Kyrgyzstan!
I think everyone that I told I was going to Kyrgyzstan, their reactions were what? where's that? what do you do there? So if you find yourself asking these questions as well, here is a nice answer in blog post form.
Kyrgyzstan is in Central Asia and borders Kazakstan, China, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan. After an interesting experience with the Kyrgyz people on our overnight flight to Bishkek (they didn't understand the concept of personal space or remaining in your seat while taking off, landing, or taxiing), the capital and largest city, Courtney and I arrived in Kyrgyzstan early enough to catch the sunrise as we drove to the office of the tour company we had booked with. Some background knowledge, Kyrgyzstan was part of the former Soviet Union so it is a very young country. The official languages are Kyrgyz and Russian (a lot of people can speak English as well), and most of the people look Chinese but talk with a Russian sounding language which goes against your natural intuition in the beginning. It is a relatively untapped tourist location which was a main reason we wanted to go there and has tons of mountain ranges to explore.
After taking a little nap at the office hostel, we met our guide for the week, Muha (short for Muhammed), and then headed towards the mountains. Muha was young but a really good kid. He was very into rock climbing and mountaineering and did guiding when he had breaks in school. The scenery was beautiful the whole way and we quickly learned that this would be the case the entire trip. I don't think there was ever a location we went where we couldn't see snow covered mountain peaks. That afternoon we arrived in Chon Kemin village and did a three hour horseback ride in the mountains in that area. We stayed with our porter's family in the guest house that night. The family had three little kids that found Courtney and I very entertaining (and vice versa) so we had fun playing with them. We learned that it is customary for the youngest child in Kyrgyz families to end up at home after school and take care of the family farm/business and look after their aging parents. Our porter, Beka, was doing this. He was a very entertaining kid as we soon find out. He also had a Green Bay Packers hat that he wore all the time which made me very happy - GO PACK GO!
The next day we started off on our first three day trek in the Tian Chen Mountains towards Karakol and Issyk Lake. The beginning was relatively flat and easy. Eventually we started making our way upward, fording a few streams along the way. We had an awesome view of the sunset at our camp spot that night. The next day we hiked on through the amazing scenery and stopped at a beautiful lake for the evening. There was a decent amount of melting snow along the trail this day and Beka said the horses carrying or equipment were likely not going to be able to make it over the pass the following day but would try anyways. When we woke up the next morning we found ourselves in a complete fog. After ascending for an hour or so we got above the clouds and thought it was starting to clear up a bit as the sun started poking through but oh how we would be wrong. There were snow drifts the whole way up and eventually we got to a point where it was all snow and the horses could not get any farther because they can get stuck in deep snow or break their legs in which case they will die there. So poor Muha ended up carrying all of the camping equipment and food. His load must have weighed over 80lbs. We said goodbye to Beka, slapped on our snow shoes, and continued our climb to the pass. By the time we made it to the top, there was almost no visibility, certainly no chance of seeing the beautiful view that was promised, and no path to follow because of the snow. Then it started raining. We all reached low points during this part of the trek, and it was also a bit scary at times because we really weren't sure where we were going until finally we got to a low enough elevation and the snow started clearing up enough to find our path. By then we were wet and cold, the wind was blowing hard and it took another 2 hours to get to where a car was waiting for us to take us into the village by Issyk Lake that we stayed at that night. Muha was a trooper carrying all that weight the whole way. We hadn't ate all day because we didn't want to stop and make ourselves more cold so when we arrived at the guest house, the warm bread and tea we had were amazingly delicious.
The bread in general in Kyrgyzstan was so good. Their food was a lot of rice, potato, and noodle based dishes with meat. Nothing exciting but still quite tasty. The next day we went to Karakol which is the main city on Issyk Lake. Along the way we saw the location where the Nomad Games would be held later this year. Muha and Beka had told us about some of the games they pay which are native to Kyrgyzstan. Our favorite (and one you should definitely YouTube for your own enjoyment) was one in which there are two teams, all players are on horses, and the "ball" is a dead, headless goat which you pass around and try to get into a goal - kind of like handball or basketball they said. Right. Touching on this nomad aspect, the shepherds in the mountains are nomads and live in tent-like homes called yurts. More to come on that later.
In Karakol, we walked around the city and saw the mosque and Catholic church there. The following day we set off for our second round of trekking. Another guide from the company, Mikel, joined us for this trek. He was a Spaniard and probably the most interesting person I've met on my trip so far. He had taken the last two years to ride his bike through Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Central Asia eventually stopping in Bishkek to live there for a few years. His stories were incredible and hilarious and he added a great presence to the trip! After a fun stop in the local market that morning, we drove about an hour towards the mountains. We found our horse and porter lounging in the grass somewhere along the road and began our walk from there. After fording a small creek, we headed up a very steep canyon and were rewarded with awesome views. Our lunch spot that day was also incredible. We had the lake, the mountains on the other side of the lake which we had trekked through the other days, the mountains we were hiking through at the moment, and red rock landscapes in between. After lunch we visited a family and their yurt. The man said it took him about an hour to build, which is very impressive. And apparently there are try building competitions in which the winners usually build the try in about 7 minutes for a group of four. Eventually we made it to the town of Jetty-Oguz where we slept in a guest house for the night. The next day of trekking was a long one, almost 20 miles, and we saw a cool waterfall and did another pass. Our final day of trekking ended at some hot springs which we were very happy to soak ourselves in. On our last day we said goodbye to Mikel who was continuing on to trek down the valley we were in and then went to a nearby village for more horseback riding. I think Courtney and I are both set for life on horseback riding (it is by no means a comfortable activity, particularly for your bum). A long bus ride back on surprisingly good public transportation and we said goodbye to Muha and then got up only a few hours later for our early flights out.
Kyrgyzstan was one of my favorite places and had many more mountains to explore so I definitely plan on making it back, ideally when there is less snow so we can get to higher mountains.
Kyrgyzstan is in Central Asia and borders Kazakstan, China, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan. After an interesting experience with the Kyrgyz people on our overnight flight to Bishkek (they didn't understand the concept of personal space or remaining in your seat while taking off, landing, or taxiing), the capital and largest city, Courtney and I arrived in Kyrgyzstan early enough to catch the sunrise as we drove to the office of the tour company we had booked with. Some background knowledge, Kyrgyzstan was part of the former Soviet Union so it is a very young country. The official languages are Kyrgyz and Russian (a lot of people can speak English as well), and most of the people look Chinese but talk with a Russian sounding language which goes against your natural intuition in the beginning. It is a relatively untapped tourist location which was a main reason we wanted to go there and has tons of mountain ranges to explore.
After taking a little nap at the office hostel, we met our guide for the week, Muha (short for Muhammed), and then headed towards the mountains. Muha was young but a really good kid. He was very into rock climbing and mountaineering and did guiding when he had breaks in school. The scenery was beautiful the whole way and we quickly learned that this would be the case the entire trip. I don't think there was ever a location we went where we couldn't see snow covered mountain peaks. That afternoon we arrived in Chon Kemin village and did a three hour horseback ride in the mountains in that area. We stayed with our porter's family in the guest house that night. The family had three little kids that found Courtney and I very entertaining (and vice versa) so we had fun playing with them. We learned that it is customary for the youngest child in Kyrgyz families to end up at home after school and take care of the family farm/business and look after their aging parents. Our porter, Beka, was doing this. He was a very entertaining kid as we soon find out. He also had a Green Bay Packers hat that he wore all the time which made me very happy - GO PACK GO!
The next day we started off on our first three day trek in the Tian Chen Mountains towards Karakol and Issyk Lake. The beginning was relatively flat and easy. Eventually we started making our way upward, fording a few streams along the way. We had an awesome view of the sunset at our camp spot that night. The next day we hiked on through the amazing scenery and stopped at a beautiful lake for the evening. There was a decent amount of melting snow along the trail this day and Beka said the horses carrying or equipment were likely not going to be able to make it over the pass the following day but would try anyways. When we woke up the next morning we found ourselves in a complete fog. After ascending for an hour or so we got above the clouds and thought it was starting to clear up a bit as the sun started poking through but oh how we would be wrong. There were snow drifts the whole way up and eventually we got to a point where it was all snow and the horses could not get any farther because they can get stuck in deep snow or break their legs in which case they will die there. So poor Muha ended up carrying all of the camping equipment and food. His load must have weighed over 80lbs. We said goodbye to Beka, slapped on our snow shoes, and continued our climb to the pass. By the time we made it to the top, there was almost no visibility, certainly no chance of seeing the beautiful view that was promised, and no path to follow because of the snow. Then it started raining. We all reached low points during this part of the trek, and it was also a bit scary at times because we really weren't sure where we were going until finally we got to a low enough elevation and the snow started clearing up enough to find our path. By then we were wet and cold, the wind was blowing hard and it took another 2 hours to get to where a car was waiting for us to take us into the village by Issyk Lake that we stayed at that night. Muha was a trooper carrying all that weight the whole way. We hadn't ate all day because we didn't want to stop and make ourselves more cold so when we arrived at the guest house, the warm bread and tea we had were amazingly delicious.
Beka and Muha our awesome porter and guide
Clouds covering the scenery in the background
Snowshoeing on the cold, rainy, barely visible pass... the expression on my face is accurate
The bread in general in Kyrgyzstan was so good. Their food was a lot of rice, potato, and noodle based dishes with meat. Nothing exciting but still quite tasty. The next day we went to Karakol which is the main city on Issyk Lake. Along the way we saw the location where the Nomad Games would be held later this year. Muha and Beka had told us about some of the games they pay which are native to Kyrgyzstan. Our favorite (and one you should definitely YouTube for your own enjoyment) was one in which there are two teams, all players are on horses, and the "ball" is a dead, headless goat which you pass around and try to get into a goal - kind of like handball or basketball they said. Right. Touching on this nomad aspect, the shepherds in the mountains are nomads and live in tent-like homes called yurts. More to come on that later.
Catholic Church in Karakol
Monument in Karakol Park symbolizing the tough journey of the refugees that fled China
In Karakol, we walked around the city and saw the mosque and Catholic church there. The following day we set off for our second round of trekking. Another guide from the company, Mikel, joined us for this trek. He was a Spaniard and probably the most interesting person I've met on my trip so far. He had taken the last two years to ride his bike through Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Central Asia eventually stopping in Bishkek to live there for a few years. His stories were incredible and hilarious and he added a great presence to the trip! After a fun stop in the local market that morning, we drove about an hour towards the mountains. We found our horse and porter lounging in the grass somewhere along the road and began our walk from there. After fording a small creek, we headed up a very steep canyon and were rewarded with awesome views. Our lunch spot that day was also incredible. We had the lake, the mountains on the other side of the lake which we had trekked through the other days, the mountains we were hiking through at the moment, and red rock landscapes in between. After lunch we visited a family and their yurt. The man said it took him about an hour to build, which is very impressive. And apparently there are try building competitions in which the winners usually build the try in about 7 minutes for a group of four. Eventually we made it to the town of Jetty-Oguz where we slept in a guest house for the night. The next day of trekking was a long one, almost 20 miles, and we saw a cool waterfall and did another pass. Our final day of trekking ended at some hot springs which we were very happy to soak ourselves in. On our last day we said goodbye to Mikel who was continuing on to trek down the valley we were in and then went to a nearby village for more horseback riding. I think Courtney and I are both set for life on horseback riding (it is by no means a comfortable activity, particularly for your bum). A long bus ride back on surprisingly good public transportation and we said goodbye to Muha and then got up only a few hours later for our early flights out.
A Kyrgyz family and their yurt
I-L-L...
Kyrgyzstan was one of my favorite places and had many more mountains to explore so I definitely plan on making it back, ideally when there is less snow so we can get to higher mountains.
Mountains on the flight out... I will be back!
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