Kyrgyzstan OVERVIEW
Kyrgyzstan is virtually left out as a travel destination, if for no other reason than its relatively small size, but the -stan suffix in its name surely doesn't win the country much favor either. Meanwhile, the mountain-hemmed republic is a backpacker's paradise chock-full of staggering vistas, steaming hot pools, alpine lakes, and cities bustling with a curious melange of Muslim tradition, Soviet past, and a mild dose of modernity.
Called the Switzerland of Central Asia, Kyrgyzstan spoils for choice with wild outdoor adventures. Get high in the Pamir Alay range whose unclimbed rock faces and untouched valleys make for a trekking oasis of solitude. Set off for a fragrant hike through Arslanbob, a sacred walnut forest with a river humming in the background. Take the sky for a starry duvet and spend a night nomad style in picture perfect Altyn Arashan or "make a booking" with a sheperd family to stay in a traditional yurt. Finally, treat you exhausted body with the soothing waters of Issyk-Köl, the world's second largest alpine lake and the fifth deepest lake in the world. Whatever you choose to do, every experience is bound to be backdropped with dramatic scenes of colors that change as rapidly and unpredictably as kaleidoscopic images.
Just strap on that pack and get ready for copious helpings of Kymyz (national dairy drink made from mare's milk) as Kyrgyz hospitality is of a worldwide renown. Whether you party with young Kyrgyz in Soviet-style Bishkek, haggle your way through a bazaar in traditional, ethnically diverse Osh, watch riders play kokpar (a game in which two teams of players compete to carry a headless goat carcass into a goal, all at full gallop), or come across nomadic camps on your horse trek across the extensive summer pastures, you'll be bowled over to discover that KyrgyzSTAN is fascinating from every single angle you take it.
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