Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
usually agree on around half that through drivers
around Osh Bazaar.
By public transport
marshrutka 265
(Map
p234; Beyshenaliyeva; 25som) from ul Beysh-
enaliyeva usually runs to Kashka-Suu village,
terminating 7km short of the park gate. But
around ive daily services in summer go all the
way to the gate (last return around 5pm). On
some summer weekends these might even run
to the
alplager
, but generally you'll need to walk
or hitch the last 12km. Traic is sparse out of
season.
marshrutka¨ 367
(Map p234; cnr Kuliev &
Chuy prospektesi; 25som;
h
8am-8.30pm)
from
Bishkek's Osh Bazaar, at best stops 15km
short in Belogorka village, with many only
going as far as Tash-Bulak or Sokuluk ba-
zaar. Hitching is not likely to be successful
except, perhaps, on mid-summer weekends.
TOWARDSISSYK-KÖL
The new Bishkek-Balykchy highway by-
passes Kant, Tokmok and Kemin. Cyclists
are advised to take the old road but will
still face the heavy traffic and headwinds of
the eroded Boom Valley (Boömskoe Ushile,
Shoestring Gorge). Hiking away from the
main road in the Boom Valley is a series of
wind-eroded sandstone towers and pillars
sometimes known misleadingly as Clay or
Aeolian 'Castles' (see asiamountains.net/
en/catalog/excursions/eolian for photos).
Of several other minor attractions that
warrant a short detour, the best known is
the Burana Tower. Further south are sever-
al attractive canyon-valleys notably Kegeti
Valley and the 20m Kegey Waterfall, an ice-
climb in winter.
Alamedin Valley
Ущелье Аламедин
This beautiful alpine valley is the most ac-
cessible option for those wanting to savour
Bishkek's fabulous mountain backdrop
with a picnic rather than a serious trek.
The valley has a relatively open aspect with
curtains of spiky white-tops rising from a
partly grassy meadowland valley. Views be-
gin just five minutes' walk from the end of
the road, less than 1km beyond the dowdy
Soviet-era mineral-water swimming pool,
Tyoplye¨Klyuchi
(
%
33 68 18; per hr 150som;
h
8am-8pm Tue-Sat, 8am-4pm Sun)
. Almost as
soon as you leave the final little car park
there's a choice of routes: you can descend,
cross the river and follow the left bank pas-
tures towards a waterfall that's tucked away
in the third side valley (around 1½ hour's
walk one way); or stay on the right bank
for somewhat finer views. However, after
around an hour's walk, when you reach a
large grassy area, the right-bank path pe-
ters out amid thorn bushes and crossing the
river there is not recommended unless the
water level is very low.
Burana Tower
Башня Бурана
Burana is a popular side-trip when driving
to Issyk-Köl from Bishkek. In fields east
of Kegeti, the Burana Tower is the 24m-
high stump of a huge brick minaret, sup-
posedly 11th-century though what you see
dates predominantly from a 1950s Soviet
restoration. You can climb it from 9am
to 5pm (6pm in summer), or admire the
slightly leaning structure with its distant
mountain backdrop from a grassy mound
to the northwest. This is all that's left of
the ancient citadel of Balasagun, founded
by the Sogdians and later a capital of the
Karakhanids, excavated in the 1970s by
Russian archaeologists.
Arguably the site's most interesting
feature, on the other side of the citadel
mound, is a collection of 6th- to 10th-
century
balbals
(Turkic totem-like stone
markers). There's also a small
museum
(ad-
mission 60som, guided tour 10som;
h
9am-6pm
summer, until 5pm in winter)
with 11th-century
Christian carvings, Buddhist remains and
Chinese coins, as well as info on local lit-
erary hero Haji Balasagun and his master-
Sokuluk Canyon
Ущелье Сокулук
The 60m
Belogorka¨Waterfall
, arguably
the most impressive in the Bishkek area, is
accessed via Sokuluk Canyon. The surround-
ing valley is dominated by a sharply pointed
spike of mountain nicknamed 'Black Finger'
towering ahead of what was once the main
shepherd's trail to Suusamyr. Following the
former track for around an hour, as it winds
up hairpin turns out of the valley, takes you
past wider, shorter falls and through some
very attractive mountainscapes.
The rough access road becomes impass-
able to cars at a small bridge just before
the falls and the nearest public transport,
