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“If you travel, then do it to the fullest! If you take pictures, then stop and take pictures!” - these were the main mottos of our trip to Lake Issyk-Kul in 2014.
The journey lasted 5 days, from September 7 to 12, 2014. Route: Almaty - Bishkek - Ortotokoy reservoir - Lake Issyk-Kul - Almaty, distance: about 1000 km.
Having spent the whole weekend at home without vacation, we finally decided, under the last rays of the September sun, to go on vacation to the blue Issyk-Kul in Kyrgyzstan. Hungry for landscape photographs I prepared a camera and a video camera.
On September 7 at five in the morning the whole family leaves Almaty towards the Kyrgyz border near Bishkek. Our a cruise ship Toyota Matrix with a cargo box on the roof and, as always, not without CityGID auto navigation. The video recorder played the role of capturing interesting species roads. Our plan: to go to Bishkek, to visit my aunt, then to Issyk-Kul to the Rainbow recreation center near the village of Sary-Oy. The estimated distance, taking into account the arrival in Bishkek, is about 500 km.
Before dawn we drove onto the A-2 road "Almaty - Bishkek", leaving the city, we stopped at a Gazprom gas station, filled the tank full and drank tea. I really didn’t want to pay fines for speeding and I drove strictly according to the rules, the average speed was no more than 90 km/h. And I was not mistaken! My greed gave results, after 230 km to the Kyrgyz border, all of us who were driving according to the rules and who were overtaking arrived at the same time! Some drove and paid fines of at least 2,000 tenge two or even three times, others drove calmly and without risk. For information on the territory of Kazakhstan, the minimum fine for exceeding the speed limit by 10 km/h is officially a little more than 18,000 tenge, which is almost $100 US. It’s much cheaper to give a bribe, about 2000 tenge, that’s $10, but how lucky are you, what if they don’t take the bribe and issue a fine? The traffic cop's main tool for recording speed is a camouflaged, remote camera on a tripod a kilometer before the ambush.
Highway A-2 "Almaty - Bishkek" connects Almaty with Bishkek and Almaty with Shymkent via Taraz. The road is not bad in terms of road surface, in the 2000s it was completely reconstructed by the joint efforts of Kazakh and Turkish companies, the Kordai Pass was literally straightened, but there is one very big drawback, this two-lane road! Which is completely incompatible with the current driving style local population, “90” signs officially reduce speed instead of the permissible 110 km/h on all Kazakhstan roads. Having traveled almost 200 km from Almaty to Kurdai, I realized that I was driving like a turtle, i.e. 90 km/h. Still, they are not limited to a speed of 120-140 km/h, including buses, but trucks travel barely 70-80 km/h. Vehicles They are very far from proper technical condition, the age of the cars exceeds 10-15, or even 20 years, no one passes technical inspection in the Republic of Kazakhstan, throw in 4000-5000 tenge ($20-30) once a year and off you go. Driving at night is at least dangerous, not all of the cars are on fire parking lights rear and front headlights; for some reckless drivers, the headlights are completely tinted. Overtaking is easy and immediate; wedging in front of oncoming traffic and almost hitting a car with your bumper at a distance of half a meter is not a problem! And you think they don’t fight? They still fight, killing themselves and innocent people, which does not serve as a lesson to anyone from generation to generation.
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Fields near the Trans-Ili Alatau. Kazakhstan, Almaty region.
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Sheep at the foot of the Trans-Ili Alatau. Kazakhstan, Almaty region.
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Wind farm on the Kordai Pass near the A-2 highway. Kazakhstan, Zhambyl region.
At sunrise, the freshly mown wheat fields shone golden, I stopped and photographed the field against the backdrop of the Trans-Ili Alatau. Then the road began as straight as a string for 40 km. Before entering the Kordai Pass, construction is underway of a transport interchange from the A-2 highway to the new concrete road "Western China - Western Europe"and to the village of Otar. Having climbed the Kordai pass, we saw wind power plants built of impressive size, about 20 meters high. Then we descend from the pass and the last village of Kordai before the border with Kyrgyzstan. We stopped at a currency exchange office and exchanged money, Kazakh tenge for Kyrgyz soms. Right there at the entrance, a rare “Chaika” GAZ-13 was being sold for an amount exceeding a little more than forty thousand US dollars.
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GAZ-13 "Chaika" for sale in the village of Kordai. Kazakhstan, Zhambyl region.
There were relatively few cars at customs, with about five standing in line ahead of me. The bulk of people crossing this customs office strive to go to the Kyrgyz Dordoi market, mainly private entrepreneurs for the purpose of resale in Kazakhstan at flea markets. Most leave their cars in the wild paid parking at the border, they cross on foot and by taxi to Dordoi, which is not far from the border. After it was my turn at customs, I dropped off my passengers, went through the customs of Kazakhstan, crossed the Chu River bridge and stopped at the Customs of Kyrgyzstan. I was surprised by one procedure for filling out a declaration for a car, in separate room I was given a declaration form in the Kyrgyz language; logically, the customs document should have duplicated the text of the Kyrgyz language at least internationally English language! But no, everything is in best traditions corruption, customs officers offered me to fill out this document for a fee. I asked for a sample and completed the Kyrgyz text myself. The border has been passed, we are in Kyrgyzstan!
From the border to the capital of Kyrgyzstan it is about 20 km; the asphalt, more or less not bad, ends at the entrance to the city of Bishkek. In Bishkek good roads only central streets, the rest as after Battle of Stalingrad. Bishkek typical soviet city, like everyone else in the Soviet Union, are sometimes visible modern buildings, but not in predominant quantities. On the streets, as well as in the country, the predominant number of Japanese-made cars with right-hand drive, Honda, a common brand in Kyrgyzstan. It’s not easy to buy a local GSM connection in the form of a SIM card in the city; we drove through the city center, quickly went shopping and couldn’t find it. We spent two hours visiting our aunt and went with our cousin by two cars towards Issyk-Kul. We left Bishkek for bypass road A-365 Bishkek - Naryn, Bishkek - Balykchy. The road goes from Lugovaya through Bishkek, then to the Boom Pass and to the outermost city of Balykchy of Lake Issyk-Kul, before Balykchy there is a branch to the border with China in Naryn. The road, unlike the Kazakhstan A-2, has four lanes and an excellent asphalt surface. This direction was reconstructed by builders from the PRC; a huge amount of work was done at the pass, where a two-lane road was turned into a four-lane one. Almost the entire distance to Issyk-Kul is limited to a permissible speed of 90 km/h. But not without reckless drivers, everything here is the same as on the A-2 and traffic cops with camouflaged video clips on tripods. On the way, we stopped at a local market by the road, the prices surprised me because they were almost the same as in Kazakhstan. The fact is that the average Kazakh salary is 500-800 US dollars, in Kyrgyzstan it is only 200-300. The price of gasoline stood out, in Kyrgyzstan it is more expensive, at 44.80 soms per liter of AI-92! In Kazakhstan, after raising prices, 128 tenge per liter of the same gasoline, which is generally 22% cheaper. But in Kyrgyzstan, AI-92 gasoline is available at Gazprom gas stations best quality from Russian manufacturers, in Kazakhstan at the same gas stations Gazprom AI-92 of local Shymkent production.
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Chu River. Kyrgyzstan, Issyk-Kul region. Without noticing and without slowing down, we drive up to the Boom Pass, the considerable work of builders from China is noticeably noticeable, a four-lane road runs almost along the cliff, constantly twisting and going around steep slopes. In the cliff at the bottom of the gorge is the Chu River and we are driving through the Chui region. My brother suggested that I change the route a little and drive a few extra tens of kilometers towards Naryn in order to beautiful photos, I definitely agreed. A reconstructed two-lane road goes towards Naryn, leading to a decent pass. I was driving the car at 60 km/h at 3000-3200 rpm on the tachometer. Next there was a beautiful and winding descent to the Orto-Tokoy reservoir. We stopped at an interesting picturesque place near the road from where a gorgeous panorama of the reservoir opens up. The Chu River flows into and out of the reservoir. Unfortunately there was little water, which could have been due to the dry summer. Then we moved to another point for photographing, drove a little and decided to go down by car to the water to the former bottom. Local vacationers were pleased with the cleanliness of the tourist spots; with well-maintained dirt roads, there was virtually no discarded garbage after a picnic. The mountains, rivers and lakes in Kyrgyzstan are very photogenic, the fact is that here nature is very diverse in its colors, red rock, green oasis on the river and bright blue lakes. The Orto-Tokoy reservoir was built in 1960 for land reclamation needs.
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Chu River and Orto-Tokoy Reservoir. Kyrgyzstan, Naryn region.
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Orto-Tokoy Reservoir. Kyrgyzstan, Naryn region.
Then we drove along a road with a not very good asphalt surface, sometimes the speed was reduced to 60 km/h. Before descending to the city of Balykchy from the direction of Orto-Tokoy, the bright blue strip of Issyk-Kul opened up to us in the distance, in our minds we were already imagining a beach, a sun lounger and the Kyrgyz Sea with chebaks, but there was at least 100 km ahead! We have been on the road for 10-11 hours already, we have covered about 400-450 km. Our passengers are not ordinary, we have two children with us, 3.5 and 5 years old, we are traveling normally, which means that everyone has travel in their blood, which is passed on from generation to generation.
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Highway Bishkek - Torugat - Balykchy "A-365". Kyrgyzstan, Issyk-Kul region.
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Seasonal trade of fish and honey on the coast of Lake Issyk-Kul. Kyrgyzstan, Issyk-Kul region.
Fish: farmed trout, wild trout and peled. Chonkiminsky honey (mountain). In front of the city of Balykchy, which was formerly called Rybachye, the environmental post where they collected tolls for travel to Issyk-Kul was removed. The worst and most broken road I encountered during my entire trip was in this city; sometimes it was impossible to drive over 30 km/h. Next is the A-363 highway from Balykchy and around Issyk-Kul, along the way there are villages, on the right Issyk-Kul, on the left the mountains of the Kungey Alatau ridge, and on the other side of the lake, more precisely in the south, the Terskey Alatau ridge, in a word, beauty, we are traveling! The light has passed a day on the road and we are there, about 550 km have been covered. Traditionally, we stopped at the Rainbow recreation center near the village of Sary-Oy on the northern shore of Issyk-Kul. One of the best cottage towns for a holiday in Issyk-Kul, a well-groomed beach, green territory, Issyk-Kul climate complemented by planted pine trees and a million of gorgeous roses. The cottages in the town are divided into approximately half, some are privately owned, others are rented out to vacationers, there are also buildings with budget options.
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Recreation center "Rainbow". Kyrgyzstan, Issyk-Kul region.
But in "Rainbow" there is nothing for active rest and we go by car to the city of Cholpon-Ata to take a boat ride along Issyk-Kul. We drove 10 km from the village of Sary-Oy and here he is. resort town Cholpon-Ata with a population of ten thousand. If you are driving a car, then the first impression is that the roads are broken. Our car navigator showed the turn to the yacht club without error and here we are. Inherited from Soviet Union boats and motor ships now take tourists around the lake for an inexpensive fee, for example, an hour’s walk around Issyk-Kul with swimming costs a tourist 300 soms, $6, but it’s worth it! Tourist walks around the lake take place at intervals of about an hour.
While we were waiting in the wings, we visited a museum right there in the yacht club with free entry for all visitors. The museum, which is one small room, told us about fragments of ancient clay jugs found at the bottom of Issyk-Kul, about ship instruments that we did not understand, and about the giant Issyk-Kul trout. As we were told, regular-sized trout were artificially raised by fishermen in special nets immersed in the lake, but some “kind” person decided to give them life and released them by cutting the net. The trout destroyed the famous Issyk-Kul chebak, which was a small fish, very well remembered by all tourists for its unique taste especially for beer.
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Trout in the museum near the yacht club in Cholpon-Ata. Kyrgyzstan, Issyk-Kul region, the city of Cholpon-Ata. According to one version, a trout released into Lake Issyk-Kul destroyed the famous Issyk-Kul chebak.
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In the museum near the yacht club in Cholpon-Ata. Kyrgyzstan, Issyk-Kul region, the city of Cholpon-Ata. We boarded the Karakol boat and went to the open sea. The children had so many emotions that it is impossible to describe, because this trip on the ship was their first time. Business card Issyk-Kul is clear water, the bottom is visible at 5-7 meters, where deeper, there is a blue abyss. The lake is included in the list of the deepest lakes in the World, greatest depth Issyk-Kul 700 meters! The height above sea level is 1609 meters, the dimensions of the lake are 180 x 60 km. The water is brackish and cold, but you can swim. For thrill-seekers who want to swim in the blue abyss of Issyk-Kul, the boat stops far from the shore at a depth of about a hundred meters. Those who want to swim wear life jackets, and those who do not want to swim at this time can enjoy the cleanest air of Issyk-Kul and admire beautiful view to the lake. For your money, you can arrange a ride on the lake of any scale, and at your service there are boats, a steamship, and luxury yachts.
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Boat IK-89 "Admiral", project 1427, Polarnik type.
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Motor ship "Chingiz", project 1430, type Alexander Green.
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Lake Issyk-Kul. Kyrgyzstan, Issyk-Kul region, Cholpon-Ata city.
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Boat ride on Lake Issyk-Kul.
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Lake Issyk-Kul and the Kungey Alatau mountain range.
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Boat IK-56 "Cruise", project 376, Yaroslavets type.
Next we go to former airport Cholpon-Aty. The terminal building and airport buildings have long been abandoned, and people use the runway as a road. We also did not miss this opportunity to drive a car on the takeoff. The runway itself is interesting in that it has a decent slope towards the lake, apparently for a short take-off run of aircraft and during landing for short braking. At one time the airport hosted aircraft type YAK-40 from Bishkek and Almaty. In the summer season, there are flights from Almaty on Yak-40, Yak-42 aircraft to the new Tamchy airport near Issyk-Kul, which is 20 km from Cholpon-Ata. There is also another operating paramilitary airfield in the city of Karakol, former city Przhevalsk.
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Lake Issyk-Kul and Cholpon-Ata Airport.
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The terminal building of the airport in Cholpon-Ata.
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Runway runway heading "16" at Cholpon-Ata Airport (UAFG).
Length runway 1740 m and has a significant slope. The height of the airport is 1652 m at sea level.
Now about what you can see in Issyk-Kul for active tourists. For me, lying on the hotel beach just to sunbathe is a waste of time. If possible, it is better to use your own transport or excursions and explore the surrounding area ahead. In 2008 I made a trip around Issyk-Kul with paper card in my hands on my car and this is what I saw: the Grigorievskoe gorge on the northern shore, the Rukh-Ordo museum in Cholpon-Ata, the Przhevalsky museum, the Jety-Oguz gorge, the dead lake, a picturesque road around the entire lake and I’m sure that I missed a lot along the way.
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Sunset over the Kungei Alatau ridge.
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Clouds over the Kungei Alatau ridge. Kyrgyzstan, Issyk-Kul region. Well, here we are on the way home, we filled up the gas station with gasoline and slowly left Issyk-Kul through Balykchy. Well, what would we do without my favorite photographs of the railway? Here Railway the person is beautiful! The line originates from the border station with Kazakhstan called Lugovaya, passes through the city of Bishkek, further along the Chui Valley and to the pass in the Boom Gorge, there are climbs, protection stones, and bridges, ending at the Rybachye station in the city of Balykchy. Old Soviet diesel locomotives lift small trains to Issyk-Kul; due to undemanded passenger traffic, there are few passenger trains. It's rare to see a train here, but I was lucky! First, we managed to photograph the train at the Kayamat-Kurkol station, and then a lonely diesel locomotive heading downhill on the stretch. The driver waved his hand at me in a friendly manner. This railway line was built a long time ago, it was marked on the maps of the famous Turksib, and that same Turksib from Siberia through Almaty to Lugovaya was built later. It was on this section of Kyrgyzstan from Lugovaya to Issyk-Kul that my grandfather worked, occupying leadership positions in the field of track management. The pictures are taken, let's move on.
Driver of diesel locomotive 2TE10V-3522.
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Chu River. Kyrgyzstan, Chui region. When leaving the gorge, Boom took another picture of the Chu River from a high elevation on a rock, then the path along the Chui Valley along the Chu River to the border with Kazakhstan. Customs went through as usual, an evening drive to Almaty, an hour and a half traffic jam at the entrance to the city and we were home. Pleasant fatigue, a lot of unprocessed material in photo and video cameras, brought dried fish from Issyk-Kul, apricots, a light tan and most importantly - satisfaction from the trip.
zaleskiy
15/02/2017
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In the deep basin of north-east Kyrgyzstan, surrounded by mountain ranges, lies the beautiful Issyk-Kul - the largest lake in the country and the sixth deepest lake on the planet. Clean brackish water, mild climate and delightful landscapes attract thousands of active recreation lovers and, of course, connoisseurs of beauty here in the summer, as evidenced by the wonderful photos of Lake Issyk-Kul.
Photo of Lake Issyk-Kul: view from the Ferris wheel. 
Photo of Lake Issyk-Kul: shore and mountains.
In the Kyrgyz language, the name of the reservoir means “hot lake” (ysyk kel) and it really does not freeze thanks to the mild winters, salt and heat that accumulates in the giant basin. Nevertheless, physical geographer Eduard Murzaev believed that Issyk-Kul received its name from the ancient “yzyk ezykh”, which means “sacred”, because that’s exactly what indigenous people still applies to the lake today.
Geographical features
The lake is located at an altitude of 1609 m above sea level, it is surrounded by highest mountains on the ground - the Tien Shan ridges covered with snow caps, protecting the water area from the hot breath of the deserts.
Issyk-Kul is fed by about 80 small tributaries; in the west, the Chu River flows very close, which in the spring gives it part of its water, but the lake has no drains. The length of the reservoir is 182 km, width - 58 km, and the greatest depth reaches 702 m. Therefore, in terms of deep water, Issyk-Kul is second only to such giants as Baikal, the Caspian Sea, African Tanganyika and Nyasa, as well as South American San Martin.
The brackish water of Issyk-Kul is famous for its purity and transparency, and due to the presence of mineral salts it is considered healing. Because of the blueness of its waters, in photos from space, Lake Issyk-Kul looks like a beautiful aquamarine in a platinum frame.
The lake's waters have a unique temperate maritime climate. There are no severe frosts or sweltering heat here, in winter the air temperature does not drop below -2 - -6 degrees, and in mid-July the comfortable + 17 remains stable. The sun shines on the Issyk-Kul coast for about 2,700 hours a year, for comparison: in Moscow this figure is one thousand hours less.
Landscape near Lake Issyk-Kul. 
Photo of Lake Issyk-Kul. 
Photo of Lake Issyk-Kul. 
Lake Issyk-Kul from a bird's eye view. 
Ferris wheel on the shore of Lake Issyk-Kul. Flora and ichthyofauna
The landscape surrounding the lake is extremely diverse; every tourist will find a corner of nature to their liking here. Along the coastline the vegetation is quite monotonous. Sandy and pebble beaches are interspersed with sea buckthorn groves, thickets of ephedra and reeds.
Of the trees, the dominant characteristic is Central Asia Schrenk spruce, and if you climb higher into the mountains, stunning views from the alpine meadows open up to Issyk-Kul.
According to scientists, today the lake is home to about 21 species of fish, among which the most common is the chebak or Siberian roach.
Photo of Lake Issyk-Kul. 
Beach of Lake Issyk-Kul. 
Recreation center on the shore of Lake Issyk-Kul. 
Pier near Lake Issyk-Kul. 
Lake Issyk-Kul at night. 
Photo of Lake Issyk-Kul. 
Lake Issyk-Kul in spring. 
Lake Issyk-Kul at sunset. 
Mountains in the clouds near Lake Issyk-Kul. History of development
Issyk-Kul is mentioned in ancient Chinese annals dating back to the 2nd century BC. e., where it is called Zhe-Hai or “warm sea”.
Issyk-Kul was put on the map by the Russian scientist Alexander Golubev, who was exploring the lake in the mid-19th century. Correlating astronomical and geographical coordinates, he managed to very accurately outline the contour of the reservoir.
Research on the lake is closely connected with the name of Nikolai Przhevalsky, who was so passionate about Issyk-Kul that he bequeathed to rest on its shore. In October 1888, the traveler’s will was fulfilled: 12 km from Karakol, soldiers dug solid soil for 2 days and buried the researcher in a double coffin, wooden inside and iron outside.
The Karakol base of the Russian Navy, built in the last century, still operates in Przhevalsky Bay.
Photo of Lake Issyk-Kul. 
View of Lake Issyk-Kul from the mountains. 
Photo of Lake Issyk-Kul. 
Photo of Lake Issyk-Kul. 
Pier of the Altyn Zheega recreation center in Issyk-Kul. 
Dawn on Lake Issyk-Kul. 
Morning in Issyk-Kul. Every great lake keeps its secrets, Issyk-Kul was no exception: in 2006, archaeologists conducting research at the bottom of the reservoir discovered a civilization unknown to science, flooded about 2.5 thousand years ago.
