The northeastern part of Kyrgyzstan is notable for the gorgeous ranges of the Tian Shan Mountains and the blue marble of Lake Issyk-Kul. The largest city in this area is Karakol. The city has its own history and culture, but most importantly, it is a starting point for exploring some of the most beautiful places in the whole of Central Asia. Let’s see the things to do in Karakol, and the best directions to travel from Karakol as a starting point.
Table of Contents
Some geography
Now we are in the northeastern part of Kyrgyzstan. Here is Lake Issyk-Kul, one of the largest lakes in Central Asia, surrounded by the Kungey Alatoo range in the north and the Terskey Alatoo range in the south. The shape of Issyk-Kul is like an eye, and we focus on the eastern end of the eye, more specifically, a bit south of it, on the foot of Terskey Alatoo. Here is Karakol, our goal.
About Karakol
Karakol is the fourth-largest city in Kyrgyzstan. Unlike Osh in the south, which is more influenced by the Islamic Turkish-Persian culture, Karakol looks more “Soviet”, not crowded, spacious, with mostly one-storey buildings. The city doesn’t have a long history, an “old town” or ancient remains; in fact, it has only a few points of interest. But the main reason for visiting Karakol is that it is an excellent starting point for exploring the nearby Terskey Alatoo range- one of the most beautiful alpine ranges on Earth, as well as the southern shores of Lake Issyk-Kul.
Some history and culture
Karakol is not an old city. For thousands of years, there were only grasslands, nomads with their yurts, and small villages on the place where now Karakol is located- from the times of the most ancient people, the empires of Huns, Turks, Mongols, and the smaller entities between them, until the Russian conquest.
Everything changed in 1869 when the Russians built a military outpost here. At the same time, the Russian explorers came to research the mountains of Terskey Alatoo. Only 11 years later, Muslim refugees from China called Dungans arrived here and founded a small community.
In 1889, one of the Russian explorers, Nikolay Przhevalsky, died in Karakol, and its name was used for the town in some periods of its history. The town entered the Soviet era, and then the modern times of independent Kyrgyzstan. Since its foundation until today, the town has gradually grown until it became the largest city in the Issyk-Kul basin.
And one of the reasons for this growth is the incredibly beautiful Terskey Alatoo Range, rising south of the city. In recent years, it has attracted a lot of adventurous (and even not so adventurous) travelers, ready to attack the gorges and summits of the mountains. So, for most of them, Karakol became the starting point for their adventures. But let’s see what we can do in Karakol itself, before the adventures.
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Things to do in Karakol
For the most travelers, Karakol is mostly a “base camp” for adventures. Here is what they can do in this “base camp”.
Explore the center
The center of Karakol is the most popular part of the city. Here you can find various shops, where you can buy some trekking gear, a big supermarket “Aziya” (Asia), where you can buy all the necessary food for your trek, some restaurants and cafes, and a nice park.
Besides this, even just walking in and around the center is very refreshing, and is a good way to submerge in the local lifestyle. And while you walk, you can also visit the local points of interest.
Visit the points of interest
There are only three main points of interest in Karakol: Dungan Mosque, the Russian Church, and the Historical Museum.
Dungan Mosque
It is the main heritage of the Chinese Dungan refugees. You can see its architectural style with significant Chinese elements. The mosque is still active today, and the descendants of the Dungans still live in the city.
The Russian Church
This is the Holy Trinity Cathedral, one of the largest Russian Orthodox churches in Central Asia. It was initially built in 1872. Since then, the church passed through periods of destruction, renovations, it was used for various non-religious purposes during the Soviet times, until 1991 when it finally became a normal active church.
Karakol Historical Museum
It is a small one-storey museum, located not far from the center. Actually, the museum is not only historical but it also presents ethnographic artifacts, including a model of a yurt, and a nature science part. A good place for some education about the region.
Besides these, there is one more- the Zoo of Karakol. This is the only Zoo in the whole of Kyrgyzstan. It is not too rich but still presents a lot of local animals- a nice place for relaxation.
However, the most epic things to do are not in Karakol but around it.
Trips from Karakol
So, Karakol is a starting point for two main areas of exploration: firstly and most importantly- Terskey Alatoo Range and then- Lake Issyk-Kul. Let’s start with Terskey Alatoo.
Terskey Alatoo treks
Several trails start from the northern foot of Terskey Alatoo, follow the valleys, ascend to summits and mountain passes, and merge or branch with each other. They start from the following valleys (from west to east):
- Chon Kyzyl-Suu Valley. The trail starts from Kyzyl-Suu village, through Archator Pass (3900 m) cross to the neighboring Jeti Oguz Valley.
- Jeti Oguz Valley. The trail starts from the resort Jeti Oguz, and through Telety Pass (3793 m) crosses to the neighboring Karakol Valley.
- Karakol Valley. The trail starts directly from Karakol and, through Alakul Pass (3920 m), crosses to Arashan Valley.
- Arashan Valley. The trail starts from Ak-Suu village. Through Anyrtor North Pass (3600 m) crosses to Ak-Suu Valley.
- Ak-Suu Valley– a branch of Arashan Valley. The trail starts from Ak-Suu village and, through Aylanysh Pass (3671 m), crosses to Jergez Valley.
- Jergez Valley. The trail starts from Kara-Kyz village and, through a 3516 m high pass crosses to the neighboring Boz-Uchuk Valley.
- Boz-Uchuk Valley. The trail starts from Boz-Uchuk village and, through Boz-Uchuk Pass (3362 m), crosses to Turgen Ak-Suu Valley. However, there is not a trail but a dirt road connecting Ak-Bulak village with the town of Engilchek- the starting point for Han Tengri expeditions. Instead, the trail proceeds into another mountain pass- Terim Tor-Bulak (3467 m) and crosses to Jyrgalan Valley.
- Jyrgalan Valley. The trail starts from Jyrgalan village, crosses a 3335 m high pass, and descends to the neighboring Tyup Valley. The trail ends in San Tash village. There are no further trails because the border with Kazakhstan goes to the next neighboring valley.
- In the west direction, there are many other valleys beyond the first mentioned (Chon Kyzyl-Suu)- Djuuku, Ak-Terek Kyrgoo, Kichi Jargylchak, Chon Jargylchak, Barskoon, Tamga, Tosor (near Skazka Canyon), and more, but since they are far from Karakol, they are not so popular.
Let’s focus on the most popular of these treks.
Alakul trek: Karakol Valley, Lake Alakul, and Altyn Arashan
This is the most famous trek in Kyrgyzstan and in the whole of Central Asia. Normally, it is a 3-day trek with some difficult sections. In this trek, you can enjoy the breathtaking beauty or Karakol and Arashan valleys, the heavenly blue Lake Alakul, alpine steppes and gorgeous alpine forests. Altyn Arashan is a beautiful mountain resort with hot springs- a nice reward for tired hikers.
You can start it directly from the southern end of Karakol and follow the Karakol valley. Or, you can go to the village of Ak-Suu by minivan (marshrutka) and start from Arashan valley.
Jeti Oguz-Karakol
Jeti Oguz is popular resort with hot springs, west of Karakol. It is well-known for its rock formations- a “Broken heart” when the rocks are seen from the north, and “Seven Bulls” when they are seen from the south. The rocks, the hot springs, and the stunning alpine forest make Jeti Oguz a desired place for relaxation and mountain adventures.
The trail starts from the resort and as mentioned above, it joins the neighboring trails- Chon Kyzyl-Suu in the west or Karakol and Alakul Trek in the east.
Jyrgalan
Jyrgalan is a starting point for several shorter and longer treks- to Tyup and Boz-Uchuk Valleys, as well as shorter routes to neighboring points like Kok Bell Waterfall, Tulpar Tash Rock, Chunkur Tor Lake, and more. But the most challenging is the one-week trek that connects Jyrgalan with Jeti Oguz, crossing all the valleys and passes between them mentioned above.
So, as you can see, Terskey Alatoo is an incredibly beautiful hiking paradise, with a lot of trekking versions and options. And there are more places to see and interesting points with Karakol as a starting point.
Lake Issyk-Kul
Another direction, although less popular, particularly from Karakol, is Lake Issyk-Kul. It is less popular not because Issuk-Kul is not a popular place, but because usually the starting point for exploring it is Balykchy or Cholpon Ata. But of course, you still can do it from Karakol, although if you come to Karakol from Bishkek (most likely), you will see the lake before arriving in Karakol.
Lake Issyk-Kul is the “Central Asian Riviera”. Its northern shores are more visited and tourist-crowded, because the main road between Bishkek and Karakol fully follows the coastline, from west to east, and the main town-resort, Cholpon Ata, is in the middle of the northern shore. It is easily accessible by minibuses (marshrutkas) and shared taxis from Karakol (literally on every 10-15 min!).
But let’s take a look at other spots on the Lake Issyk-Kul’s coastline. First, Karakol has a port, about 16 km northwest of the city, called Port Karakol– this is the closest point of the coastline to the city. There is a small museum worth visiting here- Przhevalsky Museum, dedicated to the Russian explorer-scientist.
However, what is more attractive here is the southern shore of Lake Issyk-Kul and Karakol is the most popular starting point for exploring it. The most famous spot in this direction is Skazka Canyon.
The southern shore of Issyk-Kul and Skazka Canyon
The southern shore of Lake Issyk-Kul is less visited because the public transportation is much less-developed here, there are no large resorts like Cholpon Ata, and it is longer in distance.
The most popular spot here is Skazka Canyon– a fairytale sandstone area with amazing shapes and landscape. It is easily accessible from Karakol by marshrutka (however, you should take it from the South Bus Station in Karakol) for about an hour and a half. In fact, this is the only touristy place in this area.
But you can find more points of interest there- less popular and off-the-beaten, far from tourist crowds: Manzhyly Sacred Hot Spring, Desert Labyrinth, the Salt Lake, Camel Shape, and more. All of them are accessible by marshrutkas to Balykchy.
More directions: northeast?
Northeast would also be an interesting direction with Karakol as a starting point, but there is the border with Kazakhstan. So, basically, the only reason to travel in this direction would be if you want to cross into Kazakhstan from this side. Here is Karkyra border crossing- on 82 km from Karakol.
However, this is an “adventurous and off-the-beaten-path” crossing. There is no public transport to the border, but only occasional shared taxis. They reach the border but don’t cross into Kazakhstan, so you have to cross it on foot and search for other options on the Kazakhstan side to Kegen, where you can find normal public transport.
Anyway, if you want to visit Almaty and the mountains south of it, or if you want to proceed to Horgos and cross into China, this is an interesting option. First, it is much closer in distance than going to Bishkek (or Tokmok, the nearest border crossing easily accessible by public transport), and second, it is adventurous, with beautiful views and sights.
Useful tips
For better planning your trip to Karakol and around it, let’s focus on two important parts of every trip- transportation and accommodation.
Transportation
If you have your own transportation- a motorhome, a car (better SUV), a motorcycle, or a bicycle, you can go freely wherever you want. But if you don’t have one, you can easily join a local tour- there are a lot of tour companies in Bishkek and Karakol, as well as transport offered by local resorts (you can easily find such resorts on the Internet, including their Facebook pages and contact them). But if you want to travel independently and don’t have your own transportation, here are the options:
Transportation to and around Karakol is easy and well-developed. The main public transportation is the marshrutka (minibus), and there are a lot of regular marshrutkas between Bishkek and Karakol, for 450 to 500 som. If you come to Karakol from Bishkek, you can easily find a marshrutka from the main Bishkek Bus Station.
Or, if you come from Osh (there is a newly-built road between Jalal-Abad, Kazarman, and Kochkor, crossing the middle of Kyrgyzstan) or Naryn, you can reach Balykchy (on the westernmost tip of Lake Issyk-Kul), and can easily find a lot of mashrutkas from there to Karakol too.
To Port Karakol
If you want to visit Port Karakol, just get a marshrutka No. 116 from the center.
For the trips to Terskey Alatoo starting points of the treks described above, you can also find local marshrutkas. Most of them leave from the center of Karakol, and you can look for their numbers:
То Kyzyl-Suu and Jeti Oguz
You can take every marshrutka that travels along the southern shore of Lake Issyk-Kul and just stop in the desired point. You can find them in the Central Bus Station or in the South Bus Station. However, if you want to go to Jeti Oguz resort, it is not convenient- you get off on the main road, there are still about 15 km. Some shared taxis are waiting at the crossroad to Jeti Oguz (and some of them would charge you with high price).
Otherwide, you have to wait for another marshrutka that goes at least to the village, and sometimes, if there are more than 6 passengers, it can proceed to the resort. This is marshrutka No. 355, and better wait for it from the center of Karakol.
To Karakol Valley
It is easy. Just get the marshrutka No. 101 from the center and go to the end stop. Get off the marshrutka, walk about 200 m, and you will reach the gate of Karakol Valley, the starting point of the trek.
To Ak-Suu
From the center, take the marshrutka No. 350. It will pass through Ak-Suu village (known also as Teploklyuchenka), but you should proceed a bit further to the junction between the road to Altyn Arashan and Ak-Suu Hot Springs. In addition, there are so-called “tourist truck-buses” that travel from Karakol to Altyn Arashan resort on the terrible dirt road. They are much more expensive- one “truck-bus” is 15,000 som, and it is worth it only if it is full and you can share the price with others.
To Boz-Uchuk and Jyrgalan
Take marshrutka No. 377 (but from the eastern or northern side of the center- Abdrahmanova str.). It will take you to Novovoznesovka village. From there, you have to find a local taxi to Boz-Uchuk (it is easy because it is near, you can go there even on foot) or to Jyrgalan (far, could be expensive).
To San Tash
No marhrutkas go in this direction, the only way to reach it is by shared taxi.
Shared taxis are another alternative to the marshrutkas. Marshrutkas are the cheapest option but they can be very crowded, and they don’t go everywhere. Shared taxis usually are slightly more expensive if they are full, and much more expensive if you travel alone. But at least, they can take you wherever you want and they are more comfortable.
Finally, you can go hitchhiking. Kyrgyz people are hospitable and you don’t have to wait for too long time on the main road to find a car. However, for more remote roads you have to wait longer, sometimes until the next day.
Accommodation in Karakol
With rising of tourism in Karakol, a lot of hotels, guesthouses, and hostels emerged. Prices are still relatively low (but slowly rising), typical for Central Asia. Most of the properties are budget (for about 15-20 USD per night) but there are some luxurious and expensive options- mostly new resorts. You can find most of them in Booking and Agoda.
Check for hotels in Karakol on Booking!
Check for hotels in Karakol on Agoda!
Keep in mind that sometimes the communications between Booking/Agoda (or other platforms) with the properties are unstable. You may book a stay, you go to the property, and they tell you that they didn’t receive anything from the platform.
But at least the good thing is that they are usually helpful- if there isn’t a free room or bed for you, they can take you to the nearest property. And normally, you don’t have to pay in advance- some require only the data from your credit/debit card (but without payment), others not.
Seasons
Karakol is located at about 1700 m. Summer is the high season. The weather is nice and cool, but sometimes rainy. If you are preparing for a trek in the mountains, be prepared for occasional thunderstorms! You will meet a lot of travelers everywhere—in Karakol and on the treks, especially on the Alakul Trek.
Spring, fall, and shoulder seasons: The weather is cooler, sometimes rainy, and even snowy. Karakol is ok, but the mountains are still covered in snow during the spring, and in fall, the first snowfalls start in October, sometimes even earlier.
Finally, winter is the lowest season. Karakol is covered in snow most of the time, temperatures are below freezing. Very few travelers can be seen at that time. Accommodations in the mountains are closed, and only some hardcore mountaineers can be seen there.
This is Karakol and its surroundings in general. Recently, it has become one of the most popular destinations in the whole of Central Asia, and the mountains of Terskey Alatoo are considered one of the most beautiful mountain ranges in the world. You can experience it personally- while you hike the trails, you literally can’t stop looking in every direction, enjoying the fantastic landscapes everywhere! So, if you plan a trip to this part of the world, include Karakol and northeastern Kyrgyzstan in your itinerary!
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!
