Around Lake Issyk-Kul

Around Lake Issyk-Kul, Kyrgyzstan

Summary: The regular camera picture formats are not adequate to capture the wide expanse of Kyrgyzstans plains and mountains. Kyrgyzstan is a photographer's dream.

We had to be in Kyrgyzstan, and arranged to arrive a few days early. It was too cold in November to plan any longer hikes, but the drive around Lake Issyk-Kul and back to Bishkek was an excellent introduction to Kyrgyzstan and its mountains. It has been snowing in the mountains and the weather was bright and sunny providing glorious views.

The rountrip took us 4 days, which was just right to sample the many sights marked as waypoints.

The Drive: We start the trail at Ashu guesthouse, in order not to double-track too many of the coordinates. The actual journey is likely to start and end in Bishkek, and is about 900 kilometer

Maximum altitude:	2027 meter
Minimum altitude:	736 meter
Cumulative height:	3313 meter
Cumulative length:	About 900 kilometer
Difficulty	easy
Time:	4 days
Date of this record	November 2012
Download GPS info:	Around Lake Issyk-Kul

The Hike to the Fairytal Canyon: This is a short hike to some bizarre sandstone formation - absolutely worthwhile if you have one hour or two to spare. Have a picnic at the Lake when you are done. To shorten the hike, you can drive into the canyon. THis reduces walking to less than 2 kilometers - thoughit may well be possible to soend half a day exploring the area.

Maximum altitude:	1765 meter
Minimum altitude:	1622 meter
Cumulative height:	145 meter
Cumulative length:	5.5 kilometer
Difficulty	easy
Time:	at least one hour
Date of this record	November 2012
Download GPS info:	Fairytale Canyon

General location and approach: Kyrgyzstan

Other Information: The road is asphalt throughout, old but without potholes. There is an alternative autobahn between Bishkek and the turn-off to Ashu.

Kyrgyzstan is a photographer's dream, although a special wide picture format for the expansive vistas still needs to be developed!

The Burana tower, not so far from Bishkek

Burana Tower, which is an old Minaret that has been restored many times

The mountains seen from Burana Tower. The mountains, very close to Bishkek, top out at over 4500 Meter

The landscape is vast and the main road is generally good

Going home to resthouse. The vast expanse creates stunning lightshows

Inside the comfortable guesthouse. Bring a mousetrap if you don't plan to share your snacks.

The guesthouse is part of a working farm. The grafitti may come straight from New York

Our hired car and trusted team: Norek the driver and Ilias our highly knowledgable guide.

There are many cemeteries along the road

The highest mountain of Kurgyzstan (at the border to China) tops out at over 7400 Meter. Even the mountains seen here, close to the Lake, would provide a lifetime of challenges for the mountaineer.

Sandstone formations in the Fairytale Canyon

Lake Issyk-Kul is said to be the second highest alpine lake (at 1600 meter) with the second clearest waters. Visibility through the water is measured at 15 meter.

The broken heart, which has many legends explaining its shape

The supermarket near the broken heart and the hot springs

We are not sure whether this is a recommendation to drink the waters of the spring, or a warning not to do so.

The Holy Trinity Cathedral - a wooden orthodox church in Karakol

The Przhevalsky Memorial. Przhevalsky was a celebrated Russian explorer who venture several times into Central Asia

View from the memorial towards Issyk-Kul Lake

Near some ancient tombs - or burial mounds. Looking across the lake.

Caprice Resort at the northern shore. The northern shore of Lake Issyk-Kul is much more developed, with many such - mostly foreign-owned - luxury resorts.

In summer, temperatures allow beach activities to take place at the resorts

The - somewhat odd - park of Ruh Ordo. Monuments and guides are trying to explain the different religions followed in Kyrgyzstan. Not exactly for the cogniscenti, and it might be advisable to read up for a better understanding

Ruh Ordo also has an interesting assemblage of sculptures

The site of petroglyphs near Cholpon Ata

The petroglyphs are said to be several thousand years old

Back to Bishkek with its huge Soviet-era buildings

GPS and trailmaps: The map and trailinformation is generated by based on GPS information collected from the actual hike. Waypoints can be downloaded to a GPS device from Wikiloc. If necessary, use GPSBabel to convert GPS data to different formats. For more hike descriptions by Palmtreetreeproduction, browse this website or visit Wikiloc and search for "Palmtreeproduction". You may also find nearby trails from other authors.

Google Earth: You may also view the trail in 3D by viewing it directly in Google Earth. You need to have Google Earth installed on your computer. Activate "wikiloc"in the "Gallery" menu in Google earth.