This tourist area is located 220 kilometers from the city of Issyk-Kul on the eastern part of the coast. You can reach it by bus from both the northern and southern shores of the lake — the journey is approximately the same. The city of Karakol is connected to the capital of the republic by air transport. In addition to the city, the area also includes the port of Przhevalsk, located at the mouth of the Karakol River, which flows into the Jergalan Bay.
The main attraction of the area is the nature reserve park with the grave and memorial of N. M. Przhevalsky. It is located near the port on a high bank of Issyk-Kul, and from here you can see a majestic panorama of the lake and the blue peaks. Not far from the port, in the area of Chon-Koysu, lie the remains of a settlement from the 14th to 15th centuries at the bottom of the lake. Ruins of several brick and stone structures, building foundations, and wooden walkways have been preserved.
The city of Karakol, located twelve kilometers upstream from the port on the Karakol River, is the largest industrial and cultural center of the Issyk-Kul region. More than 50 thousand people live here, and during the resort season, this number increases significantly. The city is situated at an altitude of 1690–1770 meters above sea level, has a wonderful climate, and consistently attracts tourists.
Karakol was founded in 1869 as a military-administrative and trading post on the caravan route from the Chui Valley to Kashgaria. Twenty years after its founding, the city was named after the Russian traveler and researcher of Central Asia. Then, in 1991, it was renamed back to Karakol.
As early as 1895, a park was established in the city, now named after A. S. Pushkin. For a long time, local authorities required every builder to plant a garden or alley in front of their house, and it is not surprising that since pre-revolutionary times, Karakol has been considered one of the greenest cities in Central Asia.
The city hosts a branch of the Kyrgyz State University and has two vocational schools. The creative team of the regional drama theater is on the rise, one of its notable works being the play "Plakha" based on the novel of the same name by Chinghiz Aitmatov, which was performed at the festival of theaters of Central Asia and Kazakhstan in Bishkek. The local history museum is located in the house where N. M. Przhevalsky died in 1898.
Among the architectural monuments, the Dungan mosque stands out, built in the style of a Buddhist pagoda in 1919 from wood without a single nail. The corners of the roof are whimsically bent upwards, and dragon heads are depicted at the ends of the corner beams. The roof of the outer gallery is supported by thirty golden columns adorned with magnificent carvings. The Russian church, built in 1871, and the trading pavilion constructed in 1893 are also very expressive. A number of monuments remind us of the revolutionary events and the establishment of Soviet power in these areas.
Karakol has a zoo base where hunters and fur trappers bring captured snow leopards, Tien Shan ibex, argali, and other fascinating animals of Kyrgyzstan. From here, they are sent to various zoos in the CIS and abroad. Not far from the city is the experimental station of the Research Institute of Medicinal Plants, where employees are trying to "cultivate" valuable wild herbs, as well as the Karakol fish hatchery.
In the Karakol Gorge, there is an alpine camp accessible by road. There are ski lifts for skiers. Like all other areas of the Issyk-Kul basin, the southern shore impresses with the diversity of its animal and plant life: alpine and subalpine meadows, mountain forests, and shrubs hide ibex, roe deer, lynx, and wild boar, whose liver, according to popular belief, cures male infertility. Individual waterfalls and their cascades, glacial-moraine lakes, rivers, and streams, abundantly flowing from the adjacent mountain ranges — all this creates a unique feeling of pristine nature. Add to this the riot of spring blooming tulips and snowdrops, edelweiss and alpine asters, and you will understand why this place can be called, without a shadow of a doubt, a natural Eldorado.
The second mountain-sea complex will include the Juu-Ku ski base and the Ak-Terek tourist boarding house. The nature on the northern shore is harsher. Such corners are more interesting to lovers of a more restrained "Crimean" landscape than to the wild nature of the Southern Caucasus. Rugged cliffs, close to the shoreline, are densely covered with Tien Shan fir forests. Higher up, in the Juu-Ku gorge, a luxurious green valley covered with curtains of fir trees seems somewhat unexpected. Even higher, the fir is completely replaced by the amazing Tien Shan tree — the juniper. Overcoming the inaccessible cliffs, growing in defiance of what seems to be the laws of nature in the most difficult and cold places, the juniper cannot withstand the hand of man. It can be easily cut down or sawed off, which thoughtless heads often do. Look closely at the trunk of the juniper. Doesn’t it resemble the tense muscles of an athlete that are about to burst?
The Juu-Ku gorge attracts primarily skiers: there are magnificent snowfields and glaciers. Their abundance also explains the many lakes. Even more or less large lakes number seven in this gorge alone. There is also a waterfall and sources of thermal mineral waters, which are not uncommon for the eastern edge of the basin. Below, at the Ak-Terek tourist boarding house, vacationers can enjoy the beaches of Issyk-Kul.
The third mountain-sea complex will combine the "Chon-Kyzyl-Suu" tourist base and the "Orgocor", "Boz-Beshik", "Saruu" tourist boarding houses. This area has a mild climate. The peninsula juts into the lake. The peninsula is home to many waterfowl that winter here. In the coastal bushes, there are many pheasants. The gorges adjacent to the peninsula are equally luxurious. The gentle slopes are abundantly covered with berry bushes of barberry, sea buckthorn, currants, and strawberries. Dense forests and an abundance of food attract roe deer, wild boars, kokliks, and pheasants. Higher up — in the alpine and glacial-nival zones — typical highland mountain goats, snow leopards, and huge griffons. Tourists in this area can visit waterfalls, thermal hydrogen sulfide springs of the gorge, and head to the numerous picturesque passes here.
The fourth complex includes the "Barskaun" ski base and the "Tosor", "Ak-Chiya", "Chon-Jangyrchak", "Kichi-Jargyltchak" tourist boarding houses. This area is also among the nearest prospects. In addition to the natural attractions typical of most gorges of the Terskey Ala-Tuu range, there are several waterfalls, the largest of which cascades down a sheer hundred-meter cliff. At the entrance to the gorge are the remains of the ruins of a fortress dated to the 9th-14th centuries. There is also a road leading to the syrts.
The system of the southern coast is complemented by independent tourist boarding houses "Kyzyl-Tuu" and "Ton", as well as a tourist base-camping in the village of Kadji-Sai.
The "Muztag" area should operate independently, specializing only in mountaineering and trekking.
Higher up towards the mountains, the valley changes to syrts — flat-topped plains in the upper reaches of the Naryn and Sary-Jaz rivers, alternating with the ridges of Aydyr-Tuu, Sary-Jaz, Koylu-Tuu, Ak-Shiyrak, Inylchek, Kakshaal, and Kainy. The ridges stretch from the southwest to the northeast, forming a powerful mountain knot in the eastern part — Muztag — Ice Mountain. Here lies Peak Pobeda (7439 m).
The principle of operation of the complexes on the southern coast is the same as for the complexes located on the northern shore.
Particular attention will be required for the development of auto tourism in the Issyk-Kul basin as a whole. The developed road system both along the coast and in several gorges creates favorable conditions for its development. Currently, access for auto travelers is significantly limited. The reason is mainly the lack of service. Nevertheless, by various means, vacationers still penetrate into Issyk-Kul. And such unorganized recreation causes significant harm.
In order for this type of tourism to cease being prohibited in Issyk-Kul without harming nature, it is necessary to establish a network of tourist hotels and bases along the northern and southern shores. Such facilities can be located in the cities of Issyk-Kul, Karakol, and Cholpon-Ata. It is advisable to build tourist camping bases in the village of Ornok and the town of Kadji-Sai. It is easy to notice that the location of auto tourism facilities is tied to the largest populated areas. Most auto travelers strive to spend some time by the water. The cities of Balakchi and Cholpon-Ata can serve as a kind of cordon. Provided that vacationers are given all the conditions for relaxation by the water — food, well-maintained beaches, and various types of leisure. The opportunity to rest properly will reduce the number of those wishing to penetrate into the now more popular and saturated coastal areas.
The tourist hotels in Karakol perform a similar mission — with the only difference that they can receive the counterflows of auto tourists traveling along the southern and northern shores. All hotels are designed to concentrate the flow of vacationers and, if possible, engage them either in educational routes or mountain hikes.
The tourist camping bases located in less attractive and poorly developed areas of the village of Ornok and the town of Kadji-Sai are intended to "help" tourist hotels take some vacationers under their care. Campsites should also provide tourists with the opportunity to take a day trip to various corners of the Issyk-Kul Nature Reserve. An essential condition for the operation of such campsites and tourist hotels should be the presence of parking lots, service stations, and car washes.
Tourism in the Issyk-Kul zone can be supplemented by another type of recreation that has not yet developed.
Unique hotels on the water — botels equipped with comfortable cabins, bars, restaurants, gaming complexes, and solariums will attract many vacationers in the summer season. Moving across the lake, tourists will be able to visit many corners of the northern and southern shores. During stops, vacationers will undertake educational, health, and sightseeing excursions into the mountain gorges.
In the evening, tourists will be able to witness a spectacular sight: falling stars, which the Quran explains in a peculiar way: no human has been given the ability to peek and eavesdrop on the life of the celestial beings. "As soon as someone begins to listen, they are immediately subjected to the protective flame," they are "pursued by a bright jagged flame." The impressions will be complemented by numerous legends about Issyk-Kul, capable of explaining, it seems, all phenomena of the surrounding world. Here you can also hear a second version of the legend about the formation of the lake. ...In these places lived the most beautiful girl named Issyk-Kul. This girl was loved by the heroes Sanatash and Ulan, who lived respectively in the east and west. The heroes protected their people from invaders. Because of the beautiful girl, Sanatash and Ulan quarreled, as each wanted her to become his wife. Not yielding to each other, the heroes quarreled and killed the girl. The earth opened up beneath the dead beauty, and a lake was formed. And the heroes Sanatash and Ulan turned into winds that still fight each other today and, meeting on the surface of the lake, create water whirlwinds.
