Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
GOLD¨MINE
Amid eternal snows at a phenomenal 4200m altitude,
Kumtor
(www.kumtor.kg/en) is
the world's eighth-larget goldield and produces an etimated 12% of Kyrgyztan's
GDP. Throughout the summer of 2013 protetors clashed with police while barricading
the access road and attempting to cut power supplies to the mine. Local people seemed
divided as to which tory they believe about the motivations of the proteters. Were they
genuinely concerned for better environmental conditions? Was it part of a political move
agitating for the mine's nationalisation? Or was this simply an attempt to persuade the
mine's owners to spend more money in local communities as retribution for the mine
not paying their dues to a major protection racket? Whatever the reality, there are no
tours of the mine operations and even getting up onto the higher sections of the access
road requires a special invitation to get pat the various checkpoints.
shared-taxi stops are easy to spot, within 50m of
the new silver-domed mosque.
There's no public transport to Kök-Jaiyk.
Walking from the Korort is relatively painless,
and in summer a regular taxi can take you
the 4km to the main viewpoint saving over an
hour's hike. going further by vehicle usually re-
quires a 4WD due to mud or ice patches. Kara-
kol agencies typically ask 2500som per vehicle
for a return 4WD day trip from town, including
a guided walk to a hard-to-spot waterfall. Exact
costs vary depending on conditions and much
of Kök-Jaiyk is likely to be entirely inaccessible
before mid-April.
The area's most illustrious historical resi-
dent was the 11th-century Mahmud al-Kash-
gari, the author of the first-ever compara-
tive dictionary of Turkic languages,
Divan
Lughat at-Turk
(A Glossary of Turkish Dia-
lects), written in Baghdad from 1072 to 1074.
Locals insist that there was a city of nearly
100,000 people here before the whole site
was razed by a grandson of Chinggis Khan.
In the 20th century the area was a military
staging point in an era of Soviet-Chinese
border skirmishes while Tamga became an
exclusive sanatorium town for elite officers
of the Red Army.
Southern Issyk-Köl
There's much dispute as to whether the
northern or southern route around Issyk-
Köl is the more scenic. Traditionally Western
visitors have tended to err in favour of the
less busy southern road, especially in sum-
mer when it is spared the heaviest tourist
traffic en route to the Cholpan-Ata resorts.
However, only relatively limited sections of
the route have any real lake view - notably
between Tamga and Tosor and between
Km102 and Km 95 (east of Ton).
BARSKOÖN
Architecturally forgettable Barskoön (Bar-
skaun in Russian) isn't a destination in itself
but is a useful starting point for South Issyk-
Köl's best horse treks. And if you're driving
past it's worth the minor detour from the
main road into Barskoön town to visit the
yurt factory.
A pioneer of eco-tourism long before the
concept was so named,
Shepherds¨Way
(
%
66 13 92, Bishkek (Ishen) 077-251 8315; www.
kyrgyztrek.com)
is a professional local com-
pany, run by a former shepherding family,
organising horse treks into the mountains
behind Barskoön. Ishen speaks excellent
English. Female guides and cooks are avail-
able on request. Shepherds Way has its own
guesthouse
(
%
077-212 4144; Podgornaya
35, Barskoön; B&B 850som, full-board 1300som)
tucked away from the main village with a
large yard, dining yurt, hot showers, sauna
and English-speaking staff. Make arrange-
ments in advance as they are not used to
walk-in clients.
The
Ak¨Örgö¨Yurt¨Workshop
(
%
077-306
4137, 267 54; mekenbek_1958@mail.ru; Lenin 93)
became famous after one of its products
Barskoön & Tamga
Барскаун и Тамга
%
3946
This area makes a good all-round base for
visiting the south coast of Issyk-Köl, with
excellent horse-trekking and hiking routes
in the mountains behind Barskoön, decent
beaches at Tosor, and a choice of homestays
in attractive Tamga. However, transport is
still somewhat fiddly and out of season al-
most all accommodation will be closed or
entirely full with long-term resident Russian
athletes on winter training programmes.
