The purpose of our small study will be Lake Issyk-Kul (Kyrgyzstan). Rest in these places is not yet sufficiently explored by tourists from far abroad, but it is very mastered by the Russians, Kazakhs and, naturally, the Kyrgyz. To begin with, we give a few figures: this water area is the world's largest high-mountain salt lake. It is second only to the Caspian in size, and only Baikal in water transparency. Issyk-Kul rests at an altitude of 1609 meters. It is 180 kilometers long and 70 kilometers wide. Dimensions are sufficient to be visible from space. Astronauts claim that from there the lake looks like a blue human eye. And one more feature: even in the most severe winters, the water in Issyk-Kul does not freeze. Therefore, the Kyrgyz name of this miracle of nature is translated as “hot lake”. The average depth of this reservoir is 300 meters, and the maximum is 668 m. The salinity of the water is 5.9 ppm.
Where is Issyk-Kul Lake located?
The lake surface of Issyk-Kul extends in a very picturesque place. Tourists claim that they did not even expect such an unearthly beauty. The mirror surface among snowfields and glaciers, surrounded by mountain peaks, changes color from pale azure to dark blue depending on the lighting. The Russian traveler Semenov-Tyan-Shansky, the first of the Europeans to visit Issyk-Kul, wrote that it outshines Lake Geneva by its beauty. The same association with the Alps arose among the researcher of Central Asia, Przhevalsky. He wrote about Issyk-Kul that local beauties are like Switzerland, only much better. For a long time, none of the Europeans (except for the two travelers mentioned) came to these places. The road was too long and difficult. After all, there is the largest lake in Central Asia in the heart of the Tien Shan, between the Terskey Ala-Toi and Kungei Ala-Too ranges.
How to get to Issyk-Kul
To get to the intermountain hollow, you need to overcome the famous and inaccessible Boom Gorge. The path from Bishkek is not long. If you study the old reviews, you get the impression that the main misfortune and problem of travelers is the road. However, the reward for the difficulties will be a wonderful view of Lake Issyk-Kul, a photo of which is immediately made by exhausted tourists. But now most of the problems are in the past. In the intermountain valley, two airports operate at once. If you are flying from abroad, the international Tamchi hub may accept you. In 2003, it was converted from a military air base to the needs of civil aviation. On the north coast of the lake there is the resort town of Cholpon Ata. There is also an airport near it, but it only accepts domestic flights.
Climatic characteristics
Lake Issyk-Kul rests in a deep intermountain valley, so a microclimate has formed around it, which meteorologists call the subtropical temperate sea. This means that winters are mild, and summers are not sultry at all. Reviews of tourists say that acclimatization is not required here. The coldest months of the year are January and February. Air at this time is cooled to a temperature of - 5 to + 5 degrees. Spring begins in late March, and summer in mid-May. Until the end of September, mild, warm weather is maintained with minimal rainfall. In the hottest month - July - the mountain air warms up to 16-17 °, although there are indicators in 32-33 °. Tourists do not complain about the vagaries of the weather, because, according to the calculations of meteorologists, in the valley it is sunny for about 300 days a year. Even in the heat by the lake it’s not stuffy - altitudinal zoning affects. Water in the summer warms up to + 18-20 °, which is quite suitable for swimming.
When to come
Thanks to such climatic characteristics, Lake Issyk-Kul, the reviews of which speak for themselves, is ready to receive guests year-round. However, the peak of the season still falls on two months - July and August. The “Pearl of Kyrgyzstan" (as the inhabitants of the country call their lake) also attracts winter tourists. Near the city of Karakol there is a ski resort of the same name. For winter holidays, reviews of tourists are advised to choose only resorts on the north coast, since the south is oriented to beach people. For trekking, it is best to come in the fall - it is dry, warm and windless here. However, it should be borne in mind that good days are replaced by very cold nights, so you need to take care of the appropriate equipment. Regarding summer vacations, you need to know that the lion's share of camp sites, resorts and hotels is concentrated in the northern coast. And the southern end is chosen by lovers of romance, bonfires and tents.
Where to stay
Like the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus or Crimea, Lake Issyk-Kul is covered by a network of resorts. Among them stands out Cholpon-Ata - a kind of Yalta of the local Riviera. Pensions, sanatoriums, rest houses work here. Reviews of tourists still recommend choosing a private sector for living, or even better - small mini-hotels. There have been many of them lately. They have only 4-10 rooms, the atmosphere in them is the most welcoming, family, sometimes you can agree with the owners about home catering. Especially a lot of such service in the village of Tamchi. Most tourists who come here for radon baths prefer to stay in private mini-hotels.
Active tourism on Issyk-Kul Lake
Statistics say that approximately one million people rest in these parts every year. Tourists themselves say that the lion's share of these people are Kyrgyz, Kazakhs and citizens of the Russian Federation. There are only 35 thousand people from foreign countries, but their number is growing from year to year, thanks to the developing infrastructure and service. Yes, it still leaves much to be desired, and the comparison with Switzerland concerns only the beauties of nature, but not the service. However, here you can relax, and most importantly, improve your health. Moreover, the prices here are much lower than Swiss. Trekking fans will enjoy marked routes along Kungei Ala-Tau and Teskey Ala-Too. Tourists leave positive memories of hiking in the Semenovka and Grigoryevka valleys to the north, as well as Barskoon to the south. And how beautiful the mountains ringing the place where Lake Issyk-Kul stretched its open spaces! Reviews also highly recommend visiting the city of Karakol. In addition to the picturesque valley, there is a museum and the grave of Przhevalsky.
Issyk-Kul Lake: rest on the beach
The most popular resorts - Tamchi, Chon-Sary-Oy, Sary-Oy, Bosteri, Cholpon-Ata - are located on the north coast. Young people like to relax in them, who will find a lot of entertainment here, including water ones. Fans of "chamber rest" prefer resorts in the south - Tamga and Kaji-Sai. More than half of the six hundred kilometer beach area is made up of flat or bulk banks with small or medium pebbles. Boulders, rocks and stones are very rare. But there are 120 kilometers of natural sandy beaches. Reviews mention paid services. An umbrella with a sunbed costs one hundred soms a day. And the entrance to the beach, if you are resting "wild", may not be free. Comments of tourists reveal a little trick: in Cholpon-Ata (near the city park Rukh-Ordo) there is a free sandy beach, and even with healing mud.
Improvement in Issyk-Kul
The closed lake has not only valuable sulfate-sodium chloride composition of water, but also deposits of therapeutic mud. Just 200 meters from Issyk-Kul there is an analogue of the Israeli super-salty “sea” - Dead Lake. At local resorts, they effectively treat diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, cardiovascular, respiratory and nervous systems, skin and endocrine ailments, and lesions of the musculoskeletal system. Since the days of the Soviet Union, many health resorts glorified Lake Issyk-Kul. Sanatoriums that practice mud-, electroplating and rhodon baths are mainly located on the north coast. This is “Dordoi Ak-Zhol” in Koshkol, “Sunny” and “Vityaz” in Chok-Tal, Altyn-Kum boarding house in Chon-Sary-Oi. In the village of Sary-Oi there are children's health centers and camps.
Fishing
About 80 rivers and rivulets flow into Issyk-Kul Lake, but not one of them carries water from this drainless water area. As a result, all minerals and salts accumulate in depth. Water is unsuitable for human and animal drinking, but it is surprisingly clean and transparent. On clear days, a keen eye can view from the side of the boat the ruins of an ancient civilization resting at the bottom. According to studies of the archaeological expedition that worked here in 2006, it existed two and a half thousand years ago. The purity of the water and its mineralization created excellent conditions for certain types of fish. It is home to a dozen endemic varieties: chebak, marinka, osman and others. In the old days, you could enjoy a delicious fish chebachok. But lately, such voracious predators as rainbow, Sevan and Amudarya trouts have acclimatized in the lake. Therefore, the mackerel is now quite rare prey.