Major Cities in Kyrgyzstan

By | July 9, 2022

Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan)

According to ITYPEMBA, Bishkek is the capital of Kyrgyzstan, a modern city with a population approaching 1 million people. The city is located at an altitude of 750 – 900 m in the central part of the Chui valley at the northern foot of the Kirghiz Range. 20 km from Bishkek is the channel of the Chu River, on the territory of the city itself there are the Western and Eastern Big Chu Canals, as well as an extensive network of ditches. Bishkek hasa rectangular street layout, unlike the ancient Central Asian cities. The city has many parks, squares, boulevards and alleys.

Bishkek is the main transport hub of the country. Not far from the city is the international airport “Manas”, the city has a railway and bus station. As a rule, Bishkek is the starting point for traveling around the country.

There are 7 theaters and 11 museums in Bishkek, as well as cinemas, clubs, sports complexes. Of the museums, it is worth choosing to visit the memorial house-museum of M. V. Frunze, the State Museum of Fine Arts and the National Historical Museum (the former Museum named after V. I. Lenin), all of them are located in the city center. The two upper floors of the historical museum show the natural and political history of Kyrgyzstan. There are also exhibits of traditional clothing and art. The Museum of Fine Arts exhibits examples of Kyrgyz folk art and contemporary Russian and Soviet art. In addition, there are examples of elegant traditional Kyrgyz wall carpets (tushkiis, bashtiyks).

Central Park is a kind of open-air sculpture museum. Sculptures made in stone, metal and wood are located alone and in groups along park alleys, paths, and sometimes just among the trees on green lawns.

in Bishkek you can visit the Kyrgyz State Opera and Ballet Theater named after A. Moldybaev, the Russian Theater named after N. K. Krupskaya and the Kyrgyz State Drama Theater. The famous Osh bazaar, where you can see national souvenirs, deserves a separate visit. Fans of ancient architecture should definitely see the Burana historical and cultural zone, located near the city of Tokmak, 80 km from Bishkek. Scientists suggest that there was once a fortified settlement of Balasagun, the northern capital of the Turkic state of the Usun and Karakhanid tribes. Here you can see the 21-meter Burana tower itself, balbals – stone idols (VI – X centuries), stones with rock art (1 thousand years BC) and other archaeological finds. Ak-Beshim settlement (Suyab), one of the cultural and economic centers of the Chui valley in the 6th-7th centuries, is located 6 km northwest of Burana.

In summer, tourists will enjoy a trip to the reservoirs – Nizhne-Ala-Archinskoe, HPP-5, as well as visiting the recreation areas “Alamedin”, “Issyk-Ata” and “Ala-Archa” located on the rivers of the same name flowing into the Chu. Springs of warm mineral waters were found in the valleys of the Alamedin and Issyk-Ata rivers, and the Issyk-Ata recreation area is a well-known balneological resort. The Ala-Archa gorge is famous for juniper forests. 4 species of this beautiful plant grow here, as well as Tien Shan spruce and Schrenk spruce. The Ala-Archa National State Park is located in the upper reaches of the Ala-Archa River basin and occupies the territory of the gorge from the middle mountains to the peaks of the mighty Kyrgyz Range.

Kyrgyz Range Compared to other areas of the Tien Shan, it has very convenient entry routes. The Kyrgyz Range has a latitudinal orientation. The highest points and the greatest glaciation are located in the highly branched northern spurs, separated by deep valleys. The southern spurs are relatively short, with weak glaciation. There is an alpine camp in the Ala-Archa gorge, and many tourist routes along the Kyrgyz Range begin from here. The Alamedin and Issyk-Ata gorges are also conveniently located for organizing a trip to the mountains.

In winter, you can visit the Chon-Tash recreation area. Ski lovers will find several ski bases in the vicinity of Bishkek: Chunkurchak, Norus and Toguz-Bulak. Several of the bases are located in the Kashka-Suu gorge at once: “Polytechnic”), “Kashka-Suu” (28 km), “Oruu-Sai” and “Edelweiss” (35 km), “Kyzyl-Beles” (40 km).

Balykchy (Issyk-Kul) (Kyrgyzstan)

The city of Balykchy (the former name of Rybachye, as well as Issyk-Kul) is the gateway to the pearl of Kyrgyzstan – Lake Issyk-Kul . Just beyond the Boom gorge, the road descending to Issyk-Kul leads to Balykchy, then the roads diverge, bypassing the lake along the northern and southern coasts to meet again in the city of Karakol. Despite its location, the city did not become a resort center.

In 1871, there was a small village on the site of the city, in the mid-1890s. a retired officer M. Bachin settled there, who opened his own fishery there. By 1907, 100 families of fishermen already lived in the village, and it was renamed Bachino. Then the village was renamed Rybachye, and in 1954 it became a city. After gaining independence, the Kyrgyz renamed the city Balykchi (as they say, from the word balyk – fish).

In the city itself, no sights have survived, except for the old Kyrgyz cemetery with patterned clay mazars (grave structures), although it was once located on one of the branches of the Great Silk Road. But nearby, on the site of the village of Toruaigyr, are the remains of an ancient settlement. Numerous written sources indicate that in the Middle Ages there was a prosperous trading city of Sikul in these places. Perhaps it was there that Armenian monks fled – Nestorians, fleeing religious persecution. They built a monastery in which the relics of the apostle and evangelist St. Matthew were kept.

9 km from Toruaygyr there is a gorge with rock carvings. Petroglyphs, carved on the smooth surfaces of rocks about 4500 years ago, depict mainly scenes of hunting and ritual ceremonies. Near Toruaygyr, archaeologists unearthed a factory for the production of bricks and clay water pipes dating back to the 14th-15th centuries.

Balykchy (Issyk-Kul) (Kyrgyzstan)