Landlocked Kyrgyzstan is slightly larger than Austria and Hungary put together. It borders Kazakstan in the north, China in the east, Tajikistan in the south and Uzbekistan in the west.
Nearly 95% of the country is mountainous: almost half of it at an elevation of over 3000m (9840ft) and three-quarters of it under permanent snow and glaciers. The dominant feature is the Tian Shan range in the south-east. Its crest, the dramatic Kakshaal-Too range, forms a stunning natural border with China, culminating at Pik Pobedy (7439m/24,400ft), Kyrgyzstan's highest point. The southern border with Tajikistan lies along the Pamir Alay Range. Lake Issyk-Kul, almost 700m (2300ft) deep, lies in a vast indentation on the fringes of the Tian Shan in eastern Kyrgyzstan.
Though environmental pressures are as bad in Central Asia as anywhere, there's a reasonably good chance of seeing memorable beasts and plants, especially since Cannabis indica grows thick and wild by the roadsides. The mountains of Kyrgyzstan are the setting for high, grassy meadows - it's not unheard of to look out a train or bus window on the open steppe and see a rushing herd of antelope. Marmots and pikas are preyed upon by eagles and lammergeiers while the elusive snow leopard hunts the ibex amongst the crags and rocky slopes. Forests of Tian Shan spruce, larch and juniper provide cover for lynx, wolf, wild boar and brown bear. In summer, the wildflowers are a riot of colour.
The climate of this mountainous region is influenced by its distance from the sea and the sharp change of elevation from neighbouring plains. Conditions vary from permanent snow in high-altitude cold deserts to hot deserts in the lowlands. From the end of June through mid-August most afternoons reach 32°C (90°F) or higher, with an average annual maximum of 40°C (104°F). During the winter months, temperatures remain below freezing for about 40 days. The coldest month is January when winds blow in from Siberia.
The earliest notable residents of what is now Kyrgyzstan were warrior tribes of Saka (also known as Scythians), from about the 6th century BC to the 5th century AD. Alexander the Great met perhaps the stiffest resistance from Saka tribes in his 4th century BC advance through Central Asia. Rich bronze and gold relics have been recovered from Scythian burial mounds at Lake Issyk-Kul and in southern Kazakstan.
The region was under the control of various Turkic alliances from the 6th to 10th centuries, with a sizeable population living on the shores of Lake Issyk-Kul. Kyrgyzstan was the scene of a pivotal battle in 751, when the Turks and their Arab and Tibetan allies drove a large Tang Chinese army out of Central Asia. Ancestors of today's Kyrgyz people probably lived in Siberia's upper Yenisey basin until at least the 10th century, when under the influence of Mongol incursions they began migrating south into the Tian Shan - more urgently with the rise of Jenghiz Khan in the 13th century. Present-day Kyrgyzstan was part of the inheritance of Jenghiz's second son, Chagatai.
Peace was shattered in 1685 by the arrival of the ruthless Mongol Oyrats of the Zhungarian Empire, who drove vast numbers of Kyrgyz south into present-day Tajikistan. When the Oyrats were defeated by the Manchu (Qing), the Kyrgyz became de facto subjects of the Chinese, who mainly left them to their nomadic ways. In the 18th century the feudal tentacles of the Kokand khanate began to encircle them, though the feisty Kyrgyz constantly made trouble from their Tian Shan redoubts. As the Russians moved closer in the 19th century, various Kyrgyz tribal leaders made their own peace with Russia or Kokand. Russian forces slowly rolled over the towns of Kokand, their advance culminating in the defeat of Tashkent in 1865. The Kyrgyz were gradually eased into the tsar's provinces of Ferghana and Semireche.
The new masters then began to hand land over to Russian settlers, and the Kyrgyz put up with it until a revolt in 1916, which was heavily put down by the Russian army. Kyrgyz lands became part of the Turkestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (ASSR) within the Russian Federation in 1918, then a separate Kara-Kyrgyz Autonomous Oblast in 1924 and a full SSR in 1936. Many nomads were settled in the course of land reforms in the 1920s, and more were forcibly settled during a cruel collectivisation campaign in the 1930s.
Despite conservative Kyrgyz leadership in the days of Mikhail Gorbachev's perestroyka, several groups were founded to fight the issues of unemployment and homelessness - some activists going so far as to seize vacant land and build houses on it. Land and housing were in fact at the root of Central Asia's most infamous 'ethnic' violence, between Kyrgyz and Uzbeks around Osh in 1990. Elections were held in traditional Soviet rubber-stamp style to the Kyrgyz Supreme Soviet in February 1990, with the Kyrgyz Communist Party (KCP) walking away with nearly all the seats. After multiple ballots, Askar Akaev, a physicist, was installed as a compromise president.
Akaev has gone on to establish himself as a stubborn reformer, restructuring the executive apparatus to suit his liberal political and economic attitudes, and instituting reforms considered to be the most radical in the Central Asian republics. In August 1991, the Kyrgyz Supreme Soviet reluctantly voted to declare Kyrgyzstan's independence. Six weeks later, Akaev was re-elected president, running unopposed. In May 1993 a brand-new Kyrgyzstan constitution dispensed with the last structural vestiges of the Soviet era. Akaev and his economic programme got a solid popular vote of confidence in a referendum in 1994 and again in early 1995 elections.
Central Asian literature has traditionally been popularised in the form of songs, poems and stories by itinerant minstrels, called akyn. But the Kyrgyz are also associated with something rather more complex - an entire cycle of oral legends, 20 times longer than the Odyssey, about a hero-of-heroes called Manas. The stories are part of a wider, older tradition, but have come to be associated with the Kyrgyz people and culture partly because Soviet scholars 'gave' Manas to them in efforts to create separate cultures for the various Central Asian peoples. Although the oral tradition is pretty much dead, Manas is still a figure for the Kyrgyz to hang their dreams on. Kyrgyzstan has two well-known living authors - Chinghiz Aitmatov and Kazat Akmatov.
Central Asian food resembles that of the Middle East or the Mediterranean in its use of rice, savoury seasonings, vegetables and legumes, yoghurt and grilled meats. The food eaten in Kyrgyzstan has developed from the subsistence diet of the nomads - mainly meat (including entrails), milk products and bread. Kyrgyz cuisine is not particularly subtle - a bland meal of meat and potatoes may be livened up with a spicy side dish likely to burn a hole in your mouth. Tea is ubiquitous, usually served without milk. Despite their Muslim heritage, most Kyrgyz drink alcohol, at least with guests. If you don't enjoy hard booze (commonly vodka), make your excuses early. You may come across kumys, fermented mare's milk, a mildly alcoholic drink available only in spring and summer when mares are foaling. Bozo, a thick, yeasty concoction made from fermented millet, is available year round.
In 1993 Kyrgyzstan became the first Central Asian state to introduce its own national currency. The transition from the Russian rouble has been rocky and Kyrgyzstan still has a shaky economy, a primitive banking system, high inflation rates and low wages. Foreigners often pay substantially more than locals for services, and there's not much you can do to avoid this.
Travellers looking for a safe hotel and dining establishments with ambience should expect to spend US$70 a day. Those with more moderate tastes and the occasional craving for an imported beer can get by on around US$40. Budgeteers relying on trains, streetside cafes and truckers' hostels may need little more than US$10 a day.
Kyrgyzstan is effectively a cash-only zone. The local currency is the only legal tender, though in practice US dollars and German Deutschmarks may be accepted or even requested for some transactions. There are currency exchange desks in most hotels and many shops. Most places accept only crisp, brand new banknotes, convinced somehow that anything older is worthless. Banks change US dollars travellers' cheques into som, though licensed private moneychangers in shop fronts have slightly better rates for US dollars cash.
Kyrgyzstan has a value added tax (VAT) of 20%. Tipping is not common, although a few top end restaurants automatically add a 5% to 15% service charge to the bill. Tipping runs counter to many people's Islamic sense of hospitality, and may even offend them. Shops have fixed prices but bargaining in bazaars is expected.
Lake Issyk-Kul is a huge dent, filled with water, folded between the 4000m (13,120ft) peaks of the Küngey Alatau and the Terskey Alatau ranges. It sits 1600m (5250ft) above sea level and measures a huge 170km (105mi) long and 70km (43mi) across, making it the second-largest alpine lake in the world after Lake Titicaca in South America. Health spas lined the lakeshore in Soviet days, but spa tourism collapsed along with the 'Evil Empire'. The lake was also used by the Soviet Navy to test high-precision torpedoes far from prying Western eyes. This was one of the reasons it was off-limits to foreigners until fairly recently, though the officially sanctioned opium poppy and cannabis plantations which once surrounded the lake may also have had something to do with it.
Today, the main reason to come here is to soak up the lakeside ambience, enjoy the thermal springs and remaining spas, explore some of the best hiking trails in Central Asia and try your hand at catching the local trout - allegedly bulking up to a prized 35kg (77lbs). Mountain wildlife includes big cats, ibex, bear and wild boar, though a serious poaching problem exists, thanks to braindead Western hunters yearning to bag a snow leopard. Give yourself at least a week to explore this region and improve your leg definition.
Attractions in the lake region include the spartan Altyn Arashan hot spring development, set in a 3000m (9840ft) high postcard-perfect alpine valley; the immense, silent summer pasture of the Karkara valley; the extraordinary red sandstone cliffs of the Jeti-Öghüz canyon; and the excellent (and bandit-free) hiking trails into the Terskey Alatau, south of Karakol. The best time to visit is September, though trekking in the mountains is best between July and August.
Karakol, at the eastern end of the lake, is the principal town in the region, and is the best base from which to explore the lakeshore, the Terskey Alatau and the central Tian Shan. It's a low-rise town, famous for its apple orchards and Sunday market (one of the best in Central Asia), and its backstreets are full of Russian gingerbread cottages. It's best to bunk down with a local family (you'll be approached at the bus station when you arrive) rather than stay in an official hotel. Karakol is a seven-hour bus ride from Bishkek or a short hop by plane.
Facts at a Glance
Environment
History
Economic Profile
Culture
Events
Facts for the Traveller
Money & Costs
When to Go
Attractions
Off the Beaten Track
Activities
Getting There & Away
Getting Around
Recommended Reading
Lonely Planet Guide
Travellers' Reports
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