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After our lunch in the village of Kyzyl -Too, we met Azamat and his 3-year old Golden Eagle called Kara Kuz (translates to ‘black eyes’) in a valley near the village of Bokonbayevo, which sits on the southern shore of Issyk-Kul Lake. Azamat is a 5th generation eagle hunter and just the day before meeting…
Our next stop was yurt making. We met our master yurt maker, Ruslan in his home in the village of Kyzl-Too. 80% of villagers here are involved in the yurt making industry and they take orders from all over the country. The village’s focus on yurt making is because during the Soviet Era there was…
Our first activity today exploring nomadic culture in Kyrgyzstan was a felt workshop in our beautiful yurt camp by Issyk-Kul lake. Muroc, a local lady, who works at the yurt camp took us through how to make all the amazing felt we have seen so far on our trip, whether that be functional or for…
Burana tower is a well-frequented stop on the tourist route between Bishkek and Issyk-Kul lake. The ‘tower’ (its actually what is left of a minaret) is all that remains of a city called Balasagun, which has been anointed a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The city was established by the Karakhanids in the 10th century and…
Bishkek is the capital and largest city in Kyrgyzstan, with a population of around 1.2 million people. It is the country’s political, cultural and economic center. On the surface this feels similar to the other Central Asia capital cities I have visited this year. The Tien Shan mountains provide a stunning backdrop to the cities…
Today we took the northern route around the top edge of Issyk-Kul Lake to reach Bishkek. Its a pretty long drive (over 6 hours in total), but we broke it up with a boat trip out onto the lake and a visit to the Cholpon-Ata petroglyphs. Issyk-Kul Lake is the second largest saline lake in…
After exploring Karakol we headed into the mountains to enjoy some of the surrounding landscapes. One particularly famous gorge, about 45 minutes drive from town is the Jety-Oguz Gorge. This translates to ‘Seven Bulls’ because of a stunning rock formation of seven huge red sandstone cliffs that some says looks like a group of bulls…
Karakol is the main city of eastern Kyrgyzstan and sits between the foothills of the Terskey Alatau mountains and the eastern end of Issyk-Kul Lake. It is small, only 85,000 people live here, but has played an important part in the history of Kyrgyzstan. The city was founded in 1869 by the Russian empire as…
Today we are saying goodbye to Kazakhstan and hello to Kyrgyzstan. Driving from the village of Saty to the border crossing near Kegen takes about 3 hours and the roads are very good quality except for one slightly more bumpy section near the end. There are petrol stations along the route so it is easy…
Before I leave Kazakhstan I wanted to capture a brief summary of the history of the country, especially as at some points it becomes complicated with various empires and khanates occupying different parts of the country. I have really enjoyed my time here and am glad I picked one of the longer routes that are…
The most seismically active parts of Kazakhstan are in the south and southeast of the country, specifically around the Tien Shan mountain range near Almaty and the border regions with Kyrgyzstan and China. The most recent notable event is a magnitude 7 earthquake in January 2024 that occurred around 260km southeast of Almaty. From the…
Our guide spent some time whilst we were in Almaty explaining the meaning behind Kazakhstan’s national flag and emblem. The flag’s blue background represents peace and ethnic unity. With over 120 ethnicities in Kazakhstan this is an important part of daily life. The golden sun in the center represents life and its 32 surrounding rays…
Kolsay lakes are also known as the ‘Pearls of the Tien Shan’ and are a trio of high-altitude lakes within the Kolsai Lakes National Park. We visited the lowest lake which sits at ~1800m altitude and is easy to reach. It takes about 1.5 hours drive from the Charyn Canyon viewing platforms. You can see…
Charyn Canyon is about a 3 hour drive from Almaty in the southeastern corner of Kazakhstan. We had amazing views of Zailisky Alatau mountains (part of the Tien Shan range) pretty much all the way there. The canyon is 90km long and the Charyn river flows through it. It has taken million of years to…
The Scythians were Iranian-speaking nomads across the Eurasian steppe from the 8th-3rd BC, who originated from earlier Indo-Iranian cultures. In Kazakhstan they are called the Saka. They moved with their herds of horses, sheep and cattle across the steppe, but they also cultivated crops in river valleys. And they were famous for horse-archery and mounted…
Today we had a full day of exploring this lovely city. Our hotel is centrally located and we could easily walk to the old parts of the city. Firstly I would say this city surprised me. I had no real preconceptions about what the place would be like. But I think I unconsciously assume ex-Soviet…
Issyk lake is about 2 hours drive from Almaty in the Trans Ili-Alatau’s mountain range. It is a glacial lake that sits within the Issyk Gorge. From the carpark it takes about 20 minutes easy walking to the shore of the lake. Although you can also get a golf cart there and back for 500…
The drive from Otrar to Shymkent took around 3 hours and the flat unchanging landscape over such a long period of time gives you a sense of just how big and empty this country really is. The photo below shows what our view was for pretty much 90% of the time! We did not have…
This afternoon we visited the archeological ruins of Otrar, an ancient Silk Road city in southern Kazakhstan. Between the 9th and 12th centuries it was a booming fortress city, successful because of its location at the confluence of the Syr Darya and Arys rivers and a point of convergence for many different caravan routes coming…
Ahmed Yasawi was a Turkic poet, and Sufi mystic and spiritual leader who played a significant role in the spread of Islam across Central Asia. He was born in the 12th century, nearby Shymkent in southern Kazakhstan. He was the first poet to translate Islamic mystic poetry into the Turkic language, which made his ideas…
Colette's Grand Detour 