Cholpon-Ata is a convenient base from where you can make forays to interesting places both in the north and in south coast Issyk-Kul: Grigorievskoye Gorge, Semenovskoye Gorge, hot springs, Karakol, Jeti-Oguz, Barskoon waterfall and others. Of course, it is most convenient to do this in your own transport, since public transport does not go to attractions, but only to the villages on the shore. In principle, you can hitchhike, there is good traffic along the lake, but towards the mountains it decreases greatly, especially in the low season.
But there is also the option to book an excursion, which we took advantage of. In the summer, excursions will find you on their own :-), but in May you will have to look for offers yourself. The office of the travel agency organizing trips is located in the center of Cholpon-Ata, not far from the Narodny supermarket. In the low season, you still have to manage to get there on the day of the excursion; we were lucky that we were just planning to go to the Grigorievskoye Gorge and the hot springs.
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The cost of the excursion is 500 soms, plus 200 soms are asked for swimming in thermal springs. It starts at 14.00, when the minibus collects everyone from boarding houses and sanatoriums, and takes about 30 km towards Karakol along the highway along the lake. In the village of Grigoryevka we turn left towards the mountains. The asphalt immediately ends and a dusty dirt road begins up the flat and wide valley.
At the entrance to the valley there is a post where they charge a fee for entering the territory. Within a few minutes we reach the bridge over the river, and then we continue on foot. Up to this point, you can travel by any vehicle, such as we did in a Ford minibus. But to go further, you need all-wheel drive!
Rocks in the gorge
Tien Shan spruces grow in the gorge
small waterfall
river valley
They say that in the summer there is no crowd here, there are yurts, they constantly and persistently offer horse riding, barbecue and all that kind of stuff. Now, in May, the yurts are just being assembled or there are none at all (although it is clear that it is a camp), and bored boys somehow automatically half-heartedly offer to ride a horse, but no one expressed a desire.
Road in the Grigorievsky Gorge
It always amazed me - how do these trees grow on rocks?
Rocks with trees growing on them
There are a lot of trekking routes in this area, and indeed, the places are excellent - clean mountain air, a river, even places for a tent are level and ready :-)
Unfortunately, we walked up the gorge quite a bit - we called everyone back so that we still had time to stop by the hot springs. The bridge over the river, to which we were taken by minibus
View of the Grigorievskoye Gorge
Hot springs and views of the southern shore of Issyk-Kul
Method of transporting livestock in Kyrgyz
Kungoy-Ala-Too Mountains
For the first time in these days, the mountains completely appeared from behind the gray clouds, revealing their pristine beauty and playing with tints of color from the foot to the top
Mountains on the northern coast of Issyk-Kul
Well, it’s almost like a Roerich painting ;-)
Lake Issyk-Kul
From thermal springs there is no such thing! And from Cholpon-Ata too, but here there is a place to look and marvel at the grandeur of the lake and the mountains surrounding it.
On the northern coast of Issyk-Kul
“Wow, I caught this!”
Lake Issyk-Kul in clear weather
At this point, Lake Issyk-Kul is no longer so wide, so the mountains on the southern shore are clearly visible.
Mountains on south coast lakes
By the way, the northern coast of the lake is framed by the Kungey-Ala-Too ridge (meaning “variegated mountains facing the sun”), and on the southern coast - the Terskey Ala-Too ridge (“Terskey” is the opposite).
Terskey-Ala-Too ridge - view from north coast Issyk-Kul
Both of these ridges are part of the Tien Shan - this is one of the highest mountain ranges in the world, located in Kyrgyzstan, China, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
Tien Shan Mountains and Lake Issyk-Kul
The water in this place is not as clean as in Cholpon-Ata (which is strange, maybe the bottom is slightly different), but nevertheless it is clear, cold and very refreshing!
Waters of Issyk-Kul
And here there are just all the stages of life and a stream flowing into the lake. As you can see, in May not all the trees in Issyk-Kul are green.
Nature of Issyk-Kul
This is where our acquaintance with Lake Issyk-Kul ends, just as the May holidays- it's time to go home. I would definitely like to come back here and hike those mountains on the southern coast, and also visit southern part countries where cities with such mysterious names Osh, Jalal-Abad and Pamir Highway.
Calm on the shore
Issyk-Kul region of Kyrgyzstan. The administrative center of the village district is Sadyr Ake. SOAT code - 41702 215 810 01 0.Encyclopedic YouTube
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Geography
The village of Grigoryevka is located on the northern shore of Lake Issyk-Kul, at the foot of the Tien Shan Mountains.
Population
Infrastructure
The main activity of the local population is livestock farming, agriculture and homesteading, as well as the tourism services sector. More than 20 thousand people visit the Grigorievskoye Gorge every year. However, the culture of environmental management of visitors is at a low level. Abandoned garbage, unorganized fires, damaged trees, improper collection of mushrooms and medicinal herbs, barbaric fishing of fry, cause irreparable harm environment, and many others. I would like to note the fact that the local population, interested in seasonal income, due to low environmental culture, perhaps not realizing the negative consequences, also causes enormous harm to the environment. This includes cutting down green spaces, shrubs, burning garbage, polluting the irrigation network with household waste, etc.
One of the most beautiful places On the northern shore of Issyk-Kul are the Grigorievskoe and Semyonovskoe gorges, coming from the mountains and leading to Issyk-Kul near the ancient villages of Grigorievka and Semyonovka. The Grigorievskoe Gorge is narrower, forested and rocky, and the slopes of the Semenovskoe Gorge are slightly flatter and covered with forbs. The gorges, like two narrow slits, run parallel to each other from the lake and lead to the incredibly beautiful expanses of mountain meadows located above - thus, having climbed from Issyk-Kul along one gorge, you can return back along another. That’s what we did - on the first day we went up in a jeep to the mountain meadows along the Grigorievsky gorge, and returned back along the Semenovsky gorge, and on the final third day in Issyk-Kul we decided to take the reverse route: there - along the Semenovsky gorge, and back to the lake shore - along Grigorievsky.
1. We turn off the coastal road running parallel to the lake and head up towards the mountains. At first the road is quite okay - but after a couple of kilometers our jeep has to show all its best qualities.
3. Grigorievskoye Gorge is very narrow and rocky. The steep slopes are covered with dense spruce forest, and a mountain stream rolls its icy waters along the bottom of the gorge. We stop in a picturesque place to admire the views, and at the same time cheer up in a mountain stream - we and kitv , of course, people are made of steel, but the night flight and the second day without sleep still take their toll. :)
4. Dense, almost Siberian spruce, clean air, blue water mountain streams - extraordinarily beautiful!
6. To cheer myself up, wake up and tone myself up, I decided to do something radical. :)))
7. And again on the road - these bizarre rock layers slightly reminded me of the Krasnoyarsk pillars.
9. The narrow Grigorievskoye Gorge is left behind, and we find ourselves in a mountain valley covered with magnificent meadows.
11. There are many roads in the valley. We begin reconnaissance and soon find out that not only the Grigorievskoye Gorge opens here, but also the parallel Semenovskoye Gorge. We decided to make a circle and go back the other way - we were running out of gas, but oh well - we'll get to Issyk-Kul somehow. And the beauty around is incredible!!!
13. These places are some of the best pastures in Issyk-Kul. Horses with foals walk on the lush grass, cows lazily doze a little to the side.
15. The fillies here are very marvelous - this, however, is not THE SAME Przhevalsky horse, but Mr. Przhevalsky was still a great fellow. Seryoga and I constantly remembered him with kind words. :)
16. The sky frowns, it starts to rain, and the landscapes immediately take on other, more watercolor, shades.
19. One of the private farms located in the valley.
20. On the serpentines of mountainous Kyrgyzstan. However, the locals here are quite cheerful and drive Zhiguli cars. :)
22. And in conclusion - photographs of the Grigorievsky and Semenovsky gorges, and the picturesque mountain valley, taken another time - on a hot sunny day.
24. The foal is nibbling grass.
25. Cows indulge in bliss.
Geography
The village of Grigoryevka is located on the northern shore of Lake Issyk-Kul, at the foot of the Tien Shan Mountains.
Population
Infrastructure
The main activity of the local population is livestock farming, agriculture and household farming, as well as the tourism services sector. More than 20 thousand people visit the Grigorievskoye Gorge every year. However, the culture of environmental management of visitors is at a low level. Abandoned garbage, unorganized fires, damaged trees, improper collection of mushrooms and medicinal herbs, barbaric fishing of fry, cause irreparable harm to the environment, and many others. I would like to note the fact that the local population, interested in seasonal income, due to low environmental culture, perhaps not realizing the negative consequences, also causes enormous harm to the environment. This includes cutting down green spaces, shrubs, burning garbage, polluting the irrigation network with household waste, etc.
Story
In 1910, peasant migrants from the central provinces of the Russian Empire (Kursk, Voronezh, etc.), who arrived to settle in the Chon-Aksuu valley of the Semirechensk region, in order to obtain permission to allocate land for the construction of a residential village in this area, decided to send to St. Petersburg of his confidant - Grigory Nikolaevich Lytikov. But the first trip, for an unknown reason, was unsuccessful; permission to build a village in the valley was not received. In 1912, he was sent again with a request: as a result, the messenger brought good news: “The construction of the village has been allowed.” Thus, in memory of a wonderful person, a public leader, the village began to be named after Grigory Lytikov - GRIGORIEVKA.
The village began to be built up from Kuibysheva Street, originally called “Kuturzhinskaya”, the first settlers of which were families who moved from Kuturga, a village located in the nearby Tyupsky district. Then Voronezhskaya, Bazarnaya, Kabatskaya, Kosyachnaya streets appeared (all these streets in different years were renamed). Gradually the village grew. But in August 1916, in connection with the tsar’s decree on the mobilization of the indigenous population for rear work (the First World War was in progress), a national uprising broke out in Kyrgyzstan, called the “Kyrgyz revolt.” It also affected our village: the village was almost completely burned by the rebel Kyrgyz. After the fire that happened during the “Krigiz riot,” Grigoryevka began to be rebuilt.
In the summer of 1918, as elsewhere, the establishment of Soviet power began in the Issyk-Kul region on the territory of Przhevalsky district. In the 1920s, before the formation of the first artels in the village, many peasants already had wealth, grew bread, fished, and raised their farms. With the beginning of collectivization and the creation of collective farms, dispossession began, and many families suffered from repression. Then - the trials of years of hardships and difficulties during the Great Patriotic War of 1941-45, but the multinational rural community lived together: Russians, Kyrgyz, Balkars, Uighurs, Kazakhs, Belarusians, Ukrainians - the whole village achieved victories in peaceful labor. The distinguished villagers were awarded state awards, awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor, the Badge of Honor, and various commemorative medals.
Grigorievskoye Gorge
Grigorievskoe Gorge (Kyrgyz name Chon Ak-Suu) is located on the northern shore of Lake Issyk-Kul, 60 kilometers from the city of Cholpon-Ata and 110 km from the city of Balykchy. The Chon-Ak-Suu valley descends from the Kungei Ala-Too ridge near the village of Grigoryevka.
The Grigorievskoye Gorge is considered one of the most famous attractions of Issyk-Kul. The sweet smell of pine trees, green mountain slopes, the sound of a mountain river, and alpine lakes lure tourists vacationing in Issyk-Kul. The most beautiful Tien Shan spruces grow in this gorge.
Here you can also walk or ride a horse, enjoying the surrounding nature; see semi-wild yaks, demonstrations of handicraft and horsemanship, listen to folk music, drink kumiss and even take part in setting up a yurt in a real Kyrgyz atmosphere. Also in the gorge you can hunt with a golden eagle .
The mountain slopes of the Grigorievsky Gorge are covered with red mountain poppy, which spreads like a carpet across the valley. The length of the valley is 35 kilometers. Turbulent glacial water of crystal purity rushes along the bottom of the gorge. The middle part of the valley is crowned by two snowy peaks: Kum-Bel peak (4200 m) and Eshenbulak peak (4647 m).
The gorge has three beautiful alpine lakes. In the first part of the gorge there is the Lower Lake, higher in the area of the At-Jailoo pastures (which means summer pastures) there is the Middle Lake, and approximately 6 km from it there is the most beautiful of the three lakes - the Upper. Beyond this lake, at an altitude of about 3500 m, the forests give way to beautiful alpine meadows. Thanks to the gentle slope of the gorge, all landscape belts are clearly defined and have a greater extent than in other valleys of Kungei Ala-Too.
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Excerpt characterizing Grigoryevka (Issyk-Kul region)
- What a beast!.. Well?..“I went after someone else,” Tikhon continued, “I crawled into the forest in this manner, and lay down.” – Tikhon suddenly and flexibly lay down on his belly, imagining in their faces how he did it. “One and make up,” he continued. “I’ll rob him in this manner.” – Tikhon quickly and easily jumped up. “Let’s go, I say, to the colonel.” How loud he will be. And there are four of them here. They rushed at me with skewers. “I hit them with an ax in this manner: why are you, Christ is with you,” Tikhon cried, waving his arms and frowning menacingly, sticking out his chest.
“We saw from the mountain how you asked a line through the puddles,” said the esaul, narrowing his shining eyes.
Petya really wanted to laugh, but he saw that everyone was holding back from laughing. He quickly moved his eyes from Tikhon’s face to the faces of the esaul and Denisov, not understanding what it all meant.
“Don’t even imagine it,” Denisov said, coughing angrily. “Why didn’t he do it?”
Tikhon began to scratch his back with one hand, his head with the other, and suddenly his whole face stretched into a shining, stupid smile, revealing a missing tooth (for which he was nicknamed Shcherbaty). Denisov smiled, and Petya burst into cheerful laughter, which Tikhon himself joined in.
“Yes, it’s completely wrong,” said Tikhon. “The clothes he’s wearing are bad, so where should we take him?” Yes, and a rude man, your honor. Why, he says, I myself am the son of Anaral, I won’t go, he says.
- What a brute! - Denisov said. - I need to ask...
“Yes, I asked him,” said Tikhon. - He says: I don’t know him well. There are many of ours, he says, but all of them are bad; only, he says, one name. “If you’re fine,” he says, “you’ll take everyone,” Tikhon concluded, looking cheerfully and decisively into Denisov’s eyes.
“Here I’ll pour in a hundred gogs, and you’ll do the same,” Denisov said sternly.
“Why be angry,” said Tikhon, “well, I haven’t seen your French?” Just let it get dark, I’ll bring whatever you want, at least three.
“Well, let’s go,” Denisov said, and he rode all the way to the guardhouse, frowning angrily and silently.
Tikhon came from behind, and Petya heard the Cossacks laughing with him and at him about some boots that he had thrown into a bush.
When that laughter that had taken possession of him at Tikhon’s words and smile passed, and Petya realized for a moment that this Tikhon had killed a man, he felt embarrassed. He looked back at the captive drummer, and something pierced his heart. But this awkwardness lasted only for a moment. He felt the need to raise his head higher, cheer up and ask the esaul with a significant look about tomorrow's enterprise, so as not to be unworthy of the society in which he was.
The sent officer met Denisov on the road with the news that Dolokhov himself would arrive now and that everything was fine on his part.
Denisov suddenly became cheerful and called Petya over to him.
“Well, tell me about yourself,” he said.
When Petya left Moscow, leaving his relatives, he joined his regiment and soon after that he was taken as an orderly to the general who commanded a large detachment. From the time of his promotion to officer, and especially from his entry into the active army, where he participated in the Battle of Vyazemsky, Petya was in a constantly happily excited state of joy at the fact that he was great, and in a constantly enthusiastic haste not to miss any case of real heroism . He was very happy with what he saw and experienced in the army, but at the same time it seemed to him that where he was not, that was where the most real, heroic things were now happening. And he was in a hurry to get to where he was not.
When on October 21 his general expressed a desire to send someone to Denisov’s detachment, Petya so pitifully asked to send him that the general could not refuse. But, sending him, the general, remembering Petya’s crazy act in the battle of Vyazemsky, where Petya, instead of going along the road to where he was sent, galloped in a chain under the fire of the French and shot there twice from his pistol - sending him, the general namely, he forbade Petya to participate in any of Denisov’s actions. This made Petya blush and became confused when Denisov asked if he could stay. Before leaving for the edge of the forest, Petya believed that he needed to strictly fulfill his duty and return immediately. But when he saw the French, saw Tikhon, learned that they would certainly attack that night, he, with the speed of transitions of young people from one glance to another, decided with himself that his general, whom he had hitherto greatly respected, was rubbish, the German that Denisov is a hero, and Esaul is a hero, and that Tikhon is a hero, and that he would be ashamed to leave them in difficult times.
It was already getting dark when Denisov, Petya and the esaul drove up to the guardhouse. In the semi-darkness one could see horses in saddles, Cossacks, hussars setting up huts in the clearing and (so that the French would not see the smoke) building a reddening fire in a forest ravine. In the entryway of a small hut, a Cossack, rolling up his sleeves, was chopping lamb. In the hut itself there were three officers from Denisov’s party, who had set up a table out of the door. Petya took off his wet dress, letting it dry, and immediately began to assist the officers in setting up the dinner table.
Ten minutes later the table was ready, covered with a napkin. On the table there was vodka, rum in a flask, white bread and fried lamb with salt.
Sitting at the table with the officers and tearing apart the fatty, fragrant lamb with his hands, through which lard flowed, Petya was in an enthusiastic childish state of tender love for all people and, as a result, confidence in the same love of other people for himself.
“So what do you think, Vasily Fedorovich,” he turned to Denisov, “is it okay that I stay with you for a day?” - And, without waiting for an answer, he answered himself: - After all, I was ordered to find out, well, I’ll find out... Only you will let me into the very... the main one. I don’t need awards... But I want... - Petya clenched his teeth and looked around, jerking his head up and waving his hand.
“To the most important thing...” Denisov repeated, smiling.
“Just please, give me a complete command, so that I can command,” Petya continued, “what do you need?” Oh, would you like a knife? - he turned to the officer who wanted to cut off the lamb. And he handed over his penknife.
The officer praised the knife.
- Please take it for yourself. I have a lot of these...” Petya said, blushing. - Fathers! “I completely forgot,” he suddenly cried out. “I have wonderful raisins, you know, the kind without seeds.” We have a new sutler - and such wonderful things. I bought ten pounds. I'm used to something sweet. Do you want?.. - And Petya ran into the hallway to his Cossack and brought bags containing five pounds of raisins. - Eat, gentlemen, eat.
On the northern shore of Lake Issyk-Kul, 40 km from the resort of Cholpon-Ata, there is the Semenovskoye Gorge - one of the most beautiful places in the Issyk-Kul region. Its length is about 35 km. The Ak-Suu, a stormy mountain river with clear glacial water, flows along the bottom of the gorge, and majestic Tien Shan spruce trees rise on its slopes. In summer and spring, the clean air here is filled with the aromas of alpine herbs.
Semenovskoye Gorge is one of the main attractions of Kyrgyzstan; it is one of the mandatory excursions for those who vacation in Issyk-Kul. In summer, yurts are often set up here, where everyone can taste delicious Kyrgyz dishes. national cuisine- kumis and beshbarmak. For lovers active recreation horseback riding along the gorge is organized here.
Currently, in the Semenovsky Gorge there is an abandoned wellness center"Chernobyls". Sometimes athletes who come to Kyrgyzstan for training camps stay here for several days to train and live in harsher conditions (thin air and mountainous terrain).
Grigorievskoye Gorge
Grigorievskoye Gorge (Chon Ak-Suu Gorge) is located 60 km from the center of the coast of the city of Cholpon-Ata. It is one of the most picturesque and beautiful places in Issyk-Kul. The valley of the gorge stretches along the Kungei Ala-Too ridge and runs parallel to the coastline small lake Issyk-Kul. A crystal clear full-flowing river flows along the bottom of Chon Ak-Suu. The most beautiful Tien Shan spruces in the world grow in these places. The mountain slopes of the Grigorievsky Gorge are covered with bright red mountain poppies, spreading across the valley in a magnificent carpet. Here tourists will be able to admire the unique pristine nature, over which neither time nor people have power.
In Chon Ak-Suu there are three high-mountain lakes, behind which forests turn into magnificent alpine meadows. Tourists are offered a lot of entertainment here, the most popular of which are horse riding and wonderful walking. Also in the Grigorievskoe Gorge you can drink kumis - a national healing drink, listen to amazing folk music and take an active part in setting up a yurt. This place is perfect for an active holiday with family and friends.
Jety-Oguz gorge
Jety-Oguz is the name of a number of tourist natural sites. First of all, this is an amazingly beautiful rock ensemble on the shores of Issyk-Kul.
The literal translation of the name from the Kyrgyz language means “seven bulls”. However, the softness of the rocks and the erosive effects of winds led to the fact that there were more than seven large conglomerates. Now there are already ten, and according to some eyewitnesses, even eleven “bulls”.
The rocks become especially beautiful on sunny days. Red stones glow against the backdrop of surrounding greenery - this is where Tien Shan spruce trees grow, sometimes more than sixty meters high. Most of the trees are more than a hundred years old.
The same name is often used to refer to the entire Jet-Oguz canyon. The gorge begins 28 kilometers west of the city of Karakol as a beautiful green alpine valley and ends in a high mountain plateau.
Boom Gorge
The Boo "mskoe" gorge is located 112 km from the city of Bishkek and is located in the middle reaches of the Chu River, dividing the ridges of the Kyrgyz Ala-Too and Kungey Ala-Too. The length of the gorge is about 30 kilometers. The Boom Gorge is a kind of visiting card on the way to Lake Issyk-Kul. A railway line built in 1948 passes through the Boom Gorge, connecting Bishkek and Balykchy.
The first to cross the Boom Gorge, in 1850, was a Russian explorer and traveler XIX century Semyonov Peter. After which it received its name – Boom, which translated means “Evil Spirit”. Semyon wrote the following in his notes about him: “This gorge is a deadly and dangerous trap. We moved along our path with difficulty.” At the entrance to the Boom Gorge there is a spring - a local landmark, which serves as a stop for travelers before the difficult climb. The gorge itself is a truly breathtaking view. Nature plays with all the colors of the rainbow in it. The bright, loud colors of the mountains stretching into the endless blue sky on one side. And on the other hand, the full power of the flow of the Chu River, whose gentle forms gradually turn into a canyon. Coniferous greenery envelops the motley-orange surface of the majestic mountains.
Along the way you can see statues of deer, leopards, and golden eagles. Also, you can often see wild birds here - for example, a hawk, quickly overtaking its prey. The Boom Gorge has become very popular among rafting enthusiasts. Various cafes along the way will give you the opportunity to take a pleasant break from the road.
Sights of Issyk-Kul
