Mountain track Tien-Shan near

Departure: morning

Return: evening

By 2 kinds of buses for 18 and up to 50 people. The prices are given for the comfortable bus with air conditioning, microphone for the gide e.c. ​

Proposed routes: Burana Tower - 80 km from Bishkek:

Can be visited on the way to Ussyk =Kul seminar place. Takes 1-2 hrs of time includind ascend to the tower.. The cost is 2 USD for a person.

Burana Tower (11th century), located 80 km (50 miles) from Bishkek, is one of ’s best known archaeological sites. Burana is also home to a museum of important archaeological pieces that tell the history of the and Kyrgyzstan’s place on it.

Burana Tower is all that’s left of the city of , which was the capital of the Karakhanid Empire in the 9th century. Around the base of the tower are several excavation sites that show brick foundations of buildings, though archaeologists have shown that the town actually extended for quite a bit further (shops, bazaars, baths, and houses have all been discovered).

There is also a small collection of balbals, or kurgan stelae, near the tower. These little stone figures were used to honor the dead, and sometimes marked the spot where a body was buried. These are excellent examples of stonework from the 6th century CE, and are accompanied by petroglyphs from the 2nd century BC that were brought here to be displayed.

The museum itself is small, but houses unique and interesting artifacts. Balasagyn’s location on the Silk Road made it a center for traders, with merchandise and people crisscrossing the continent from east to west. Coins, pottery, and other artifacts show the diversity of the region and its storied history.

Price: 80 usd for the comfortable bus. The departure is from Bishkek. 8 USD if the visiting is on the way to the Seminar place

National «Ala-Archa» Park 40 km from Bishkek

One of the most visited places in Kyrgyzstan is Ala-Archa nature reserve. It is located 30 km from Bishkek in an area of 20,000 hectares, where there is everything: mountains, rivers, pine forests growing on the slopes of the mountains. It is these forests gave the name to the reserve. "Ala-Archa" means “variegated juniper” that fully characterizes the diversity of pine and spruce forests of the reserve. Every visitor discovers an amazing world of flora and fauna of Kyrgyzstan.

The reserve is a small valley inside the gorge, its ridges are covered with eternal ice, and the slopes are the finest spruce forests. The streams flow down from the glaciers on the slopes, by flow down streams of melt water, which then are converted into Ala-Archa River.

Ala-Archa River, of a total length of 76 km, originates from the glaciers in the northern slope of the Kyrgyz Ala-Too. It has several tributaries: the Ak-Sai, Top Karagai, Teke-Terre, Tuy-Suu Adygine, Jindi-Suu. The river flows through the reserve, the green meadows and slopes, covered with fir forests.

In 1976 Ala-Archa Kyrghyz State Park was created in Ala-Archa gorge, for the preservation of endangered rare species of animals, plants and the development of tourism and mountaineering. One of the main attractions of the reserve is a unique wildlife. Here you can see the snow leopard listed in the Red Book, and high in the valley lives a rare blue bird that the Kyrghyz call "a bird of happiness." Lots of other amazing flora and fauna forms live in the reserve, where hunting is strictly forbidden.

Another unique feature of the reserve is an alpine camp, located at an altitude of 2000 m above sea level. Such famous peaks as Semenov-Tyan-Shan peak(4875 m) and Korona Peak (4860 m) are also on the territory of the reserve. Semenov-Tyan-Shan Peak is the highest point of the ridge. Alpinists from all over the world gather here to conquer the summit.

Price is 60 usd for the bus of 18 seats, 51 usd without air conditioning. To drive inside Ala-Archa costs 15 usd

Alamedin Gorge: 30 km from Bishkek.

Alamedin Gorge is one of the most striking features of the Kyrgyz Range, just south of Bishkek. About 30 km (19 miles) from Bishkek is Koi Tash, a small village at the intersection of four roads. One of the roads leads up the Alamedin Gorge, alongside the gorge’s river, one of the main rivers flowing through Bishkek.

Ten kilometers (6 miles) into Alamedin Gorge is the Tyoplie Klyuchi Sanatorium, where one can bathe in naturally-heated radon water (though take the advice of doctors and don’t swim for longer than ten minutes). Further along is a complex of cottages, built in 1984 by the Ministry of Power.

Beyond the cottages, the vista opens out into a beautiful alpine valley, ideal for a day trip from the city or trekking over the mountains. There are waterfalls, glades with berries, mushrooms, juniper and birch forests, and views of the glaciers and Usechenko Peak (4650 m or 15,255 feet), as well as a number of other canyons to the east.

Price: 43 usd for the bus

Issyk-Ata: 77 from Bishkek

Issyk-Ata is a gorge 77 km (48 miles) from Bishkek, which cuts into the Kyrgyz Range to the south of the city at 1,775 m (5,823 feet) above sea level. The slopes of the mountains have numerous alpine meadows and fruit trees, but what has attracted visitors for centuries is the water. For centuries, the hot springs at Issyk-Ata were a place of pilgrimage, and in the 19th century, villagers expressed their gratitude for the healing properties of the water by spreading it on a large rock with an etching of Buddha on it, which dates from the 10th century. The Tibetan inscription is on the face of a boulder with a sculpture of an eagle on top, but it is now also joined by modern graffiti. There is a legend about a young woman who bathed every day in the river. The magic force of the mountains kept her young and preserved her youthful beauty, so that even when all the other women of her age were so old and wrinkled, she still looked young and beautiful. Another story tells about an Uzbek shamaness who lived nearby, who was famous for her healing prowess and isolated lifestyle, until her husband and son were both killed for being rebels. Turkic nomads worshipped the springs, and early Russian colonists used to come here to be treated for medical problems. The first visitors had to stay in yurts - the first permanent building was only built in 1928 by the Soviet Union. The river is famous for its trout, and poaching is a big problem, as is illegal logging. The upper reaches of the valley are covered in rich vegetation and are home to herds of horses.

Price for the comfortable bus 65 usd, without air conditioning 51 usd

Kegety: 90 km from Bishkek ​ Kegeti is considered by some to be the most beautiful gorge in Kyrgyzstan. It’s about 90 km (55 miles) from Bishkek, on the northern side of the Kyrgyz Range. The bottom of the gorge holds a valley and a river of the same name, and the slopes are famous for their meadows and alpine woods. There are not only berries, such as strawberries, stone brambles, and blackberries, but also rare and unique medicinal herbs.

Kegeti is also famous for its waterfall, dropping 20 m (65 feet) into the gorge. The waterfall is easy to reach, which means that both places are frequently visited by tourists. It is also an excellent place for horseback riding, another reason why tourists frequent Kegeti. Nearby are other famous sites, including Kel-Tor Gorge, with a small “dead sea” and Burana Tower, one of Kyrgyzstan’s most famous archeological sites. Visitors can also travel to Bel-Saz, which is a summer pasture, or jailoo. Dozens of various mammals live in Kegeti, as well as birds, like falcons, golden eagles, and gyrfalcons.

Price for the bus 65 usd Shamsi Gorge: 120 km from Bishkek Shamsi Gorge, only 10 km (6 miles) from Bishkek, is another beautiful gorge. Unlike many other similar places, the walls of Shamsi are very steep and rocky. The Shamsi River flows through the bottom of the gorge, and is very rapid and turbulent. The animals and plants living in Shamsi are very diverse, with fir and pine woods, and sub-alpine meadows located on the northern and western slopes. Boar, weasels, lynx, hares, and stoats can often be found in the gorge. Shamsi is also home to many shepherds, who bring their flocks to graze on the rich meadows. In the upper zone, 3,570 m (11,712 feet) above sea level, the Shamsi Pass connects the Kochkor and Chuy Valleys. Here, one can also fine the Tuyuk-Keltor Lake, at the upper part of the Tuyuk River. The Shamsi River starts here, with a cascade of brilliant waterfalls. Shamsi is certainly known not only for its natural beauty, but also for its mysteries. One of these mysteries is a golden mask of a female face. Old men say that it is a mask of Princess Shamsi, for whom the gorge was named.

Note: way to the waterfall here needs a fit physical shape

Price for the bus 72 usd, without air conditioning 65 usd

Chunkurchak, 45 km from Bishkek

Chunkurchak Gorge is one of the smallest yet most beautiful gorges in Kyrgyzstan. It is situated 45 km (28 miles) from Bishkek, in the upper Alamedin River. The territory of the gorge is a National Biological Reserve, established to conserve rare species of tulips. These tulips are considered to be the main draw of the gorge, and traveling through it in the spring, one can see not only a few flowers, but a vast bright-scarlet meadow. Queen tulips, one of the most beautiful types, can reach 15 to 18 cm (6 to 7 in) tall.

A guide is necessary to visit Chunkurchak, since the entry to the gorge is small and very difficult to find. Chunkurchak leads to the larger Takhr Gorge, which contains a 200 m (656 f) rock overlooking the Alamedin River. Chunkurchak also leads to Bir-Bulak Gorge, well known for its fields of raspberry bushes.

Chunkurchak is excellent for rock climbing. Fans of extreme sports will appreciate the steep slopes in the gorge, which can be quite slippery and covered with ice. This makes the walls perfect for dry-tooling, a type of climbing using ice axes and crampons. Not all mountains are good for this sport, but Chunkurchak is one of the best places in for holding dry-tooling competitions.

Price 58 usd for the bus

Museum of the Great Emptiness by painter Alexey Skreplev

In Orto-Sai village near Bishkek just under the mountains there is a painter Alexey skreplev lives. He made a museum out of his own house where he does exhibitions and called it “The museum of the Great Emptiness”.

He invites guests on every Sunday and instead of money he takes the payment for the exhibitions in form of paint tubes

On the territory of a museum there are:

● several-level’s gallery with all kinds of pictures from the tiny to huge having size up to a whole wall of the room. One of it has a secret ● art installation made of different articles ● two pyramids above and under the soil between them there is a pool with a special place for meditation ● rainbow shower, glassed and decorated by colorful threads and crystals. the owner explains the specialty of the shower ● many other rooms and arbors worthy to be seen

Price

Price: 1 paint tube for one person and 2 or 3 packages for the group. It’s better to take some tea or something to eat with tea. Aleksey is very hospitable and can share many things with you. He can speak with you while drawing a new picture while you’re sitting and drinking the tea

Grigorevka and Semyonovka Gorges (Not far from the Seminar place)

Semyonovka and Grigorevka are the largest and best known of the beautiful gorges on the north shore of Issyk-Kul, in the Kungey Ala-Too (Sunny Ala-Too) Mountains. These two villages are 30 km (18 miles) along the road from Cholpon-Ata as you travel from Bishkek. The surrounding region is crisscrossed by trekking routes, some of which pass over the mountains towards Almaty, .

From the village of Semyonovka, named after the Russian explorer Pyotr Semyonov, an asphalt road extends 15 kilometers into the mountains, following the Chon Ak-Suu (Big White Water) River, past the Kyrchyn tour base. The road leads to a jailoo, or summer pasture, located 2,010 m (6,595 feet) above sea level, where the Chon Ak-Suu meets with the Kichi Ak-Suu (Little White Water) River. The river flows 34 km (21 miles) from the glaciers down to Lake Issyk-Kul, through three small lakes. This jailoo was historically used as a meeting place for congresses of Kyrgyz elders.

From the village of Semyonovka, named after the Russian explorer Pyotr Semyonov, an asphalt road extends 15 kilometers into the mountains, following the Chon Ak-Suu (Big White Water) River, past the Kyrchyn tour base. The road leads to a jailoo, or summer pasture, located 2,010 m (6,595 feet) above sea level, where the Chon Ak-Suu meets with the Kichi Ak-Suu (Little White Water) River. The river flows 34 km (21 miles) from the glaciers down to Lake Issyk-Kul, through three small lakes. This jailoo was historically used as a meeting place for congresses of Kyrgyz elders.

From the end of June to the end of September, there is a yurt village here. This yurt village is marketed as an ethnological experience, where half the yurts are reserved for visitors, and half are occupied by local families, who provide services and entertainment. Guests here can experience authentic and traditional elements of the Kyrgyz nomadic lifestyle, like sleeping on traditional blankets in yurts, rather than on beds. This also means that things like toilets and washing facilities are also more traditional, but the experience more than makes up for it. Guests can explore the history, culture, crafts, food and games of the Kyrgyz people, or go on treks on foot or on horseback through the surrounding countryside and see half-wild yaks. For the less active, there are demonstrations of crafts and horsemanship, recitations of the Epic of Manas, concerts on traditional instruments, and even kumis tastings - an all-around authentic Kyrgyz experience.

It is possible to make a day trip from the shores of Issyk-Kul, or to set off on several days of trekking. Semyonovka is also the right distance from Bishkek to make for a long weekend, or it could fit well into a longer tour that incorporates other aspects and regions. On the northeastern edge of the village are some graves, dating from the 5th to 3rd century BCE. There are more graves further up the valley of the Ak-Suu River.

Another piece of history is a dacha on the shores of Issyk-Kul, not far from Semyonovka, that was built in the 1960s for a visit by Leonid Brezhnev - and was then used only once. It’s a rather modest building, set at the edge of a marshland, a short walk away from the beach. Unfortunately, now it is in a sad state of disuse and disrepair, though there are apparently plans to renovate and restore it.

Price: from Bishkek 43 usd, from the seminar place 25 usd

Mineral Hot springs at Uryktu

Stone pools with termal healing water. At one place there are several nearby with different temperature from hot down to ice-cold. Changing from one pool for another is gives joy and strong healing effect for all the body. There are several recomendations for each of the pools.

There are accomodations including dressing room, toilets and dech-chairs.

Price for the bus is 30 usd and for the enter is 9 usd for each person

The stone-garden petroglyphs in Cholpon-Ata

One of the main sights in Cholpo-Ata is the open-air museum of petroglyphs, located just outside the city center. The 42 hectares of the museum are dotted with stone circles, tombs, balbals, and a variety of petroglyphs. These petroglyphs date from the 2nd millennium BCE up to the 4th century AD.

It is thought that the site was once an open-air temple, where people worshipped the sun and other celestial bodies. Many of the stones feature animals, including snow leopards and deer. One of the stones near the entrance features hunters chasing deer with tame snow leopards, while another stone depicts snow leopards in motion, a rare image in Central Asian petroglyphs. There are also images of the sun, and chariots racing across rocks.

The art of stone inscriptions gradually disappeared with the spread of Islam to Central Asia, which restricted images of animals and human beings. However many of the forms used in these petroglyphs are still with us – they form the basis of patterns, showing different parts of animals (horns, wings, claws) and are used in shyrdaks (Kyrgyz felt carpets) and other forms of traditional arts and crafts. There are other collections of petroglyphs located in the foothills of Kungey Ala-Too Mountains, which stretches along the entire norther length of the lake, between Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan – but the Stone Garden represents the most easily accessible and preserved site.

The site has experienced wear and tear because of the high number of visitors, and recent attempts to preserve the drawings have been surrounded in controversy, as some worry that the chemicals used to repair the artifacts may have damaged them further.

Price on the way to seminar place 8 usd and from the seminar place about 20 usd

Additional:

Price for the bus with 18 seats from Bishkek to Issy-Kyl (Seminar place) and back is 200 usd (may be included in a general seminar price) and with 50 seats is 500 usd