Road from Naryn to Djalal Abad

There are few reasons to take this road:

• It provides a cross-country route between the Northeast (Issyk Kul) and Southwest (Osh) corners of the country, avoiding the need to travel via Bishkek.
• The landscapes and villages are different from other, well visited, places and they look remote and untouched.
• You can visit the Saimaluu-Tash petroglyphs (stone inscriptions). Saimaluu-Tash means “Embroidered Stones”. There are estimated to be around 10 000 rock carvings and drawings which were revealed to the outside world at the beginning of 20^th century when Russians decided to build a road from the town of Djalal-Abad to their outpost in Naryn.

Naryn is located 200 km away from Chinese border and, from ancient times, travellers used to stop for a night in the Naryn area before heading onto the Torugart pass.  It is a long, thin town that straddles the fast flowing Naryn River and is set between high, steep cliffs. It still houses an army base and headquarters for the customs at Torugart - and so camping on the hills overlooking the town is forbidden. Naryn is known mainly as a stopping point for travellers on the way to/from Kashgar.  

The road from Naryn to Kazarman (217 km): it is a roughly 6-7 hour ride and it is manageable between early June and September.  Along the way, the road follows the course of the Naryn River through a succession of fertile valleys, crosses several passes and descends into steep-sided gorges.  The most dramatic ascent of the route comes after climbing to the Kara-Guu pass (3500m).  From the plateau, just before the top of the pass, there is a fascinating view of the mountain ranges, tinted in red and beige strips.  After the pass the road slowly descends to Kazarman.

Kazarman and Saimaluu Tash.

Kazarman has the reputation of being a “Wild-West” type of town – possibly because of its connections with the nearby open-cast gold mining and refining facilities.

The Saimaluu Tash stone inscriptions: 45 km of driving from Kazarman by 4 WD and 15 km of horseback riding; about an hour of driving and 4 hours of riding.

The images date from 3000 BC to 800 BC. The “Embroidered Stones” of Saimaluu Tash are definitely the archeological highlight of any visit to Kyrgyzstan. The petroglyphs lay scattered over two moraine slopes. The images represent animals – mainly ibex, wolves, horses, camels, snow leopards and even monkeys. The rest show hunting scenes, ritual dances and shamanic symbols. There is a place that is still a sacred spot for the Kyrgyz where shamans used to gather for conducting meditations and celebration.

The road from Kazarman to Djalal-Abad (177 km): This stretch of the road is less well maintained and rougher then that between Naryn and Kazarman.  It is completely impassible for much of the year, (it is likely to be open from the middle of June until the end of August - The Ministry of Transport plan from June 15th to September 15th).  

At first the road passes through red sandstone hills, and sometimes the road is close to the mountains.  Crossing the Kugart pass (3100m) the scenery changes as the road descends through pretty, fertile, valleys; fields of sunflowers; walnut trees and apple orchards.  After passing them the highway leads you through a number of small villages as it approaches the town of Djalal Abad.

Timing: Naryn – Kazarman 7 hours; Kazarman – Djalal Abad 9 hours.