Difference between revisions of "Issyk-kul lake"

From Hitchwiki
Earth > Asia > Central Asia > Kyrgyzstan > Issyk-kul lake
Jump to navigation Jump to search
 
Line 1: Line 1:
 
__NOTOC__
 
__NOTOC__
 
'''Issyk-kul''' is an amazing and huge lake in [[Kyrgyzstan]]. There is 182 km from east to west and 58 km from north to south. Surrounded by paved road. Distance on both sided are equal between Balykchy and Karakol (around 220km). Northern part is more developed than Southern.
 
'''Issyk-kul''' is an amazing and huge lake in [[Kyrgyzstan]]. There is 182 km from east to west and 58 km from north to south. Surrounded by paved road. Distance on both sided are equal between Balykchy and Karakol (around 220km). Northern part is more developed than Southern.
 
+
[[File:kgzroad.JPG|280px|thumb|right|Road along the Southern shore]]
 
The places are small and you can just thumb everywhere on the main road.  
 
The places are small and you can just thumb everywhere on the main road.  
 
Hint: Spend there a few days hitchin' from village to village and stay where you find a good place, f.e. very cheap yurt camps on the South shore.
 
Hint: Spend there a few days hitchin' from village to village and stay where you find a good place, f.e. very cheap yurt camps on the South shore.

Latest revision as of 21:58, 10 January 2013

Issyk-kul is an amazing and huge lake in Kyrgyzstan. There is 182 km from east to west and 58 km from north to south. Surrounded by paved road. Distance on both sided are equal between Balykchy and Karakol (around 220km). Northern part is more developed than Southern.

File:Kgzroad.JPG
Road along the Southern shore

The places are small and you can just thumb everywhere on the main road. Hint: Spend there a few days hitchin' from village to village and stay where you find a good place, f.e. very cheap yurt camps on the South shore.

Hitchhiking out

The are no really big places, so just walk to the end of the town/village you are and put your thumb in the air. If you are hitching to Bishkek it makes sense to wait for a direct lift, as traffic to the capital is huge. In every other direction you can be happy about every lift going further than 20 km. In summer it is very likely that some tourists from Russia and Kazakhstan in great mood will pick you up. On the other hand there are a lot of families with full cars.

Places to Avoid

Avoid Balykchy and Karakol at nighttime.

Accommodation and Sleep

There is a huge number of hostels, guesthouses and hotels mostly North and less on the South. The North, especially Cholpon-Ata is very popular among tourists from Russia and Kazakhstan. But anyway, with bargaining it should be no problem to get a place to sleep for a small price. Still, the South is more puristic and recommended.

Other Useful Info

There is friendly geologist's service cars couple times in a week from Bishkek through Barskoon Valley to their party on more than 3500 meters altitude near Kumtor golg mine. Try hitch them. Great expirience among glaciers is guarantee.