July 2017

I'll get straight to the point, Karakol is a nature lover's paradise. Despite being one of Kyrgyzstan's biggest cities (still just 60,000 people), half the roads are still dirt, cows and sheep roam the streets, and the towering Tian Shan mountains are only about a 15-20 minute walk away. The air is fresh and Issyk Kol, the second largest Alpine lake in the world, is just a short drive away. Along the roads, small houses and shops are nearly swallowed up by trees and bushes, while noise and light pollution are virtually non-existent. For me, this visit came at a time where I was pretty sick and tired of cities and desperately needed a break. Karakol was the perfect medicine.

In the city itself, there are a couple of sites worth seeing like the central market, an old, wooden Russian Orthodox church and a mosque with Chinese influenced architecture. But let's be honest, these are not the reasons people (myself included) go to Karakol. We go for the nature and mountains. We go to trek up to glaciers and through valleys alongside herders and wild horses. Karakol is a base-camp for those seeking to venture out into the wild. It is a settlement where you can buy food and rent tents and equipment (for as little as $1-2) before setting out on an epic journey through lands seemingly lost outside of time.

Probably the most well known trek in the area is a 40-50km (25-30 mile) hike up to a mountain lake called Ala-Kol, through a 4000m pass and past hot springs. While I usually don't recommend doing what everyone is doing, I have to make an exception here. The route through the valley just may be the most gorgeous place I've ever seen, and since Kyrgyzstan hardly gets any tourism, you can go for a couple hours without seeing anyone except some local herders while hiking this 'most trafficked' route.

I just have to make one comment here though. It is often said, on other travel blogs and tourist info sites, that it takes 3-4 days to complete this trek and that doing it in one is impossible. That is wrong. After attempting this route, I want to make it clear that doing the whole thing in one day is absolutely possible. My friend Stefan (see story 'Mountaineering Madness') and I attempted this and within just over three hours, we covered 1/3 of the total distance. We were well on pace to finish in one day, and probably would have if we didn't get lost and head in the wrong direction for two hours in the middle (we're both pretty bad with navigation).