Tien Shan legend

Program’s name: Tien Shan legend

Quantity of days: 6

Day 1: Bishkek – Burana – Chon Kemin
As you land at the International Ariport of Manas, you will be picked up by your tour guide who will then take you to the capital city of Bishkek. Bishkek is just 30 minutes away from the airport. As you arrive in the city you will have a guided tour of the city. The city has many interesting places to visit. The city tour will include visiting Pobeda Square (Victory Square), Duboviy Park (Oak Park), Сentral Ala-Too Square, Old Square, National Philharmonic and many other interesting places. The city tour will be followed by lunch after which we will head to the wonderful valley of Chon-Kemin. On our way to Chon-Kemin we will have one of the most popular architectural sites in the country, the tower of Burana, famous in Kyrgyzstan. It was built in the 11th century in the capital of Karakhanid state, Balasagun. It was one of the most prosperous and important cities of its time for it was located on one of the branches of the Great Silk Road. Next to the tower there is a museum that stores all the archeolgical finding from the area. After an interesting excursion in the museum we will be driving to the valley. The night will be in a homestay.

Day 2: Chon Kemin – Rafting – Horse riding – Chon Kemin
After breakfast we will start travelling to the place that will allow us to get close to the river. One of the highlights of the day will be the rafting experience along the river of Chon-Kemin that flows into the river of Chuy. These rivers are perfect for rafting for they pose a moderate level of difficulty. Even beginners will get an enjoyable experience. The rafting will take up around two hours after which we will go back to the village for lunch. Lunch is followed by a three hours long horse riding session. You will be riding horses along the trail that goes to the mountains. Going through a mountain forest and reaching the top of the trail you will get to see the whole valley with all of its villages. The overnight stay is the the same homestay.

Day 3: Chon Kemin – Konorchek – Issyk Kul lake northern shore
Leaving the village and the valley of Chon Kemin we will drive to one of the most beautiful canyons in the country. The canyon with its red mountains and rock formations may remind you of eastern castles with minarets. You will be able to witness the beauty of the canyon after a short hike. It is expected the whole hike to be 3 hours long. Afterwards we will be heading to one of the most pristine alpine lakes, the lake of Issyk-Kul. It is the second largest alpine lake in the world. The name of the lake is translated as warm or hot lake reflecting the fact that it does not freeze in winter. After checking in at a hotel, you are free to enjoy your free time. You might go swimming in the lake or just spend some time on a sandy beach of the majestic lake.

Day 4: Issyk Kul – Grigorievskoye – Semenovskoye – Karakol
In the morning we will travel to visit an open air museum that is famous for the stone carvings left by shamans more than  800BC. From this museum you will be able to see the whole lake. The panorama view reveals the majesty of the lake along with snow capped mountains tops. Continuing our way we will drive through the beautiful gorges of Grigorievskoye and Semenovskoye, popular in Kyrgyzstan. These are the gorges that once hosted the event of the first, second, and third World Nomad Games. You will be able to see many yurts set up by locals to enjoy nature far from noisy cities. Afterwards we reach the beautiful city of Karakol where we have a couple of places to visit. We are going to visit the Dungan Mosque and Orthodox Church of Holy Trinity each of which has a quite unique history related to the history of the town. The night is in a hotel.

Day 5: Karakol – Jeti Oguz – Issyk Kul southern shore – Bishkek
Today we will be driving to one of the most famous gorges around the lake. This will be the gorge of Jeti-Oguz which is famous for the sandstone rock formation that gave a name to the whole gorge. This formation roughly resembles seven bulls about which there are many different legends. You will be able to witness the beauty of the gorge after a twenty minutes hike to the place that reveals a panorama view. Our next stop will be the village on the southern shore of the lake, the village of Bokonbaevo. There we will meet an eagle hunter who will tell you a lot about the craft that he has preserved. He hunts animals with the help of birds of prey, namely an eagle. Continuing our way we will  reach the capital city Bishkek.

Day 6: Bishkek – Airport
Transfer to the airport.