canyon "Skazka" (Fairy tale). 
Then we head towards the center of Kyrgyz national felt handicrafts – Kochkor. You will visit a local workshop and participate in the manufacturing of national carpets.
Afterwards we proceed to alpine Son-Kul Lake over Kalmak-Ashuu Pass (3300 m). It is the second largest lake after Issyk-Kul Lake and the largest fresh water lake in Kyrgyzstan. It is surrounded by broad summer pastures dotted with yurts, grazing cattle and mountains. These lands are used by shepherds of the neighboring regions as summer pastures for their flocks. Shepherds drive the livestock up in the mountains; set a yurt camp where they live during summer months. Here you will get familiar with traditional lifestyle of Kyrgyz nomads.

Relaxing day at the lake. You can enjoy horseback riding, take an easy hike to the mountains to observe an amazing panorama of Son-Kul Lake and mountains, play with children or participate in cooking of national meals. 
 

The road to Jalal Abad goes over picturesque Moldo Ashuu (3439m) and Kok Art (3200m) passes. On the way you will see colorful landscapes of Naryn river basin. The river is the largest in Kyrgyzstan, flowing further in Uzbekistan as Syr Darya and feeds Aral Sea.

Arslanbob is a mountain village with the largest naturally grown walnut forest in the world. This morning we take a hike to the local waterfall which is venerated as a holy place among people. During the hike you will see a prayer “cave of forty angels”. The fairy-tale walnut forest will open a scenic view of entire valley. The area is a year-round destination for hiking, backcountry skiing and horseback riding. Arslanbob is just a wonderful place to be, to sit on the doorstep and watch time pass by with a pot of tea. 

Today we head towards Chichkan gorge along spectacular Bishkek – Osh highway via Toktogul water reservoir with a cascade of hydroelectric power stations between Tien-Shan mountain ranges.

The road to Bishkek goes over sky-high Ala-Bel (3120 m) and Tuya-Ashuu (3050 m) passes and along picturesque Suusamyr valley, in summer dotted with hundreds yurts. The valley is a mountain summer pasture for countless herds of cattle. Here local people produce Kyrgyz national drink – Kymus (fermented mare’s milk), sour cheese and butter that they sell along the road.