Bishkek is the capital and the largest city of Kyrgyzstan with a population of about 1 million. Bishkek is also the administrative center of Chuy Province which surrounds the city, even though the city itself is not part of the province but rather a...

Cholpon-Ata, literally "Venus-father", the name of a mythological protecting spirit) is a resort town on the northern shore of Lake Issyk-Kul in Kyrgyzstan with a year-round population of about 12,000. It is the administrative center of the Issyk Kul...

The southern city of Jalal-Abad, the third city of the country. The name means the city of Jalal, from a 13th centruy warrior.Jalal-Abad is the administrative, economic and cultural centre of Jalal-Abad oblast (province). It lies in the south of the...

Irkeshtam pass is approached from Osh, the second city of Kyrgyzstan, in the South of the country. The road travels south along the valley of the Taldyk and Gulcho river gorges to the village of Sary Tash (“Yellow Stone” in Kyrgyz), which sits on a...

Karakol, formerly Przhevalsk, is a city of about 75,000, near the eastern tip of Lake Issyk-Kul in Kyrgyzstan, about 150 km from the Kyrgyzstan-China border and 380 km from the capital Bishkek. It is the administrative capital of Issyk Kul Province....

Kara-Suu (meaning "Black Water") is a town, river and valley in Osh Province, Kyrgyzstan, in the Fergana Valley. The town is 23km northeast of Osh and is the capital of Kara-Suu District. The village of Kara-Suu is 600km from Bishkek on the upper...

Naryn is the provincial administrative center of the Naryn Oblast in central Kyrgyzstan, with a population of 52,300 (2008). It is situated on both banks of the Naryn River, (one of the main head waters of the Syr Darya), which cuts a picturesque...

Osh is the second largest city in Kyrgyzstan, and is reputedly 3,000 years old. Archaeologists have found artifacts dating back to the fifth century B.C. One claim that is often heard is that Osh is "Older than Rome". There are several legends about...

Saimaluu Tash (or Saimaly Tash, 'decorated stones' in Kyrgyz) is a petroglyph site in Jalal-Abad Province, Kyrgyzstan, south of Kazarman. It is on the Ferghana Range at about 3,200 meters in two high valleys, separated by a low mountain ridge. Over...

Tash-Rabat was constructed in the 15th century, on the ancient trade route from Central Asia to China, and was a resting place for merchants, ambassadors, travelers and other wanderers. It is the largest structure built of stone from Central Asian...

Talas is a little-known town in a valley of the same name. It is cut off from the rest of Kyrgyzstan by mountain ranges, and the "easiest" route is via Kazakhstan - involving the need for a transit visa. It is, however, possible to reach the valley...

Uzgen (also Ozgon or Ozgon) is a town in Osh Province, Kyrgyzstan. It is the capital of Uzgen District. It is located at the far eastern end of the Ferghana Valley, upstream of the point where the Kara-Darya enters the valley. It is 30 miles...

Issyk Kul is Kyrgyzstan's largest lake and at about 180 km long by 70 km wide and 668 meters deep at the deepest point, (the average depth is about 300 meters), it is the world's second largest mountain lake and the fifth deepest lake in the world....