Kyrgyzstan 2022

Arrival on June 30, 2022, Franzi takes us to Bochum at 12 p.m., IC 591 to Frankfurt at 12:47 p.m., flight over Istanbul to Bishkek at 6:50 p.m.

On July 1, 2022, transfer to the hotel, rest, lunch at the restaurant, city tour, visit to the Osh Bazaar, dinner at the restaurant, rooftop terrace.

On July 2, 2022, bus ride to Ala Valley at 2100m altitude, 5-hour hike to the big waterfall, picnic, own dinner after shopping at the supermarket on the rooftop terrace.

On July 3, 2022, bus ride 324km over 2 passes with 3100m altitude to Toktogul Lake, picnic by the river, cheese making, stop at the beekeepers, swimming in the lake in front of the old Russian hotel.

On July 4, bus ride along several reservoirs to the Uzbek border. Lunch in Abdiraimov. After arriving in Arslanbob, we take a walk through the tourist mile to the small waterfall. Dinner at Ibragim's.

On July 5, hike to the big waterfall. Lunch at the host's house. Russian GAZ Jeep ride to the walnut forest. Viewpoint and swing. Visit to the mausoleum in the village. Break and dinner at the guesthouse.

On July 6, continue to Kasaman. We drive back south to the plain. Rice and corn are grown here and it is warm on the border with Uzbekistan. The main road is being expanded to 4 lanes. In dusty Kochkor-Ata, we sit at a low table on carpets and eat a la carte. We pass Djalamabad. Stop at the pharmacy. I have a bad cold, but no Corona. Then back up and down the gravel road to the pass. We stay with a family in Kasarman. Dinner. The daughter talks about her studies and career aspirations. Walk through the uncomfortable village.

On July 7, drive to Song Kul: Through the wide Naryn River Valley, then through the mountains parallel. Several photo stops with beautiful views, flowers and canyons. The pass with the camels, picnic in the meadow by the mountain stream, and then Gulzada's favorite pass, the Toguz Toro, and we get champagne. We settle in the yurt at Song Kul and I hit my head on the low entrance. Short walk over the edelweiss meadows. Dinner. SU. Briefing with singing and vodka.

On July 8, Son Kul at 9:00 a.m. breakfast; 10 a.m. equestrian competitions: picking up money, kissing a woman, bringing a goat to the finish line, throwing from the saddle; 11 a.m. horseback ride or rest; 1 p.m. lunch; 2:05 p.m. walk to the rock carvings from the 3rd century BC. With a stop at milking mares and trying mare's milk and fermented milk. We see many fat marmots. From 4 p.m. descend to the flock of sheep. A goat gets into the trunk. 7 p.m. dinner. 8:15 p.m. SU

On July 9, continue to Kochkor 130 km over the Kajmak Pass at 3460 m. Animal market. Lunch. Felting. Cemetery. Dinner and folklore.

On July 10, yurt builder village Kyzyl-Tuu on the southern shore of Issyk Kul with crochet from sheep intestines and boules made from lamb's knee bones. Meeting with the eagle hunter. Lunch in the yurt of the guesthouse in Bokonbaevo. Hike to the red rocks of Ak Sai.

On July 11, Skazka Canyon. Swimming and picnic by the lake. Broken Heart and 7 Oxen 🐂. My hotel in Karakol and Dungan cuisine.

12.7. Along the northern shore of Issyk Kul. 340km. We pass Tyup with a turnoff towards Kazakhstan. We look at the snow mountains in the south. We skip the hike to Lake Suttuu Bulak in the Ak-Tal due to the thunderstorm. After the picnic, we drive to Cholpon-Ata. Here there are rock carvings and a thermal bath. The line is long today, so we only have 45 minutes to relax. At the rest area, near the toilet, I pick up my forgotten things from Karsaman. A taxi transported them for a small fee. In the evening, we reach the Chong Kemin Valley. The guesthouse surprises us with its size and modern wooden architecture.

On July 13, in the Chong Kemin Valley. Hike to the viewpoint under birch trees. Passing colorful flowers, butterflies, and wild bees. Lunch in the next village at Gulzada's parents' house. Dressing up for the group photo. Dismantling and building the yurt with the park ranger. In the evening, we make a campfire, listen to the Manas epic told by the Polish group, and wait for the moonrise.

On July 14, last trip to Burana. Visit to the tower, gravestones, and museum. Lunch with Lagman. We sing our song about the 2 little wolves for Gulzada and Sascha. Now we continue on our own with Marshrutka No. 309. Evening walk to the lush meadows and the creek.

On July 15, hike in the Chong Kemin Valley: we walk on the country road to 'Mannsdorf' Kaindy after a peaceful start in the morning at 9:45 a.m. Unfortunately, only cars are coming towards us, so we can only hitch a ride for 200m in the village. We don't know exactly where we want to go today. If a car would drive up the valley on the gravel road, we could walk to the lake. Since none comes, we turn left towards Avaskan after 2km. Some water flows over the troublesome path and I slide and land in the puddle. In the shade by the creek in front of the cemetery, I need a thorough wash. The sun quickly dries me on the way through the meadows. Hay is loaded onto the trailer with a fork here.

On July 16, hike to the summer pastures on the south side. We start from the guesthouse along the creek. We pass beekeepers. After an hour, we take a break by the creek. Several riders encounter us, as well as 2 boys on a donkey. The path is still wide, easily recognizable, and marked on my map. But to go up, we have to find our own way. Surprisingly, we manage quite well, even though the paths are sometimes very overgrown and thorny. At lunchtime, we don't have a panoramic view yet and we continue climbing. At 2621m, we enjoy the great view at the treeline over the spruces with their black cones. We descend again at 3 p.m. Below the trees, we choose the path to Kaindy. If we hurry, we can catch the Marshrutka again at 5:10 p.m. But we don't need it because a family's station wagon takes us 3km before and brings us to the store in Karool-Diobio. We buy ice cream, cola, and beer for refreshment and ride back to the bridge with the passing Marshrutka. We refresh ourselves by the creek, then relax on the bed. After dinner, I take another walk and we discuss our trip to the Chong Kemin Valley tomorrow in long conversations. Unfortunately, my father is still not feeling better in the hospital with his pneumonia. He speaks little on the phone and I consider flying home earlier.

On July 17, we have arranged a car for the drive to the valley. It costs 4000 som = 55€ for the whole day. Gulzada's uncle picks us up with the Mercedes pickup truck on time at 9 a.m. There is a stop in Kaindy. Fuel is organized and filled into the tank from 2 ex-water canisters. The small truck is shaken well with every pothole. The driver tries to avoid the biggest ones, so we make slow progress in serpentine lines. It takes almost two hours for the 27km. The rear men spin at a steep spot. We complain with stones on the truck bed and take the spot with a run-up. The wide, chalky white river has a lot of water. Once there is a ford marked on the map, but with this water level, I can't imagine crossing there. Just behind the barrier to the protected area, we switch vehicles. We float 3m above the river on 2 ropes with a basket on 4 wheels. Our hike starts with fat high meadows on a narrow path uphill and then along the slope downstream. After an hour, we reach a dirt road. The actual ascent from 500m to the lake begins here. It's warm and we are happy about every shady spot. We pass two small ponds. After a total of 2½ hours, we look at the blue idyllic lake. On the other side, we have our picnic under little willows. 3 cormorants sit on a log in the lake in front of us. We test the water with our feet. It is too shallow for swimming here. At 3 p.m., we walk around the entire lake and mostly return the same way. A shortcut leads very steeply through the pine forest. Shortly after 5 p.m., we are back in the Mercedes. 2 young riders with their horses also join us. After dinner, we sit in the garden and Gulzada's nephew involves us in his giraffe game.
On July 18, after a hearty breakfast with chicken soup, we take the Marshrutka towards Bishkek at 9:15 a.m. It is already full of women and small children. One woman takes her 2 children on her lap so that I can also sit. The boy is not feeling well. He vomits into a bag three times while another 10 people get on. Most of them get off in Kemmin. We are lucky in Tokmok and directly get a connection with the 383 to ^eskhoz after some asking, which is very close to our guesthouse. At the end of the journey, we are almost alone on the bus. A pickup truck is ready and picks up a woman with a child. We react quickly and can ride the 2½ km to the guesthouse with them. After lunch, we set off to the waterfall in the neighboring valley. A car takes us to the intersection and later we hitch a ride on a truck bed. That's fun! The waterfall is already crowded with many buses and there is plenty of posing for photos. You can walk behind the beautiful waterfall. Unfortunately, Ulla is not feeling well at all. She is really sick. We sit down on the picnic area. Cooking, grilling and heating the samovar are in full swing here. On the way back, we have to walk most of the way. Ulla lies down in bed and I read by the creek until the sun sets. Unfortunately, there is no Wi-Fi or network here. With the help of the hostess, I can check my emails and confirm the rescheduling for the return flight.