Discovery Kyrgyzstan
 
Discovery Kyrgyzstan travel guide #10/2008
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HIGHLIGHTS “Must see…” “Must do…”

Everyone has their favourite spot, or experience. It is a question of personal taste. The Lonely Planet guide to Central Asia lists the following in their "Highlights of Central Asia":

  • - AlaArcha National Park
  • - Altyn Arashan near Karakol
  • - The Enilchek glacier and Khan Tengri
  • - Kochkor homestays for the cultural experience
  • - The Torugart Pass and the Karakorum Highway - Trekking"... the best spots are in Kyrgyzstan and southeast Kazakhstan ..."
  • - Horse riding
  • - Mountaineering
  • - Beaches on Lake Issyk Kul

In 2001, the Kyrgyztour company Tien Shan Travel (www.tien-shan.com) issued a list of the "Ten Wonders of Kyrgyzstan". It included:

  1. Issyk Kul Lake
  2. The forests of Southern Kyrgyzstan
  3. The SaryChelek Natural Park
  4. The caves of the Osh mountains
  5. The petroglyphs of Saimaluu Tash
  6. The castles of Konorchak (rock formations, not mediaeval fortifications)
  7. Enilchek Glacier
  8. Aksu and Karavshin Gorge
  9. AlaArcha
  10. The Burana Tower

British Mediterranean, which operates the British Airways flights between London and Bishkek, lists four top attractions on it's website:

  • - AlaArcha
  • - Lake Issyk Kul
  • - The Central Tien Shan mountains
  • - The Dolon and Torugart passes

Oddly enough some of our favourites are missing from all of these lists most notably the Tash Rabat caravanserai.

map of Kazakhstan

Tash Rabat does, however, make it onto the list of things to see in Kyrgyzstan published in the WTO (World Tourism Organisation) booklet, "Silk Road Discover an Ancient Land" which concentrates just on sites associated with the Silk Road and lists:
  • - IssykKulLake
  • - The Talas Chui Corridor
  • - The Naryn Region:
  • - AtBashi
  • - Tash Rabat
  • - SaimaluuTash
  • - Ferghana-Talas
  • - Aravan
  • - Bishkek Historical Museum
  • - The Manas Gumbez in Talas
  • - The Suleyman Mountain in Osh
  • - The Uzgen Mausoleums
  • - Osh Historical Museum

It is also on the list of Highlights listed by the tour company Fantasticasia (www.fantasticasia.net). Their list includes:

  • - Ala-Archa
  • - Burana tower
  • - Ak-Beshim
  • - Balbals
  • - Konorchok
  • - Issyk-Kul lake
  • - Djety-Oguz
  • - AltynArashan
  • - Ala-Kol lake
  • - Song Kol (Sonkul)
  • - Sary-Chelek
  • - Inylchek
  • - Tash Rabat
  • - Torugart pass
The question of what counts as a "Must Do ..." or "Must See ..." is a matter of individual choice and personal taste ... and there is no point in arguing over such things. What we can say is that Kyrgyzstan is blessed with a wide variety of possibilities and that...
"... in Kyrgyzstan, it is possible to run out of superlatives when trying to describe what you can see and do".

Even if you don't use our services fora visit to the Kyrgyz Republic ... we can recommend it as a little known destination with much to offer the traveler who wants more than sand, sea, sun and discos ... such as spectacular scenery, diverse natural environments, traditional nomadic culture and history.

Discovery Kyrgyzstan #7
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