Photo Tour

Description
Trip Essentials
Trip Highlights
Itinerary
Tour Map
Dates & Prices

Description

Trip essentials

Tour Type: photo

Total Duration: 5 days

Best Season: mid-June – end of September

Level of Difficulty: easy

Maximum Altitude on the Trip: 3 400 meters ASL

Start and End Point: Bishkek

Accommodation: hotel in Bishkek and Karakol ; home stay in Bokonbaevo and yurt in Song-Kol.

Transport: jeep/minivan/minibus depending on the size of the group

Best group size: 4- 12 persons

Trip highlights

Burana Tower

Burana Tower is the most visible remnant of the old city of the Balasagyn city. Built in the 11th century, the tower is thought to have been a minaret. It was originally double it’s current height of 24.6 meters. Historian’s believe the top half to have been destroyed in a 15th century earthquake.

Balasagyn was a city in the Chuy Valley during the Karakhanid Khanate. Excavations have revealed that the double walls of the settlement enclosed 30 sq km, including a fortress, many workshops, bazaars, a bathhouse, and a plot of arable land. Water brought by a large pipe from a neighboring canyon. As the Karakhanid rule was shaken by Mongol invasions, Balasagyn began a slow decline, eventually becoming a ghost town in the 15th century.

Local Kyrgyz tell a Sleeping Beauty-esque fairy tale about the towers origins. According to legend, it was built by a powerful khan who had only one daughter, a beautiful young woman he wished to shield from every hardship. A seer foretold that despite his care, the girl would die on her 16th birthday. The furious Khan built the tower, and locked his daughter away from the world. On her 16th birthday he visited her with a gift of fruit, proud of having defeated the prophecy. To his horror, the girl collapsed before his eyes, and fell dead to the floor. Unbeknownst to him, a poisonous black spider had been concealed among the grapes. In his grief he destroyed the top half of the tower, and left the base as his daughter’s mausoleum.

There are several brick mausoleums nearby the tower, and a museum encompasses the area of the former town. Balbal, Turkic grave markers from the 6th century, and rocks with pertroglyphs from the 2nd century have been brought here for preservation.

Issyk-Kul Lake

The crown jewel of the Tien Shan, Lake Issyk-Kul is 6232 sq m of sparkling blue paradise. The second largest saline lake in the world, its name in Kyrgyz means «hot lake»— though surrounded by spectacular snow capped peaks, the water never freezes. Silk Road traders stopped here to recover from the grueling trek over the passes of the Tian Shan, and it is still the most popular destination in Kyrgyzstan to relax for both tourists and locals.

Karakol is the regional center. On Sundays see a tradition which is reminiscent of Silk Road times, the famous animal bazaar. Shepherds from surrounding regions travel long hours to bring their livestock— on foot, by cart, by tractor, by car— even by motorcycle. Other cities in the region include Cholpon-Ata and Balykchi.

The mountains in Issyk-Kul rise over 7000 m, with Khan Tengri and Pobeda Peak being popular destinations for intrepid mountaineers. Trek to the massive Enilchek Glacier and the “dissappearing” Lake Merzbacher.

Song-Kol Lake

Song-Kol Lake — «The Last Lake» is considered one of the most beautiful areas for summer pasturing. It is in the Naryn district, and Kyrgyzstan’s second largest lake with an area of 270 km sq. In winter the lake freezes over with ice more than a meter thick.

Chamomile, sage, friar’s cap and golden root are prized for their medicinal qualities, and wildflowers are abundant in spring. Migratory birds bisit the lake in summer as well as shy mountain wildlife like foxes and deer. Fish were introduced to the lake in 1959.

Nomads have been making the upland trek to this 3016 m asl lake since ancient times with their livestock. Some left mysterious «standing stone» arrangements.

Lake Son-Kul is a beautiful place to experience life on a jailoo. Ride horses in the surrounding mountains, or stay in a yurt and experience an old-fashioned Kyrgyz summer.

Itinerary

Day 1

Early morning arrival at Manas airport. Meet and transfer to Bishkek. Accommodation in a hotel. Rest till lunch. Lunch. Afternoon city tour in Bishkek with visiting: Victory Square, Tsum Center, Opera and Ballet Building, Museum of Fine Arts, Oak Park, Mikhail Frunze Museum, Erkindik Boulevard, Open Air Art Gallery, Central Square Ala-Too, monument to Chingiz Aitmatov, Old Square, monument to Lenin, Panfilov Park, White House, Monument to Revolution, Philharmonic Hall Building, Monument to Manas, Osh bazaar. Drive to Ata Beyit Memorial Complex dedicated to the victims of Revolt against Tsarist Empire in 1916, victims of Stalin’s Repressions 1934-1938, and victims of 2010 Revolution. Return to Bishkek. Accommodation in hotel. Dinner at restaurant.

Day 2

After breakfast leave for Karakol Town via northern shore of Issyk-Kul lake. Visit the Burana Tower architectural complex (10^th-11^th century, an important point on the Great Silk Road) on the way (15 km from the main road, 1 hour). Lunch en route in Tamchy Village in the local family. Visit Rukh-Ordo complex, where you can see memorial to Ata-Turk. Further drive to Karakol. Arrival in Karakol, accommodation in a guesthouse. Dinner in a local Dungan family (Dungans are Chinese Muslims, who escaped from China).

Day 3

Leave to the southern shore of Issyk-Kul lake. On the way visit Jeti-Oguz Gorge (Seven Bulls Rock) and Skazka Canyons (Fairtale Canyon). En route experience Kyrgyz National Horse Games. Lunch en route in a Kyrgyz family. Arrival in Bokonbaevo, accommodation in local guesthouses. Afternoon observe hunting with an eagle demonstration. Dinner.

Day 4

Morning transfer to Song-Kol Lake. En route stop in Kyzyl-Tuu village, the Village of Yurt makers. Visit a Kyrgyz family where all family members make a Boz Ui (Yurt) – a traditional Kyrgyz dwelling tent. Continue to Song-Kol Lake, make a stop in Kochkor Village for lunch. Meet your host family, dinner upon arrival. You can also help your host family with their everyday life: looking after the horses and sheep, making bread and milk products, bringing water from a source nearby. Dinner and overnight stay in a shepherd’s yurt.

Day 5

Late morning transfer to Bishkek. Lunch en route. Arrival in Bishkek. Farewell dinner at restaurant with folklore concert. Hotel accommodation.

Day 6

Check out of hotel. Night or early morning transfer to the airport. Departure.

Tour map

Dates and Prices

Trip date	Availability	Trip Status	Price
June — September	Any date	Upon request	from $ 1 280

INCLUSIONS:

Twin accommodation in Bishkek hotel *** 2 nights, Karakol guesthouse/hotel *** 1 night, yurt overnight 1 night, home stay overnight 1 night
Meals during tour (5 breakfasts, 5 lunches, 5 dinners), except alcoholic drinks
Transport services
Visiting cultural/historical places and entrance fees
Cultural events and show according to the program
Touring guide

Price doesn’t include: extra meals at cafes; single supplement; personal expenses; activities out of program; personal health insurance; tips; international air fare; horse riding; boat trip; rafting