Issyk-Kul

Understand

Issyk Kul is a slightly saline deep water body. Years of over-fishing have decimated its fisheries and many of the smoked fish sold in the surrounding cities come from other alpine lakes. Due to a lack of reasonable control on tourism, many sub-standard and unfinished low quality tourism resorts ring the lake's north shore. Nevertheless, there still remain numerous places to appreciate the true beauty of Issyk Kul. A mountain pass road being constructed between Issyk Kul and Almaty, Kazakhstan is set to increase the number of tourists in the coming years and without government controls on development, exposing the lake to more tourists will only deplete its natural beauty. The Issyk Kul lake reaches to 663 m deep in the center. The east end of the lake was also once used as a torpedo testing site by the Soviet Navy, making the region off limits to foreigners for a period of time. Issyk Kul is divided between the more populated and touristy North Shore and the more rugged and less populated South Shore.

Getting there

By bus The simplest way to reach Issyk Kul is by minibus from Bishkek western bus station (Западный автовокзал Zapadniy avtovokzal). There are minibuses that goes over northern or southern shore, you can arrange with driver to stop at your desired village. The price is 280 som to Cholpon Ata and about 350 som to Karakol.

By taxi You can arrange a van or taxi from Almaty or Bishkek. A hired driver one-way from Bishkek will cost up to US$100. Leave from the western bus station (Западный автовокзал Zapadniy avtovokzal) to get to Issyk Kul. A seat in a 4-person shared car to Cholpon Ata will cost about 500–1000 som. Beware that prices may differ largely between different drivers and be prepared to bargain. You may wish to team up with other travelers (or locals) and negotiate a price together, locals often pleased to ensure that you pay the local fare. Prices may be higher on weekends or peak season.

By train There is also a scenic train ride from Bishkek to Balykchy (see here for more details). The train is slower than bus or taxi, and there is only one train to Balykchy departing early morning and returning back at afternoon. But the train ride boasts amazing views of the mountain pass. And the tickets are very cheap, for 69 som.

Getting around

By bus All of the larger cities have bus stations with frequent marshrutkas. If you are in a smaller city, town or village, you might have to head to the highway around the lake to catch a marshrutka.

By autostop Hitching a ride around the lake or into any direction is easy—see Kyrgyzstan#By autostop. This can be especially useful if you leave the main road around the lake and head for instance into the mountains, where there is no public transport.

By taxi Most bus stations have a taxi stand nearby where you can negotiate additional rides. But also in smaller cities, towns or villages, you can just ask around for a car and driver—there are plenty.

See

The locally published Spektator magazine had an online guide to circumnavigating Issyk Kul.

Do

Issyk Kul is also ringed by hundreds of kilometers of beaches popular for swimming and sunning.

Eat

Most of the restaurants serve "national and European" cuisine, which amounts to local and Russian food. There are few restaurants catering to western tastes. Most locals pack their own food and prepare in their hotel rooms and on the beach. You can find numerous shashlik stands in the summer serving marinated grilled lamb and beef.

Drink & nightlife

Some locals believe drinking the slightly saline water of Issyk Kul has health benefits. But, there is a uranium tailing pond on the south shore, that likely runs off into the lake.