Issyk Kul adventures

Itinerary name: Issyk Kul adventures
Day-by-day program:

Day 1: Bishkek – Burana – Chon Kemin
You will meet your tour guide as you arrive at the International Airport of Manas. Your tour guide will then take you to the capital city of Bishkek and conduct a guided tour of the city for you. The city tour will include visiting Victory Square, Central Ala-Too Square, Old Square, Oak Park and many other interesting places that are usually full of historical monuments to tell you a lot about the history not only of the city but of the country as whole. After lunch we will start driving to Chon-Kemin valley. On our way to the valley we will stop at one of the most famous architectural sites of the country, namely, Burana Tower. The tower dates back to the 11th century, to the era of Karakhanids. The tower used to stand in one of the most important cities of that time, namely, in the capital city of the Karakhanid State that attracted many travelers and merchants along the route of the Great Silk Road. After an interesting excursion in the museum next to the tower we will continue our way to Chon-Kemin. The overnight stay will be a home stay.

Day 2: Chon Kemin – Rafting – Horse riding – Chon Kemin
We will start the day with driving towards the banks of the gorgeous mountain river of Chon-Kemin. It is a moderately paced river that flows into the river of Chuy. These rivers are perfect for rafting which we will be doing today. The level of difficulty is not too high making it perfect even for beginners to get an enjoyable experience out of it. Our professionals will give you all the instructions and will set you ready for rafting. The whole process will take up around two hours after which we will head back to the village for lunch. Afterwards, you will have a 3 hours long horse riding. You will ride horses in the mountains going through a beautiful mountain forest. On the top of the route you will be able to get a fascinating panorama view of the whole valley with all of its villages. The night will be the same home stay.

Day 3: Chon Kemin – Konorchek – Issyk Kul lake northern shore
Early in the morning we will start driving towards the province of Issyk-Kul during your travel. On our way to our final destination we will have a top at the “Red Bridge” which is a starting point for a 3 hours long hike into the beautiful canyon of Konorchek. After the hike we will continue our way to the province of Issyk-Kul. In a short hour you will get to see “The Pearl of Central Asia”. The lake of Issyk-Kul is a saline alpine lake that is situated at the altitude of 1600 m. Salinity of the lake drops the freezing temperature. In fact, the name of the lake is translated as warm or hot lake alluding to the fact that it does not freeze over even in winters.

Day 4: Issyk Kul – Grigorievskoye – Semenovskoye – Karakol
After breakfast we will go to an open-air museum that stores a collection of more than 2000 stone carvings also known as petroglyphs. These carvings were completed by shamans of the distant past, around 800BC. At the museum you will get a panorama view of the whole lake that stretches 60 km in width and 180 km in length. You will see the mountain ranges that surround the lake. Mountain ranges of Terskey and Kungei Ala-Too that surround the lake hide many beautiful gorges, two of which we will drive through after the museum. Our way will lie through Grigorievskoe and Semenovskoe gorges. Starting with one of the gorges we will exit to the main highway from another. These are beautiful gorges where you will be able to see kyrgyz dwellings, yurts set up by locals. Continuing our way we will reach the town of Karakol where we have a couple of places to visit. These are the Dungan Mosque and Orthodox Church of Holy Trinity. The mosque was built in chinese architectural style with no use of metal parts. And the church has a rich history that is as long as the history of the town itself. The night is in a hotel.

Day 5: Karakol – Jeti Oguz – Issyk Kul southern shore – Bishkek
Leaving the town early in the morning we will start driving along the southern shore of the lake. We will drive to the most famous gorge around the lake of Issyk-Kul. The gorge of Jeti-Oguz is famous for the sandstone rock formation that roughly resembles seven bulls. The rock formation is what gave the name to the gorge in the first place. Seven bulls is the translation of the name Jeti-Oguz. We will have a short hike to the place where you will be able to get a panorama view of the gorge. Continuing our way along the southern shore we will stop at the village of Bokonbaevo where you will get to meet an eagle hunter. He will tell you everything about this ancient craft of kyrgyz culture. Afterwards we keep driving to our final destination which is the capital city of Bishkek. The night is in a hotel.

Day 6: Bishkek – Airport
Transfer to the airport.