This is a special place where the gorgeous mountains of Terskey Alatoo descend to the shores of Lake Issyk-Kul, Kyrgyzstan, Central Asia. Here, God has sculpted nature into a teller of stories, and fairy tales. Even the name of the place means exactly that—fairytale, or Skazka in Russian. So, let’s go on a journey to Skazka Canyon and see what tales we can find there.
Table of Contents
Basic info
Let’s open the satellite map and zoom in on the northeastern part of Kyrgyzstan. The object that dominates here is the large Lake Issyk-Kul. It is surrounded by two ranges of Tian Shan mountains—Kungey Alatoo on the north and Terskey Alatoo on the south.
Let’s focus on the south. We can see four different colors: the white color of the snowy peaks of Terskey Alatoo, the deep green color of the forests north of it, the blue color of the lake, and the yellowish color between the lake and the forests. Our goal is the yellowish color zone.
Here the northern slopes of Terskey Alatoo gradually descend to the southern shores of Lake Issyk-Kul and turn into plain. However, in some areas, which consist of sandstone material, natural elements like wind, water, and ice have modeled weird and beautiful desert-like formations. One of these formations is Skazka Canyon.
Some geography
Skazka Canyon is located at the middle point of Lake Issyk-Kul’s southern shore, only about 2 km from the coastline, at around 1700 m altitude. Its name “Skazka” means “Fairytale” in Russian, and the name describes the countless sandstone forms and shapes reminding of various fairytale characters.
Although it is called a “canyon”, it is not actually a canyon or a gorge- it is just about 2 square km of a riverless dry area with sandstone formations. There are several small ravines between the small local hills and the formations on them that look like mini-canyons. They merge into one larger canyon-like ravine in the lower beginning of the area, and probably this is the reason why it is called “canyon”.
Legends, myths, fairy tales
Of course, this place was known to locals for thousands of years. Many centuries ago, Lake Issyk-Kul’s level was lower than it is today, and the lake itself was smaller. The ancient people built settlements beside the former shores and when the lake’s lever gradually arose, it covered these settlements and now they are underwater remains.
Meanwhile, for a much longer time, probably thousands or millions of years, the natural elements gradually formed the shapes of Skazka Canyon. In searching for explanations about its origin, the locals invented various tales.
The most popular legend
According to the most popular one, in ancient times the lake was not just smaller- it didn’t exist at all. Instead, there was a wide valley full of life. A dragon was living in the mountains who fell in love with a beautiful local girl and wanted to marry her. She rejected and the dragon got furious.
The dragon cursed the valley. He said that in every full moon, the water of one of the wells will flood the valley and its settlements. People decided to cover the well with a golden lid before the moon was full and to keep guarding it. Meanwhile, the dragon fell asleep in the place where now Skazka Canyon is located.
When the time came for the girl to keep the well closed, she forgot to do it. Suddenly, the water erupted from the well and soon flooded the whole valley, creating Lake Issyk-Kul. Then, the dragon woke up and he was shocked by what he caused. He turned into a stone, becoming one of the sandstone formations that we can see today.
However, there are at least several stones that human imagination can identify as “dragons” and nobody knows which one is the “real dragon” from the legend. Besides, many other shapes look like various animals and other creatures- living and non-living. One of the most popular of them can be easily recognized- the “Great Wall of China”. Other structures resemble palaces, columns, castles, and arcs. And everything is natural, untouched by humans!
The prevailing color is yellowish-reddish-light brown but there are some spots in the site with more colors, from light yellow to darker reddish-violet.
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Exploring the Skazka Canyon
All of this drew the attention of local and foreign travelers. Locals saw it and installed an entrance gate (with a 50-som entrance fee), a small parking lot, and a pavilion with information boards. They also started arranging organized trips, building accommodation facilities nearby (yurt camps and guesthouses in the nearby villages), and offered some activities like eagle hunt demonstrations, and more. You can also often see artists (painters) who choose a spot and draw pictures of the formations and the whole landscape.
The place has become touristy and it is almost always full of tourists during the high season (summer). If you come to visit Skazka Canyon at this time, it would be difficult to find solitude in a secluded spot to enjoy the sandstone fairytale alone. It is more possible to do it in the shoulder seasons. You can do it in winter too but the formations and the whole landscape would be covered in snow (which, of course, is not less beautiful).
How to reach Skazka Canyon
Skazka Canyon is easily reachable because it is right beside the main road from Karakol to Balykchy on the southern shore of Lake Issyk-Kul. In other words- you can get on any marshrutka (minibus) from Karakol or Balykchy and just stop at the spot (watch your Google Maps to avoid missing the spot or tell the driver in advance). You should only ask the driver whether the marshrutka passed by Skazka Canyon because some marshrutkas on this route go only to the middle of the route.
However, if you are in Karakol, you should go to the small South Bus station (some marshrutkas and shared taxis depart for this route from the main bus station but they are rare). You can expect a price of about 120 to 150 som, a bit more expensive for shared taxis, depending on the number of passengers.
And if you stay somewhere in the middle of the southern lakeside route, you should go to the road and wait for a passing marshrutka from east or west (depending on where your location is). However, it is uncertain, and better to ask your accommodation host for assistance.
Hitchhiking
Finally, you can try hitchhiking, especially on your way back or further from Skazka Canyon. After you explore it, if you are a solo traveler, you can just wait beside the road for a passing vehicle in your desired direction- a marshrutka, a shared taxi, or just a private car (locals are generally open to hitchhikers, and hitchhiking is quite safe in Kyrgyzstan).
In any case, don’t make a strict schedule but be flexible- you may wait for only 5 min or for more than 2-3 hours until you find a transport, so plan your trip accordingly.
If you have your own transport, the task is easier. When you reach the spot on the main road, you have to turn onto a side dirt road. You will pass by the gate of the site where you will pay your entrance fee and will proceed on the dirt road for less than 2 km to the parking lot, the starting point for the local trails.
Inside Skazka Canyon
For solo travelers without their own vehicle: Once you reach Skazka Canyon and get off the marshrutka or the shared taxi, you have to walk about 2 km (25-30 min) on the dirt road to the actual spot. Again, you pass through the gate, pay your entrance fee, and proceed further on the dirt road (with occasional cars passing).
You reach the parking lot and the wooden pavilion with the information board and one or two souvenir-selling stands. The hiking trails around Skazka Canyon start from here, making a circle. Usually, most people start hiking the trail on the left. It almost immediately first ascends to the “Great Wall of China”, then descends steeply to a ravine, and proceeds further to the second (higher and larger) “Great Wall”.
Here the trail branches into many other trails that separate or join. Besides the “Great Wall”, you can see many other shapes, including the “dragons”. You can see the painters who draw pictures of the landscape- they like this place.
On your way to the other direction, you can pass through a multicolor area. Finally, there is a trail that ascends to the top of a nearby hill. Here you can see the whole site from above, and Lake Issyk-Kul beyond it. This is the highest part of Skazka Canyon. There is still a sandstone further high but it is steeper and without weird formations. A little further, the sandstone disappears too and you can reach the first alpine forests of Terskey Alatoo.
Normally, you can explore the whole site for about an hour. Add to this one more hour of walking from the main road to the spot and back, and it makes two hours. But for a better experience, plan at least 1-2 more hours to fully enjoy the fairytale.
Accommodation
If you stay in Karakol, you can easily make a trip to Skazka Canyon for a half day. Your trip would be like this: leave in the morning (between 7 and 8 am), traveling by marshrutka or shared taxi for about one hour and a half (arriving around 9:00-9:30 am), exploring the site for about 2-4 hours or more, and returning to Karakol (or proceeding to Balykchy) for another one hour and a half.
But if you want to stay near Skazka Canyon, there are some options. The nearest town where you can stay is Tosor- a coastline settlement with several hotels and guesthouses: Eldos-Ata Eco Hotel, Coral, Tunuk Guesthouse, Maksat House, The 1961, and two expensive options: Southlux and Ak-Tengir Yurt Resort.
But there are a few closer to the site places, located exactly at the point on the main road where you should get off: Royal Gate Yurt Camp, Yurt Cap Skazka, and Yurt Town AiSun. They are yurt camps in luxurious glamping style, with a local café. There is also a guesthouse “in the middle of nowhere”, west of Skazka Canyon, called Tashtanbay Ata– it is a cheaper option.
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In general, this is all you need to know to arrange your trip to Skazka Canyon. Travelers usually combine their Skazka Canyon adventure with other destinations nearby- Karakol, Jety Oguz, and the treks in Terskey Alatoo, or just circumnavigation around Lake Issyk Kul. But in any case, if you come to travel in this part of Kyrgyzstan, plan a journey to Skazka and dive into the world of fairytales!
Take a look at the video about Skazka Canyon below:Â
Check some travel books about Kyrgyzstan:
 
 
 
 
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Hi, we are Krasen and Ying Ying. Krasen is from Bulgaria, and Ying Ying is from China. We are passionate about geography and history, and we believe that the best way to experience it is by exploring the Earth in reality, not in a school, and not virtually.
So, we created this blog Journey Beyond the Horizon, where we share geographical knowledge, travel guides and tips how to experience it when you explore our planet, and a lot of inspiration.
And we wish you a happy journey, not just virtually, but most of all- in reality.
Enjoy!
