General list of 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 used to list the following in their “Highlights of Central Asia”:

• Ala Archa 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, a Kyrgyz tour company issued a list of the “Ten Wonders of Kyrgyzstan”.  It included:

1. Issyk Kul Lake
2. The forests of Southern Kyrgyzstan
3. The Sary Chelek 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. Ala Archa
10. The Burana Tower

British Mediterranean, which operated the British Airways flights between London and Bishkek, listed four "top attractions" on it’s website:

• Ala Archa
• 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.  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 was published in 1997 and concentrates just on sites associated with the Silk Road and lists:

• Issyk Kul Lake
• The Talas-Chui Corridor
• The Naryn Region:
• At Bashi
• Tash Rabat
• Saimaluu Tash
• Ferghana-Talas
• Aravan
• Bishkek Historical Museum
• The Manas Gumbez in Talas
• The Suleyman Mountain in Osh
• The Uzgen Mausoleums
• Osh Historical Museum

A second list, "Tourism Pearls of the Silk Road" was published in 2005 which concentrated just on five countries: China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.  The description for each country was divided into sections: Natural Resources; Cultural and Historical Resources; Arts and Handicrafts; with notes on Special Interest facilities; Cuisine and Accessibility.  For Kyrgyzstan, the following were listed:

• Natural Resources:
  • Abishir-Sai Canyon
  • Ala Archa National Park
  • Issyk Kul Lake
  • Lenin Peak
  • The Caves of the Osh Mountains
  • Saimaluu Tash
  • Sary Chelek Natural Reserve
  • The Tien Shan Mountain Range
    • Khan Tengri
    • The Merzbacher Lakes
    • Peak Pobeda
• Cultural and Historical Resources:
  • Bishkek - the Capital City
  • The State Historical Museum
  • The Theatre of Opera and Ballet
  • Cholpon Ata
  • Karakol
  • Osh
  • Suleiman Mountain
  • Tash Rabat Caravanserai
  • Tokmok
  • Burana Tower and Museum
  • Uzgen
• Arts and Handicrafts:
  • Ala Kiyiz
  • Chiy
  • Shyrdaks
  • Tush Kiyiz
  • Yurts
• Special Interest:
  • Fishing
  • Gliding
  • Health Resorts
  • Horse Treks
  • Hunting
  • Mountain Biking
  • Rafting
  • Scuba Diving
  • Skiing
• Cuisine:
• Accessibility:

Tash Rabat is also on the list of Highlights listed by another tour company, whose list included:

• Ala Archa
• Burana Tower
• Ak Beshim
• Balbals
• Konochok
• Issyk-Kul lake
• Djety-Oguz
• Altyn Arashan
• Ala Kol Lake
• Song Kol (Sonkul)
• Sary-Chelek
• Inylchek
• Tash Rabat
• Torugart pass

A report about Tourism in the Kyrgyz Republic, written in 2001, cited the following places which had been visited by tourists in April and May of that year – hardly the height of the season, but it will give some idea of the places of interest:

• In Bishkek
  • The Historical Museum
  • The Museum of Fine Arts
• Around Bishkek
  • The Ala Archa National Park
  • Burana Tower and Museum
• Issyk Kul Region
  • The Issyk Kul Museum in Cholpon Ata
  • The park in Cholpon Ata
  • Gregorievka Gorge
  • Karakol
    • The Karakol Regional Museum
    • The Prezhervalsk Museum
    • The Dungan Mosque
    • The Orthodox Cathedral
  • The Djety Oguz Valley
• Osh
  • Suleyman Too Mountain
  • Babur’s House
  • The Rabbat Abdulla Mosque
  • The Alimbek Datka Ethnological Center
  • Osh Regional Museum
  • The Saltanat Gallery
  • The “Golden Valley” Centre

Some "highlights" occur in several lists, others occur in just one list ... but combined they include almost 60 individual sites to visit, 12 different types of activity and almost 10 cultural aspects worth exploring ... and, for such a small country, that seems a pretty impressive tally. 

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 for a 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.