SLOW ODYSSEY ACROSS THE WILD MOUNTAIN PASSES - Kochkor to Jalal-Abad (via Naryn and Kazarman), Kyrgyzstan

.....our previous special blog post on Kyrgyzstan's rural animal markets......

A beautiful Kyrgyz scene, Tash Rabat, not a chemtrail in sight in Kyrgyzstan

From Karakol, a long marshrutka trip with the music of what sounded disturbingly like Eurovision 1992 in the background, took us back along the well-trodden south side of Issyk Kol. Kochkor, a tiny town on the highway in Central Kyrgyzstan was our destination. We wanted to break our journey for a few days, visit the famous local animal market, and just hang out in a new place. Upon arrival, we intently felt the consequence of the five hour marshrutka ride in our tired bodies- we haven't endured many long bus trips for some time. 

Mother Russia, Kochkor, Kyrgyzstan

Unfortunately, we almost immediately disliked Kochkor, mainly due to the gruff attitude of many people in shops and on the markets. Tourists here mostly only stay for one night, on the lookout for some private transport to take them on quickly to one of the attractions in the area- usually to Song Kol. There is no public transport to these places, so most foreigners are in and out of Kochkor rapidly, and pay exorbitant amounts for taxis.  As a result, locals seem to treat all tourists with some distain and see dollar signs instead of human beings. The saving grace, in a way, for us, was the hostel we stayed in. Whilst extremely basic and having a somewhat questionable level of hygiene, it was run by one of the sweetest hosts we've ever had. Ex-teacher, Zheeda Mama, as she called herself, welcomed us to her guesthouse, and couldn't have been more entertaining, even without any English. She loved Sal, in particular, and re-christened her Sali-Khan for the duration of our stay (we never found out why!). 

Breakfast time with Zheeda Mama, Kochkor

Kochkor accommodation

Kochkor guesthouse room

The main attraction for us in Kochkor was the weekly animal market, which was smaller than Karakol's, but thrilling nonetheless. We arrived at 5am, expecting things to be in full swing, as they would have been in Karakol, but at this location business didn't really get going until around 7am. We found a food and drink section around the back of the ever-present shipping containers that are used for every conceivable purpose in Kyrgyzstan, and hung out there warming up with a hot chay and the friendly ladies. We thought the animal markets deserved a post of the own.....those who are interested, please take a look here.

A half asleep Sal with chay ladies

Another day was spent getting lost in various small forests along the Chu River that follows Kochkor and continues for miles into the countryside. The scenery was serene, green and pastoral, with shepherds and their livestock milling about the area. 

Scenic spot for a dunny, Kochkor, Kyrgyzstan

Cows chilling in the river, Kochkor, Kyrgyzstan

Down by the river side, Kochkor, Kyrgyzstan

Lovely tree on our walk, Kochkor, Kyrgyzstan

Probably the highlight in Kochkor- kurdak.....

.....and shorpa

We left a couple of days earlier than we had planned, relieved to get out of the place. It had really got us down, and we questioned whether we had had enough of Central Asia- maybe we should leave, and were we were still up to travelling so much? It just shows what a difference a few rough days can have on one's psyche.

Literally as soon as the marshrutka pulled out of Kochkor town, out spirits lifted. Firstly, the driver was terrific- steady and safe, and the road was sealed and smooth- a complete contrast to the awfully bumpy and rough Issyk Kol road.

But the real star of the show was the glorious scenery- sublime vistas of grassy hills and open plateaus- jailoos in Kyrgyz, where shepherds take their animals to graze on the lush pastures in the summer. Lonely herdsmen were silhouetted in dusty hazes. Horses, cows and sheep with so many babies roamed happily on the hills, bee hives appeared in the landscape, and finally we saw real yurts dotted on the hills and beside rivers. Families relaxed in idyllic settings, with children playing, men herding the livestock and old grandmas reclining and watching over everything. In addition to the traditional cloth white yurts rural families of Kyrgyzstan use in the summer, many had very cute old style caravans, and everyone seemed to be loving the outdoor lifestyle. The marshrutka followed the road alongside cascades tumbling from the mountains, the shining streams leading to verdant green valleys. It was tempting to get off the transport at these points and just walked off into the distance. It had to be one of the most fantastic trips we had done in Kyrgyzstan. Unfortunately, because we were travelling on a bus with filthy windows, we have no pics to show the beauty- readers will have to use their imagination!

Delighted to arrive in Naryn, as soon as we alighted the marshrutka, people were very smiley. What a difference to Kochkor! We walked to what we thought was going to be a simple guesthouse, only to find our host waiting for us out the front of an apartment block. As her first guests ever, she was very keen, and showed us what was essentially a whole apartment, complete with a little kitchen all to ourselves! She had decorated it with Kyrgyz style furnishings, and it was very simple, but cosy and comfortable. 

Neat and tidy apartment in Naryn, Kyrgyzstan

Later, as we sat in a small cabin at a local shashlik place that evening, ready to tuck into the meaty goodness of the Kyrgyz fat bottomed lambs, we looked back at the previous few days. We reflected upon our feeling of relief of being here, with most of our apprehension and indecisiveness seemed to have disappeared. We also knew we had a tough time ahead, trying to figure out the next part of our journey, with next to no up-to-date information, and extremely limited public transport in this part of the country.

Yumbo meat feast, Naryn, Kyrgyzstan

Probably as a result of this, we were both a bit sick during the next few days- we were suffering from colds and the dry, dusty environment, and Rich had a fever for two days, so we were glad of a snug place to lay up and recover. We were able to extend our stay without any problem, and felt pleased to have time to recuperate and organize (in the end we did indeed need the extra time to put plans into place).

Naryn was surprisingly pleasant, and the setting was simply stunning. Close and stark red hills enclosed the town, and the huge gushing Naryn River cut through the centre. A long road with shady trees and parks was a pleasant walk from our accommodation to the bazaar and pretty much comprised the entire town. The bazaar was small, but had everything we needed, including rotisserie chickens and fresh salad items which we really got into. Best of all, there were only a handful of tourists about (which almost always equals more friendly locals), and the town was big enough to absorb us all more or less anonymously.

The road entering Naryn town

Lovely leftovers from Soviet days, Naryn, Kyrgyzstan

Local hero, Naryn, Kyrgyzstan

Red hills and the river running through, Naryn, Kyrgyzstan

The main mosque in Naryn was an unanticipated gorgeous sight to behold. Usually, modern Central Asian mosques are all very similar and a bit humdrum in appearance. This one, however, was pleasingly Kyrgyz in design and the setting with large coloured hills in the background was wonderful. 

Naryn's special mosque

Ever since we first looked into the idea of visiting Central Asia all those years ago, Sal had been somewhat obsessed with one ancient site, Tash Rabat, in the far south of Kyrgyzstan, near the Chinese border. We had never been in the vicinity on our previous two trips to the country, and now we were only a couple of hours away. There was no way we weren't going there! As with many of the best places to visit in Kyrgyzstan, it was totally isolated and out in the wilds, and therefore there were no public transport options. After a few days of sussing out the cheapest way to travel there, we bit the bullet, and went with the husband of our host. 

To say the day lived up to our expectations would be an understatement. It was absolutely wonderful, and probably one of the best days we have had in our three visits to Kyrgyzstan.

The atmospheric inside of Tash Rabat

As we left Naryn, the scenery only became more jaw dropping, with stunning mountains emerging bigger in front of us around every bend. Herds of animals and their cowboy shepherds appeared all over the road, our driver was very careful, thank goodness! During the second hour, the villages and side tracks dropped away, and we had miles and miles of absolutely nothing, bar a yurt or two in the far distance on a secluded hillside. It must be an incredible trip to enter China this way. We turned onto a dirt track at the modest sign to what is one of the most astounding sights in the country, and bumped our way along the final stretch. The cliffs engulfed the road at one point, then opened to huge vistas with various tiny yurt camps and summer homes, and then the road ended at the breath-taking Tash Rabat site.  

Main road from Naryn to Tash Rabat

Beautiful landscape on the road to Tash Rabat

Busy road on the way to Tash Rabat

The road to Tash Rabat

The intact exterior of Tash Rabat

Different styles of buildings at Tash Rabat- old caravan, yurt and shipping containers

Cosy insides of yurt at Tash Rabat

The story goes that Tash Rabat was a caravanserai, one of a series of inns in which people who were travelling long distances along the Silk Route could rest and take shelter. Considering the position of Tash Rabat, in the middle of isolated mountains, it must have been a welcome haven.

The building itself seemed pretty much intact. We have seen enough "renovated" Silk Road monuments to get an idea of what is original, and this place seemed to be authentic. Ten degrees cooler inside, we tried to imagine what it would have been like in the days where traders and travellers used it as a sanctuary. 

Perfect weather at the Tash Rabat site

A room with an old millstone, Tash Rabat

Ducking into a small room, Tash Rabat

Domed interior, Tash Rabat

Light coming in from the domes in the roof, Tash Rabat

Looking out to the entrance, Tash Rabat

Video of the moody interior of Tash Rabat

So enthusiastic, we hiked to the top of a nearby hill to appreciate the full beauty of the setting from up high. 

Looking out along the river away from Tash Rabat

Looking down at the Tash Rabat site

Rich on a beautiful green mountainside, Tash Rabat

Short video of the stunning panorama at Tash Rabat

On the way, we encountered marmots. We had never seen these creatures before- something like a cross between an otter and a rabbit, and we learnt that they are prevalent in the mountains of Kyrgyzstan. They were hilarious- hopping about, watching us, making a strange bird-like sound to warn their friends, and darting down into their large burrows, which were dotted all over the hillside. When we stopped for a rest, we would see them frozen, keeping an eye on us, without moving a muscle. Rich brilliantly crept up on a couple with the wind blowing away from us, and caught them unaware for a lucky snap.

Marmot on the hill, Tash Rabat

Snuck up on this one for a photo, Tash Rabat

After the glorious vistas up and down the valley from the hilltop, we descended down to the river, sparkling in the sunshine, and sat for a bite to eat. We watched the herds of cattle, and particularly admired the packs of horses. Roaming free on the hill, they would occasionally begin a majestic group gallop down to the river to drink and graze. It was quite beautiful. 

Gorgeous river setting, Tash Rabat

Lone horseman, Tash Rabat

Relaxed cow by the river, Tash Rabat

Horses drinking at the river, Tash Rabat

Horses and yurts, Tash Rabat

Horses galloping, Tash Rabat

As we returned to our lift, we saw the caravanserai site had been taken over by rowdy locals, out for a weekend jaunt. Of course, they were friendly to us, and we posed for a few photos. It was funny to see them set up a Tug-of-War game, and enthusiastically pulling each other around. We're pretty sure there was some alcohol involved. Anyway, we were very glad we had insisted on leaving for the day early in the morning, thus enjoying the place when it was quiet and atmospheric.

Video of the locals Tug-of-War game

Locals having fun with a Tug-of-War game, Tash Rabat

Green setting in the hills, Tash Rabat

Trying to hold onto her hat in the wind, Tash Rabat

Lonely horse on a hillside, Tash Rabat

Unfortunately, the few other sights around Naryn that had been on our list to visit were either too expensive, to difficult to arrange, or we simply couldn't summon the energy needed to sort out getting to them. As it was, all of our efforts went into finding out how to get to our next destination, Kazarman, a seemingly wild west town out in the middle of nowhere, but firmly on the way to Uzbekistan- where we were headed. According to our ancient Lonely Planet, there was at one time a public marshrutka that made the trek twice a week, but no one at the bus station, or anyone we asked in Naryn seemed to know anything about it. We realized we would have to fork out for a taxi, and as the chances of anyone wanting to share with us on the exact day we were leaving were slim, we would have to foot the entire cost alone. There is simply NO up-to-date English information on the internet about this area, and our options for finding out how to arrange this trip were as follows: the CBT office in Naryn (helpful, speaking English, but quoting frankly ridiculous prices); approaching taxi drivers with no Russian (us) and no English (them); or our hostess (no luck). Richard even resorted to asking some random guys getting out of a 4WD (we had heard the road to Kazarman was very rough), and asking their advice. They turned out to be Seventh Day Adventists, lovely and did try hard to help. In the end, on our final day, Sal by chance met an American ex-pat in the street, and she advised another tourist office we hadn't tried. Lo and behold, the office had two helpful English-speaking women, who immediately and professionally organized us a taxi for the following morning, even following up with the progress on WhatsApp. Although not particularly thrilled about the huge amount of money we had to pay, we none-the-less were relieved to have found our way out and looked forward to getting on the road the following morning. 

Hopping into the luxurious Lexus 4WD and driving out of Naryn, we felt very posh having a whole car all to ourselves. The road was varied scenically for the first two hours, with a couple of small villages, some agriculture, and some dry barren areas. But it was after this time we realized why getting to Kazarman was such a big deal and so expensive. The road hadn't been great in the beginning, but now we were on a stony track, with no other traffic, and nothing of anything much at all! The land stretched out for miles, no villages, no people, no animals. Eventually the climb began and we tackled a series of switch backs up and down huge brown mountains- no snow in this area. This continued for nearly three hours, and seemed to get more and more remote. At one point the driver (no English) stopped and turned the engine on and off a couple of times- we held our breath, but we were soon off again with no problems. The scenery was starkly spectacular, some of the most remote and magnificent we have ever seen.  Although the drive was five hours on bumpy roads, we actually felt surprisingly refreshed on arrival- just shows how tiring our usual marshrutka travel is!

Viewpoint on the road from Naryn to Kazarman

Obviously, the information on the wayward town of Kazarman was just as hard to come by as finding out how to get to the town. Sal didn't want to arrive without a place to stay, and doing some research we saw a small guesthouse on the map that had a WhatsApp number. Fortunately, they responded and had a reasonably priced room. When we arrived we were a bit taken aback at how very smart the place was, with a big and quite plush room and common area, and a fabulous breakfast. Perfect to break the journey. 

Elaborate breakfast, Kazarman

To say there isn't a lot to see in the dusty, one street town of Kazarman is an understatement- we simply spent our day there checking out the shared taxi to the next place, poking around in various funny little shops, and finding a simple but hearty meal of shorpa (lamb and potato soup) to fortify us. 

We found the area with shared vehicles heading to our last destination in Kyrgyzstan, Jalal-Abad. After us complaining about the high price, the driver came down considerably, and we made arrangements for him to pick us up the following morning. Bang on time, we jumped in, picked up a mum with two little boys, who shared the back seat with Sal, and we were off.

This time, we had no pre-existing notions about what the journey would entail, and we were certainly not expecting the huge epic it turned out to be. Our wanna-be rally car driver was fast, but quite careful in a way, and we could tell he was very familiar with the twists and turns of the mountain roads. Although she thought she was prepared having taken a travel pill, Sal was sick most of the way, and couldn't enjoy the tremendous foray. Rich really appreciated the trip, despite the initial terror at the driver's speed. 

Video Sal and the kids feeling sick in the backseat

We thought we had run out of superlatives after the last two road journeys, but again, this trip was stupendous. Completely different landscape, this part of Kyrgyzstan was completely wild, high shale mountains, dark in colour and dramatic. As we rose and rose up a huge mountain on the serpentine unsealed gravel track, there was a steep and sharp drop on Sal's side scarily close. We entered areas where snow was still on the mountain side, mist was thick and we were unable to avoid the enormous muddy and rain filled potholes all over the road. Again, we passed very few cars, and we were amazed the journey was undertaken in an ordinary car (no 4WD). 

Short video of driving up on the high pass

Families were living in this place, so high, cold, remote and windswept- why they chose these sites for their summer pastures is unknown. There may have been an element of poverty involved, some folks up this way didn't even have yurts, only simple tents in which to reside. Our vehicle stopped for a break on a Godforsaken hilltop, where a family living in the wind, albeit with a stunning view, were given a delivery of bread in exchange for kymys (mare's milk). 

Our half way stop on a lonely hill (only the yurt camp), road from Kazarman to Jalal Abad

High horses on a hill, road to Jalal-Abad

After a seemingly never-ending amount of time, we reached the high pass, then proceeded to race down to the bottom, as though in a competition with an invisible opponent to reach Jalal-Abad.  We were relieved when we entered a valley with fields of corn surrounding us, and the road mostly straight towards our final stop. 

Finally finished the bends, and down in the valley near Jalal Abad

A side note- we had a varied soundtrack on this trip (apart from the driver and fellow passenger's constant conversation). A favourite song in Kyrgyzstan seemed to be Modern Talking's 1984 hit You're My Heart, You're My Soul. We heard it on multiple journeys, including this one. This time we also had traditional music, and a random Bollywood number. Please enjoy the following videos from the drive (or not)......

You're My Heart, You're My Soul version

Kyrgyz song version

Bollywood version

It was strange to drive into the "city" of Jalal-Abad after being out in the wilds of Kyrgyzstan. It seemed so busy and noisy, with much traffic and smartly dressed locals. We immediately checked into the cheap and central meymankhana (simple hotel) we remembered from our last visit to the city, and settled in to enjoy a few days of urban life. We appreciated the great markets with a wide variety of goods, especially fruit which we had been sorely missing, loads of diverse food and easy transport options from the hotel door. People here were so nice- calling out and shaking our hands, and a visit to the chemist even saw us leaving with free bottles of water. 

Happy market man selling bright materials, Jalal-Abad

Treatment centre, Jalal-Abad

Ladies selling berries and nuts, Jalal-Abad

Jalal-Abad market stall

A relaxing afternoon was spent at the local sanatorium, up on a hill near to town. Regular readers will know we love a good ex-Soviet sanatorium, and this one was small, but with plenty of remnants to make it an interesting excursion. Locals filled the decrepit gardens and particularly the lovely building where the mineral spring was housed. All in all, Jalal-Abad was a great contrast to the previous few weeks, and although we had dearly loved most of our Kyrgyzstan trip, we now looked forward to crossing into Uzbekistan for the final part of our Central Asian odyssey.

Jalal-Abad Sanatorium bus stop

Lovely building housing spring for water collection, Jalal-Abad Sanatorium

Glorious ceiling in a modest teahouse, Jalal-Abad Sanatorium

The following map of our route from one side of Kyrgyzstan to the other is a bit busy, but it was the only one we could find that actually showed where Kazarman was!

The adventure through Kyrgyzstan

........leaving Kyrgyzstan after two months, and onto Uzbekistan's productive and cultural Fergana Valley......