In the Dzhergalansk fauna complex, in a deep river-eroded cliff, the history of the earth is visible through its layers and deposits. Here, an almost complete skeleton of a rhinoceros, a mammoth tusk and tooth, a bison jaw, and remains of a glacial elephant were found, among others.
Kyrgyzstan is a guardian of cultural and historical monuments located along the Great Silk Road. In this regard, it is appropriate to recall the mention of a medieval Armenian monastery on the shores of Lake Issyk-Kul. This information is contained on the Catalan map of the world, created by the Spaniard Abraham Cresques in the city of Palma, located on the island of Mallorca (Mediterranean Sea). It was published in 1742 in Paris. For the first time in European cartography, the map depicts Lake Issyk-Kul. The sources Cresques used to compile the map are unknown, but the geographical location and general outlines of the lake are given quite accurately. On the shore of Issyk-Kul, a building topped with crosses is depicted. The inscription on the map states that this is a monastery of Armenian Nestorians and that it houses the relics of Saint Apostle Matthew. Matthew is the only apostle whose death is shrouded in a thick veil of mystery, and his relics have not been found to this day. It is only known that Matthew preached the faith of Christ first in Armenia and Persia, and then on the territory of modern Kyrgyzstan.
The area known as Bright Cape has been known for over sixteen centuries as the burial place of Saint Apostle Matthew. In ancient times, there were a Nestorian monastery and two Armenian monasteries here. In 1888, by order of Russian Tsar Alexander III, an Orthodox monastery was built in their place, which was destroyed in 1916 during the uprising.
On the shores of the lake, near the village of Kurmenty, there is a complex of catacombs that were dug by Armenian monks in the fourth and fifth centuries. Just behind the village of Belovodskoye, a chain of large Scythian burial mounds stretches from the foothills towards the lake, as evidenced by the findings of archaeologists.
The Semenov Gorge, approximately 30 km long, is located near the village of Semenovka, 115 km from Balykchy. The zone of spruce forest begins immediately from the mouth of the valley. The left slopes are particularly picturesque, covered with dense thickets of shrubs: sea buckthorn, wild rose, barberry, honeysuckle, and currants. In the upper belt, the valley is bordered by a jagged ridge of snow-white mountains with the main peak rising to 4263 m. At the headwaters of the Suyttu-Bulak tributary is the snow-capped pass of the same name, rising to 3924 m, which opens the way to the valley of the Chilik River. Among the excursion sites, the waterfalls at the headwaters of the Ak-Su River and the dammed lake of Suyttu-Bulak should be noted. The lake was formed in 1910 during the Vernensky earthquake. The lake is very beautiful - in clear weather, the reflections of sunlight on its surface play all the colors of the rainbow.
Cholpon-Ata is the center of the resort area on the northern shore with the best sandy beaches and the most developed tourism infrastructure. The city is small and sparsely populated in winter. The emergence of the resort in the central part of the northern shore is primarily due to a combination of natural factors that favorably distinguish this part of the shore from the arid west and cool east.
The modern city of Cholpon-Ata is a historical and cultural center. It has a large number of health resorts for children and adults. The city features: the House Museum of Kazakh writer M. Auezov, hotels, cafes, and restaurants. It is also known for a horse breeding farm that is a leader in breeding Kyrgyz horses. These unique horses can go without food for three days while performing heavy physical work, and they easily overcome mountain ascents. A significant tourist attraction is the city racetrack, where equestrian sports competitions and national games are often held. In Cholpon-Ata is the largest museum in the Issyk-Kul region, which houses archaeological finds, household items, and samples of nomadic art. In recent years, with the strengthening of the country's international image, conference tourism has been intensively developing in Issyk-Kul. Centers of conference tourism have become well-known sanatoriums and resorts such as the "Issyk-Kul" sanatorium ("Aurora"), the "Cholpon-Ata" recreation house, the State Residence, the "Royal Beach" club-hotel, and others.
The rock gallery of Cholpon-Ata, created by ancient artists in the IV century BC, was thoroughly surveyed in 1973 by a group of archaeologists - D. F. Vinnik, M. K. Kubatbekov, V. P. Mokryn, V. M. Ploskih, and G. A. Pomaskina, who described the narrative scenes and individual drawings on boulders and rock blocks. The drawings were made using the engraving method: stone tools were used to cut, draw, or chisel the contours of the images with point strikes. The subjects are quite diverse. Images of animals are often found, especially the mountain goat with elongated, curved horns spiraled, etc. All figures are depicted in profile with point stamping. Figures of deer (bugu) with branched antlers, a sacred totem of the distant past of the local Kyrgyz tribe, are not uncommon. The stones clearly show images of a bull, dog, horse, and leopard. All of them are executed in a realistic manner and impress with the skill of the primitive artist. Many figures are presented in motion. In general, they are characterized by common trends reflecting magical, religious, and everyday moments from the life of ancient society. These drawings testify to the direct connection between human labor activities and early forms of art. There are grounds to consider the concentration of rock drawings as a kind of cult temple under the open sky, a place of worship for ancient nomads.
Chon-Ak-Suu (Grigoriev Gorge) is located 110 km from the city of Balykchy. The Chon-Ak-Suu valley descends from the Kungey Ala-Too ridge near the village of Grigorievka. The length of the valley is about 35 km, stretching between the Kum-Bel spur and the main ridge, almost parallel to the shoreline of Lake Issyk-Kul. The gentle slopes of the Chon-Ak-Suu valley are covered with dense spruce forest. At the bottom of the gorge, glacial water of crystal purity rushes. The middle part of the valley is crowned by two snowy peaks: Kum-Bel (4200 m) - on the spur and Eshenbulak (4647 m) on the main ridge. Due to the gentle slope of the gorge, all landscape belts are expressed very vividly here and have greater length than in other valleys of Kungey Ala-Too.
In the first half of the valley, covered with spruce forest, lies the morainal pond Lower Lake. Higher up, in the area of At-Dzhailoo, is the Middle Lake, and six kilometers from it is the most beautiful Upper Lake. At the boundary of the upper lake, the forest zone ends and transitions to alpine meadows, occupying heights from 3000 to 3500 m.
In the belt of eternal snows is the Ak-Suu pass (4012 m), which leads to the headwaters of the Chon-Kemin River and to the lake Jashyl-Kel, from where, in turn, it is easy to reach the surroundings of the city of Almaty through the Ozerny Pass (3507 m). From the Ak-Suu pass, there is a view of the main peak of this area - the peak of Soviet topographers (4530 m) and the pearl-blue surface of Lake Issyk-Kul.
Chok-Tal is located 50 km from the city of Balykchy. The path to the glaciers and snowfields runs along turbulent rivers, the banks of which are carpeted with alpine grasses and flowers. Through the Kok-Oyrok pass (3931 m), one can descend into the valleys of the rivers Orto-Koy-Suu and Chon-Kemin, covered with mixed forest. The upper part of the ridge is crowned by the snow-white four-headed massif of Chok-Tal (4771 m) - the highest peak of Kungey Ala-Too.
Beyond the village of Choktal, ancient burial mounds are visible, with a large number of petroglyphs depicting hunting scenes, ritual ceremonies, figures of animals, and stone sculptures from the 6th to 8th centuries. In the coastal zone of Lake Issyk-Kul, near the village of Chok-Tal, fragments of a sunken settlement (12th-15th centuries) can be seen from a boat. Along the coast, in the area of the village of Chok-Tal, there are more than 15 boarding houses, children's health complexes, and recreation houses.
The name of the great conqueror Timur is associated with the legend of the Sap-Tash pass (Counted Stones), which was recorded by the Russian traveler Semenov-Tyan-Shansky, who fell in love with this land. On a gentle, grassy ridge, east of Tyup, he saw a huge burial mound made of river boulders, collected for unknown reasons, where and when. The legend tells of Timur's campaign to the countries of Asia, of how columns of troops passed through Southern Pre-Issyk-Kul, and, following Timur's order, each warrior brought a stone from the Issyk-Kul shore to the pass, intending to return it after returning from the campaign. But not everyone returned, and thus the fallen erected a monument to themselves.