Destinations

The Chunkurchak gorge is 40 minutes from Bishkek: a winter ski park, summer hiking to Kol-Tor, yurt camps, and the trailhead for…

Balykchy sits at the western tip of Issyk-Kul — a transport junction most travelers pass through. An honest look at whether it’s…

Uzgen keeps an 11th-century minaret and three Karakhanid mausoleums, an old bazaar, and its own prized rice — an easy half-day trip…

Tamga is a slow, tree-shaded village on Issyk-Kul’s south shore, with a Soviet sanatorium, Buddhist inscription stones, and the road to Barskoon.

Manas Ordo near Talas is the mausoleum tied to Kyrgyzstan’s epic hero and a national pilgrimage site. The complex, the epic, and…

Jalal-Abad is a southern spa town with old sanatorium springs and the transport hub for Arslanbob and Sary-Chelek. Where to stay, eat,…

The Burana Tower near Tokmok — a 1,000-year-old minaret, its field of balbal stones, the small museum, and how to make it…

The south shore’s hub for eagle hunters, Salburun, and yurt stays — plus Skazka Canyon nearby and honest advice on getting there…

At 2,000 m and 300 km from Bishkek, Naryn is the last real town before Tash-Rabat and Kel-Suu. Here’s how to use…

Most travelers blow through Kochkor on the way to Song-Kul. That’s a mistake: it’s the country’s original community-tourism hub.

Sary-Chelek is Kyrgyzstan’s prettiest lake and its hardest to earn. Entry fees, Arkyt homestays, the upper-lakes hike, and route options from Osh.

Osh guide: climbing Sulaiman-Too, shopping the 2,000-year-old Jayma Bazaar, eating southern plov, and continuing to the Pamir Highway or Uzbekistan.