Papańskoe Reservoir

Reservoir in the Valley of the Ak-Bura River

The location of the Papan irrigation reservoir basin is in the valley of the Ak-Bura River near the Kaptarsky massif, after the dam was built at the point of greatest narrowing of the Papan Gorge, in the Osh region of southern Kyrgyzstan. It is located 20 km south of the city of Osh.

The structure can withstand an earthquake of up to 9 points. The dam of the reservoir has a length of 90 meters and a height of 70 meters.

Until 2003, the reservoir was in an emergency state. Its rehabilitation was carried out without draining the water! Currently, it is one of the most stable irrigation structures not only in the country but also in all of Central Asia and even in the CIS.

The basin of the Ak-Bura River, with a catchment area of 2,600 km², is located on the northern slope of the Alai Range, which is part of the Pamir mountain system. To the south, it is bounded by the Alai Range, and to the north, the basin's borders coincide with the border of Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan; to the west and east, it is limited by the basins of the Aravansay and Gulcha rivers.

The Papan Reservoir was built in 1980 with a total volume of 260 million m³ and a useful volume of 240 million m³. The purpose of the reservoir is to regulate the flow of the Ak-Bura River for the development of irrigated agriculture in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan and to supply water to the city of Osh.

300,000 fry of three species of fish were released into the Papan Reservoir.

Those wishing to hike south from the city will be pleasantly surprised at how quickly (just 5 km from the city limits) beautiful mountain landscapes begin. An interesting one-day hiking route of 50 kilometers leads up the Ak-Buura River to the Papan Reservoir. You can take trolleybus No. 1 to the final stop "Student Town." From the trolleybus terminal, the road goes along the river through a picturesque private sector. This area is called Ozgur. If you want to head straight into nature, you can take a direct minibus from the center to Ozgur, which will take you almost to the edge of the settlement. After walking a few kilometers, you will start to ascend into the mountains. The Ak-Buura will lead you into the beautiful Dangi Canyon. After passing through the canyon, you will come to a steep slope from which you will have a view of the beautiful Papan Reservoir.

You can also walk to the Papan Reservoir along the other, western bank of the Ak-Buura. From the market, take a minibus to Teleiken, a village, just like Ozgur, stretched along the riverbank. The advantage of this route is that you can easily descend to the shore of Papan Lake.