Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyzstan is the pearl of Central Asia

Kyrgyzstan is a country where the sky seems closer than anywhere else. It is small in area (only 200 thousand km2), but incredibly diverse: 94% of the territory is occupied by mountains, and the highest peaks of the Tien Shan and Pamir exceed 7000 meters. Nature is the main reason why tourists fall in love with Kyrgyzstan at first sight.

The most famous lake is Issyk–Kul, the second largest alpine lake in the world after Titicaca. The water in it is brackish, never freezes (hence the name – "hot lake"), and in summer it warms up to +24 ° C. Beaches, Soviet–era sanatoriums, new glamping and yachts - all this against a backdrop of snowy peaks. In winter, people come here to ski in Karakol – the trails there are no worse than the alpine ones, and the prices are many times lower.

But the real magic of Kyrgyzstan lies beyond the asphalt. It is worth leaving Bishkek for a couple of hours, and you are already in another world: yurt camps, herds of horses, shepherds in felt hats and silence, broken only by the ringing of bells on the necks of yaks. The most beautiful places:

Son Kel Lake (3016 m) is a summer jailoo where nomads still live in real yurts. At night, the starry sky here is so bright that it seems as if you can reach the Milky Way with your hand.

Ala Archa is a national park 40 km from the capital. An ideal place for day-long trekking: waterfalls, juniper forests and a view of Semenov-Tien-Shan peak (4895 m).

Sary Chelek is a biosphere reserve in the west with an emerald lake and nut and fruit forests. It's harder to get here, but there are almost no tourists.

The Too-Ashuu pass, the Boom gorge, the Fairy Tale Canyon, the Jety-Oguz valley with the red rocks "Seven Bulls" and "Broken Heart" – every turn of the road here is like a postcard.

Kyrgyzstan is one of the last countries where a true nomadic lifestyle has been preserved. In summer, half of the population goes up into the mountains to jailoo – summer pastures. Tourists are happily allowed into the yurts, treated with koumiss (fermented mare's milk), boorsocks, pilaf and fresh honey. The hospitality here is not for show – if you go into a yurt, you will be fed until you physically refuse.

People are a separate pride of the country. Kyrgyz people are incredibly open, smiling and proud of their culture. At every step you hear "Salamatsyzba?", and if you say a few words in Kyrgyz, they will be moved to tears. Even in Bishkek, which looks like a typical post-Soviet city with Mercedes cars, stalls, and the huge Osh bazaar, people remain calm and kind.

Traditions are alive: on holidays they still play kok-bora (goat riding), arrange weddings for 500 people, sing the manaschi epic "Manas" (20 times longer than "Iliad" and "Odyssey" combined). On Nauryz, Nooruz and Independence Day, the streets turn into a carnival.

It is a paradise for active tourists: multi-day horseback riding, heli–skiing, rafting on the Chui River, mountaineering (Lenin Peak 7134 m is one of the "simplest" seven-thousand-meter peaks in the world), paragliding over Issyk-Kul. For those who want silence, there are hundreds of routes where you may not meet a single person in a week.

Kyrgyzstan is a place where in 10 days you can swim in a mountain lake, live in a yurt with shepherds, climb a glacier, taste 15 types of dairy products and return home with the feeling that you have seen the whole planet in miniature. And the most important thing is to leave with the desire to return. Because there is a piece of the heart left here.