Issyk-Kul Region

Understand

The region's shimmering Issyk Kul lake and the towering Tian Shan mountains are two of the biggest draws for travelers in Kyrgyzstan, and they dominate the views over this portion of the country. The Tian Shan mountain range is part of the Greater Himalaya complex of mountains, running north from the Pamir Knot nearly 3,000 Km to around Urumqi. The borders between China and various Central Asian countries run along the Tian Shan for much of its length.

Getting there

Due to the attractiveness and accessibility of the region, it is the one served most by marshrutkas, people in cars (see Kyrgyzstan#By autostop), and (shared) taxis. Checkout the specific articles of the region, specifically Issyk Kul, Cholpon-Ata, and Karakol.

By plane 1 Tamchy Airport (IKU IATA, Issyk Kul Airport), Tamchy. Tamchy has limited air service during the summer travel season from/to the nearby cities of Kyrgyzstan (Bishkek), Kazakhstan (Almaty), Uzbekistan (Tashkent), and even Russia (Novosibirsk). (updated Nov 2018)

Getting around

Numerous marshrutkas and shared taxis connect all cities, towns and villages along the main routes, and it is easy to get around. As always, relying on hitchhiking can be efficient, economical, and a great way to get into more remote places in this region. But of course, any taxi driver will be willing to take you as well, for the right amount of money—bargain hard if you look like a tourist.

Do

See the salt lakes in Tong District and near Tamga village. For hot springs, checkout Kadji Sai, and a few more in Tong.

Hiking There are many routes for hiking into the mountains surrounding Issyk Kul, especially in Ak-Suu.

1 Grigorievskoe Trail. About 30-40 km (return) in a beautiful valley north of the lake about 10 km from its shore. Apparently sometime a small fee is charged at the entrance of the gorge, but this does not seem to be enforced consequently. There are several beautiful lakes along the way. The gorge leads into a rough river valley and later up to a pass from where you can reach the neighboring Semenovsky Gorge. Download coordinates: GPX, KML. (updated Mar 2019)

Sleep

There is virtually an infinite number of free camp sites available. If you want to stick with proven ones, checkout OpenStreetMap. Also, to the southern side of Issyk Kul, many yurts catering for tourists can be found along the side roads (south of the highway) leading to the various sights in this area, between Kara-Talaa and Tosor.