The Chychkan gorge is breathtakingly beautiful. — Photos: NOR AZIZA ISMAIL
“Krik krik tan?” This was the response that I got from a friend who was trying to repeat the name of the country I was going to visit. Other common responses were, “Where is it?” and “How do you spell it?”, accompanied by frowning faces. These responses boosted my excitement, knowing that I was about to visit a rare territory unknown to many, Kyrgyzstan (pronounced “kur-gis-stan”).
Located in Central Asia, it is also known as the land of the nomads and horses. From 1917 to 1991, the Kyrgyz lived in the Soviet Union as residents of the Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Kyrgyz people became independent and founded their own country.
With a population of 6.7 million, this landlocked country is sparsely populated and is one of the world’s least crowded countries. About 85% of Kyrgyzstan is mountainous.
With our local guide, Damir Alymbek Uulu, my friend Yatt and my seven-day adventure in late 2019 kicked off with Osh, the oldest and second biggest city located in the south of Kyrgyzstan. We stayed the night at an old Kurgz house owned by Gursyadah, a very sweet, gentle and pretty Uzbek lady.
The next day, Damir brought us to a local joint at the suburb of Osh City for our first Kyrgyz breakfast of mastava, a beef and rice soup. For a soup lover like yours truly, savouring this delicious dish and surrounded by the locals was a nice experience. I was pleased to see that Damir was honouring our travel mantra of “going local”.
After breakfast, we visited Jayma Bazaar, one of the oldest in Central Asia. It has been operating from the same place along the Silk Road for over 2,000 years. The market was a great window for us to immerse ourselves in the daily life of the local community.
Lepjoschka, a traditional bread, sold at Jayma Bazaar in Osh City.
Later, after a four-hour drive, we reached Arslanbob in the Jalal-Abad Province, home to the largest walnut forest in the world.
In Gumhana, a village in Arslanbob, a lady named Linara welcomed us into her nice wooden traditional house at night. Its design resembled that of a Malay traditional house. Despite the language barrier, her kind smile and body language exuded warmth and friendliness. Linara served us a scrumptious dinner, as well as tea with either homemade raspberry jam or honey. We drank the tea from a bowl, which was how they do it there.
After breakfast the next day, we said goodbye to Linara and went for a stroll in the town. The locals looked at us curiously, but never made us feel unwelcome. The more bold ones asked Damir where we were from. As we were there during off-peak tourism season, there weren’t many tourists around, which is how we liked it.
I left Arslanbob with a tinge of disappointment that I didn’t get to experience harvesting walnuts, as it wasn’t the right season for it.
Later, we drove to Toktogul Dam, about 300km from Arslanbob. It was noon when we reached the famous dam. There are no words to describe the beauty of the place, with wild horses freely roaming and grazing around it.
On the third day, we started our journey to a remote village called Kyzyl Oi and along the way, we stopped at Chychkan Gorge and Suusamyr Valley. Kyzyl Oi is on the ancient Silk Road and stands at an altitude of 1,800m. It has a population of only 600. In Kyrgyz, “Kyzyl-Oi” means “red bowl” and this has something to do with the fact that the place is located in the middle of a red valley.
The writer and her travel buddy got to experience life as a sheep herder in Kyzyl Oi ... at least for one evening.
We spent the afternoon strolling around the village. A few kids were riding bikes while some adults were herding sheep into the barn. One herder was on foot while a few were on horses. We were elated when they gave us the opportunity to help them, and be part of their evening routine.
The host of our homestay was “Aje” (“sister” in English). We could see the locals’ sincerity in ensuring that our stay was comfortable and problem-free. We were pleasantly surprised that the house, located in a very remote village, had a heater, air conditioner and bathtub. In fact, the design and decorations were very modern, similar to a typical Malaysian house in the city.
We were amazed by the vastness and beauty of Issyk Kul. The name means “warm lake” in Kyrgyz because it never freezes, not even in winter, thanks to its high saline levels. It stands at an elevation of 1,620m and has an area of 6,236sq km. It is the second largest alpine lake in the world, and its edges stretch into the distance as far as the eyes could see.
Back at our homestay, we had the opportunity have breakfast in a yurt, a traditional tent.
Our next destination was the mountainous area of Bokonbaev where we saw a demonstration of a golden eagle hunting its prey. I was initially intimidated by its size and sharp claws but eventually managed to muster up some courage to get closer to Suluuke, the 7kg golden eagle. Its wings can expand to 2m.
Breakfast at Linara's, who owns a homestay in a village called Gumhana.
These eagles are taken from their nests at a young age and trained for up to 20 years before they are released back into the wild. While eagle hunting during ancient times was a necessity, today it is only done for sport and tourism.
After, we headed to the canyons, where we saw a variety of amazing and unique formations. From the canyon, one can see a panoramic view of lake Issyk-Kul.
As Kyrgyzstan was once under the rule of the Soviet Union, Russian is its second official language. Relics of the Soviet era can be seen everywhere but they are more dominant in Bishkek, the capital city.
Our flight back to Tashkent, Uzbezkistan was from Bishkek, so we took the chance to check out the city. It is located near the Kazakhstan border. When we got there, the hectic city life quickly took over from the quiet and relaxed environment we’ve enjoyed in the past few days. Damir had another client by then, so we were left to fend for ourselves in the big city. The language barrier was a very big challenge for us, but we managed to pull through.
More importantly, we did not let it spoil the wonderful memories we’ve recently had in the mountains.
For those of you who prefer off-the-beaten-path destinations, do consider Kyrgyzstan. It is truly a gem of a place with lots of wonderful things to experience.
The views expressed are entirely the reader’s own.
The Suusamyr River.
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