Katie holding a falcon Jeti Orguz
It has been almost 3 month since the return of my trip in Kyrgyzstan, and I still get excited every time I get the opportunity to talk to anyone about it, and I now have the opportunity to share this experience with someone who is interested!
One of the first things I ask myself when to tell my friends or someone in this journey is, then where is Kyrgyzstan? Or they let me know that they have never heard of this before country. Well, it seems they are not in the minority, I will not lie, before I worked for Oasis Overland I was no wiser either! So for those who do not know, Kyrgyzstan is located next to China, and just below Kazakhstan and was the place where one of the main Silk Road crossed. As for what the country is like that you choose throughout this blog, but what I can say now is that if it was not on your list of places to visit, so I really can not recommend goes to the top of your list! One of the positives of not many people know is that Kyrgyzstan still has not been changed by tourism, and it lends itself perfectly for more Travel the land, because it is still "raw" with natural beauty, and as there is no camping is all about "bush camp" (pulling in a good place and setting up for the night), but in places that are beyond beautiful . The people were always so friendly and welcoming we went, though I could not speak any of the local language, but my charades often seemed to get by - even if they have also caused much laughter as well
But the trip ...!
This 15-day trip begins in Bishkek, which is the capital of Kyrgyzstan. To get there, I'm a flight stansted via Istanbul with Pegasus (Turkish Airlines flies there too), which is a very basic no frills flight, but it happened to me there! I had booked in Asia Mountains Hotel, because this is where our journey started from, and when I arrived, it was the perfect start as there was even a pool to relax in,! Having stolen the day before the trip began, I had allowed time to explore Bishkek, which was really great to walk around and explore, including obtaining money changed local currency in the Kyrgyz som, and having the first chance to try some local specialties including manty (fried dumplings), plov (a rice dish with meat) and fried lagman (noodles with tomatoes, meat and other vegetables) - delicious
'Habibi' relaxation at Lake Issyk Kul
After a pre-departure meeting with our tour leader (Grace) and conductor (Malcolm), we have all been shown around our new home for the next 15 days (or more for those who continued to Istanbul) ... our Habibi truck.
Our first stop was at the center of Bishkek that cooking groups could go and get food for their meals, some needed to sort visas and the rest of us had a little free time for to explore. While some of us went to Kyryz State Historical Museum (formerly the Lenin Museum) in Ala-Too Square, while there are no English translations, it is still worth seeing including murals stories told on the ceilings. Leaving the bustling city of Bishkek behind we head to the Ala-Archa Park, which was just beautiful, almost like we arrived in the Swiss Alps. Arriving early afternoon allowed us the time to explore the area and set up our tents in our first bush camp. That first night, I am very happy to have bought my winter warmers that temperatures dropped from the sunset!
National Historic Kyrgyz Museum, Bishkek
Ala Archa
After a nice breakfast we have all left for our free days in Ala-Archa with a few of us the position of the mountain to a waterfall, and for those who feel more energetic about to ice observation. I'd say I'm probably below average fitness related, so the first part of the hike was quite difficult because it was very steep, and you are already at an altitude enough with virtually no shade from the sun bright. But the great thing is you can do everything at your own pace and if you want then you can go back. It took me over 2 hours to reach the waterfall, and the views were well worth it as you can see on the pictures. While others continued on trekking in the afternoon, I am able to do some checking on the truck with Malcolm, like keeping our trucks in good nick is very important to us and is still very evident in each once you meet one of our drivers, who really take care of them at every opportunity.
Katie trekking in Ala Archa
Leaving Ala-Archa we returned to Bishkek for a quick stop to pick up some other supplies, obtain visas for those and that the final solution of our city needed before leaving for the desert and to the Issyk Kul lake. Driving along beautiful tree-lined streets and mountains on one side of the truck we started to see the edge of Issyk Kul lake and blue waters. We were in for a treat as we got off the main road and on a straight path down to the lake where we parked and set up camp for the night. This is an excellent example of where 'bush camping' comes into its own, as you are not restrained by having to stay in a particular place and you are surrounded by what the country has to offer, which in if this is the beach for our tents, the large lake for swimming and the backdrop of the mountains behind and the dark outline of the snow-capped mountains on the other side of the lake where we would be later in the trip. Swimming in the lake was like heaven as a overlanding style shower!
Semenovskre Gorge
The next day we went to see the petroglyph outdoor site, which is a large open area full of rocks and stones who carvings on them dating back to 1500 BC. Here, we had a bit of fun to test our vision to see if we could see carvings on the stones, such as time, many have disappeared. After that, we stopped in the city of Cholpon-Ata, where there was time to explore and pick up snacks. and I decided to continue my cultural experience by going to the Cholpon-Ata museum, which was only 50 som Kyrgy. This museum really surprised me that there were English translations on most objects and images. Before long, we were on our way to our next bush camp in Semenovskre Gorge, where once again we were treated to another great bush camp just next to a river flowing and yurts. With time to explore the surrounding area we have all parties to take in different views and meet some of the people who lived nearby.
Karakol was our next stop, where we all had the opportunity to explore, which included seeing the Russian Orthodox Cathedral, which was well worth the visit and very easy to find, and then to see the Dungan mosque colorful. We also took the opportunity to explore the main bazaar, which was huge, with a large number of stalls / shops consist of large shipping containers (these have been adapted throughout Kyrgyzstan!). Jeti Orguz was our next stop, with huge red rock formations, where once again we had a "water feature" (river) near our camp. Here, we asked around the local town and explore local trails that led to the "Valley of Flowers" (unfortunately not flower because of the time of year ... but beautiful nonetheless!). Some of us went to the sanatorium close in the afternoon, which provided plenty of entertainment as we looked for showers, but these did not exist, but a very dilapidated pool done! So after much laughter and poor communication we re-joined the group that had no showers, a time of "reflection" next to a swimming pool for 10mins and having a good massage!
Click here to read 'part 2' of Katie's blog, which led the group following along a short video of the trip!
Russian Orthodox Cathedral, Karakol
Jeti Orguz
Jeti Orguz - 1 5 wooden bridges
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