Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Khan¨Tengri¨Hotel¨
HOTEL $$
(
%
549 46, Nazgul 055-603 5063; www.khan
tengrihotel.kg; Jusupova 2; s/d/tr/q incl break-
fast 1200/1480/2700/3200som;
i
)
Naryn's
newest hotel hides in an unlikely tree-
shaded gated yard, and has a stylish feel to
its reception area. Rooms are comfortable
but much more functional. One internet
computer.
Celestial¨Mountains¨¨
Guest¨House¨
gUESTHOUSE $$
(
%
077-993 1125, 504 12; www.cmgh.kg; Razzakov
42; yurt per person 500som, tw/tr without bath-
room 1200/1200som, lux d 1500som;
i
)
Neat
if unsophisticated rooms mostly share very
compact bathrooms with half-sized tubs.
Two 'lux' rooms are considerably more
comfortable with ensuite facilities. In sum-
mer, eight-bedded yurts in the grounds cost
500som per person. Meals available. It's at
the end of a small, signed laneway off Raz-
zakov (Moskovskaya).
5
¨Eating
Kafe¨Ademi¨
CENTRAL ASIAN $
(Bazaar Area; mains 70-130som;
h
8am-7pm)
One
of several eateries facing the east side of
the bazaar, the food here is some of Naryn's
best value. The imaginative 'Ademi' dish is
a tasty creation, wrapping a meat patty in a
lasagne-style pasta sheet and dousing it with
cheese and lightly spiced tomato sauce.
Samsakhana¨
BAKERY $
(Lenina 54; snacks/shashlyk 35/130som;
h
8am-
8pm)
Main street bakery-window selling
fresh tandoor bread,
etnan
(ring-shaped
meat-bread) and, with advanced notice,
plov
and
shashlyk
.
Anarkul¨Apa¨Café¨
CENTRAL ASIAN $$
(
%
513 17; Orozbak 23; mains 80-170som, garnish
30som, beer 35-60som;
h
9am-9pm Mon-Fri, 9am-
6pm Sat;
E
)
Small but relatively upmarket by
Naryn standards. Remarkable for having an
English-language menu and serving a few
meat-free dishes (roast vegetables, cheese
spaghetti).
7
¨Shopping
Locally produced
shyrdaks
and souve-
nirs can be purchased from Kubat Tour,
CBT or next door at a shop called
Art¨
Gallery
(Lenina 8, apt 59)
. The 'real'
Art¨¨
Gallery
(Jakypov 5; admission 50som)
itself
has a giftshop.
Naryn
НАРЫН
%
3522 / POP 38,000 / ELEV 2030M
Mostly wedged into a striking if slightly
foreboding canyon, Naryn is an architectur-
ally unlovely strip town with no real 'sights'
beyond a typical local
museum
(Razzakov 4;
admission 60som;
h
9am-noon & 1-5.30pm Mon-
Fri)
and a 1993
mosque
with fanciful mosa-
ics, 2.5km west of Naryn's centre. However,
it is nonetheless an excellent place to hook
up with other summer travellers to ride-
share (and thus save money) on crossing
the Torugart Pass to China, visiting Tash
Rabat Caravanserai or heading across the
very rough road to Kazarman (for Osh).
Energetic, friendly CBT staff go out of their
way to help organise such options and can
arrange a series of local treks too. Naryn
also makes an alternative launching point
from which to reach Song-Köl.
The name Naryn is derived from the
Mongolian for 'sunny' - a rare moment of
Mongol irony.
4
¨Sleeping
CBT (p281) has 15 homestays (B&B per per-
son 600som, meals 250som) in Naryn and
Kubat Tour (p281) has half a dozen more
(from 400som). Most are in suburban hous-
es and apartment blocks, often in the east-
ern Moscovskaya suburb. When the commu-
nity tourism offices are closed for the winter,
try
Dushagul
(Razzakov 3, apt 3; B&B 600som)
or
Beyshagul
(Razzakov 7, apt 2; B&B 600som)
,
who both have comfortable, fairly standard
homestays in apartment blocks near the
main bridge. Cheerful driver
Kachkumbek
(
%
077-917 7524; Razzakov 15; B&B 600som)
has
several apartments nearby.
Beware that occasionally on Thursday
and Monday nights in mid-summer accom-
modation can be overloaded with groups
heading to/from Torugart, aiming to arrive
for the Sunday market in Kashgar and avoid
the border closures on weekends.
Hotel¨Ala-Too¨
ROOMS $
(
%
521 89; Chanachov 19; s/d/tr/q without bath-
room 250/500/750/1000som, with bathroom
450/900/1350/1800som)
Naryn's cheapest
option, this Soviet-era hulk has a photogeni-
cally abandoned restaurant with smashed
windows and trees growing out the roof.
Repainted bedrooms aren't quite as bad as
you might fear, but the beds are lumpy and
shared bathrooms are pretty dismal.
