Kyrgizistan’s most famous natural attraction is Issyk Kul, a huge lake surrounded by high mountains and quaint villages, where locals and tourists alike are rumored to swim in summer time. We made our way to Karakol, the largest city in the Issyk Kul region, not so we could go for a dip (the water was too cold), but so we could explore the nature of the nearby Tian Shan mountain range. We got on a marshutka (300som) from Bishkek and arrived only 6 hours later in Karakol, delighted to find the a Tourist Information Center, which proved to be relatively unhelpful, but had a very friendly receptionist who is also a waitress in the local pizzeria, where we spent a lot of time later on. We quickly got a double room (600som with shared bathroom) in the Yak Tours hostel, which is a small and weird little place: in summer, when the place is swarmed with tourists, it must be a nightmare, but we had to share the house only with one more person and so the carefully decorated rooms we a pleasant change from the usual anonymous hotel rooms. In an hour we explored all “major sights” of Karakol: a beautiful wooden Russian-orthodox church, the bazaar (where they tend to cheat foreigners) and a Chinese-built mosque with a very pushy guardian. At night time, when the streets are empty except the odd Russian drunkard, we preferred to stay indoors.
Russian orthodox church – made entirely from wood without a single nail!
How we began the long hike – behind the clouds lies our final destination
Our plan was to hike to a beautiful alpine valley up in the mountains, that is supposed to have hot springs and pristine nature. Sergey, the groundskeeper of Yak Tours, told us that a Slovenian couple made their way up just a day ago, so that was another motivation for us to reach this promised valley. The hike up to Altyn Arashan was 14 kilometers and Lonely Planet warns that it’s very steep and difficult; now either we recently acquired amazing form or the hike was not really so tough. Most of the time we walked in a small path next to the fast and icy Arashan river, so the terrain was raising gradually and the breath-taking glimpses of the mountains ahead of us kept us going without bigger problems. After about four hours we climbed the last ascent and as we reached the top a small, hidden valley spread beneath us. The scenery was almost to perfect, as if from a commercial for a Swiss alpine lodge, only we were sure not to find almost any tourists: lush green fields filled with grazing sheep where three little houses stand (one of which was our guest house) and a silver river making its way down the snow-covered peaks that line the horizon towards us.
Climbing with only the odd horse for company
Altyn Arashan as seen from our guest house
When we reached the Yak Tours guest house, Valentin, the friendly owner was already prepared for our arrival, and ushered us to our room (550som per person with 3 meals, 200som with no food). We stepped into the dining room, where everybody was eating lunch and greeted with a nice “Dober Dan”- Igor and Dominika, the Slovenian couple were quite surprised to see us as they didn’t meet any Slovenians for quite some time. We spent a very nice time talking and exchanging travel experiences with them, since they’re real veterans and spent already six years on the road. Since Altyan Arashan is famous for its hot springs, we immediately asked for the location of the nearest spring. Natural hot springs are located on the banks of the small ice-cold river – they’re small structures made from cement or an old bath, free to use but quite small and shallow. Still, it’s impossible to describe the feeling of relaxing your muscles in hot water and watching the steam rise towards the snowy mountain peaks while listening to the hustling sounds of the mountain brook only a step away. We absolutely loved the experience, and only because it was raining the next day we tried also the “organized” springs, which are located inside manmade huts. For 100som we got a key to the Yak Tours cabin, where a large pool offers the perfect opportunity to cleanse our body with steam and very hot water: kind of like a 5-stars spa, only with a better view.
“Wild pool” in Altyn Arashan
Steaming water await tired hikers
The descent would have been a piece of cake, if it wasn’t for the storm that raged at the time, with strong rain and the occasional hail disturbing our peaceful walk. While we wished for more time in the mountains, we had yet another chore – getting a Russian transit visa for Spela. Our original plan to take a ferry across the Caspian to Azerbaijan was altered after we understood that even if we manage to handle the expensive and bureaucratic visa situation, we would still be left with only little time to spend in the Caucasus. Our route will now take us through west Kazakhstan, into the Volga region of Russia and onwards to the Ukraine – and while Spela needs a Russian visa, Lior is for once exempted. We applied at the Russian consulate in Bishkek for a 3-days transit visa with an application form, a passport photo and copies of our tickets, and after paying $53 were told we had to wait 5 days for processing.
Good enough reason to return to Issyk Kul
Happy Kyrgiz kids
As we had spent way more time in Bishkek than this city deserves, we decided to go back to Issyk Kul while waiting for the visa, since we didn’t see much of the lake the first time. On our way to Karakol the never-ending lake was grey and seemed relatively uninteresting on the cloudy day, so that we were even wondering why everybody is making such a fuss about it. Luckily we gave the lake another chance and returned to Tamchy, a small village on the north shore, where almost every house is offering rooms for tourists (but as it was not season yet, we were the only tourists there). This time the weather was perfect, sunny and warm, with almost unlimited visibility and finally the shy lake revealed its beauty: the crystal-clear water is indigo blue and while standing on the yellow sandy shore you can see over it to the other side, where grey and snow-covered mountains line the horizon before the blue skies. We didn’t go for as swim, since the water was to cold, but enjoyed many walks on the shore, admiring the beautiful horses that graze on the juicy grass around the lake.
Grazing by the lakeside
Lior enjoys feeling like an old Soviet pensioner
Tobogan into the air at Cholpon Ata town
Our stay in Tamchy wouldn’t be so great without the great room we got: we stayed in a small room on the street leading towards the lake from the mosque (house number 12) and the extremely warm and hospitable landlady Ljudmila was taking care of us with eggs fresh from her chickens, home-made vegetable soup, apple pie and delicious jams. We also had a guest kitchen, where we were welcomed to cook and a blossoming garden to sit around, drink our morning coffee and have breakfast in the fresh air. We were absolutely baffled, when we saw that the outside toilet (plumbing doesn’t exist in Kyrgizistan) has a proper toilet seat and it happened more than once that we were searching for the flush button. Although we don’t usually make commercials for hotels and such, we strongly recommend this homestay to anybody who plans to visit Issyk Kul – you can reach Ljudmila at her local cell number – 077-2815598 (she speaks Russian and very good English). She is not affiliated with CBT and charges for accommodation only 150 som (2.5 Euro) per person. From Tamchy we returned to Bishkek one last time, spent the 8th and final night in the Nomad’s home, and finally left the city with a Russian visa at hand.
Dining room at Ljudmila’s
Ljudmila’s garden: perfect for a cup of morning tea