A country · 41 places · 6 regions

Kyrgyzstan, all of it.

41 curated places across 6 regions — photographed, mapped, and noted with the season each is best in.

Song-Kul · via Wikimedia Commons

The 4 biggest regions — Bishkek, Chuy Region, Naryn Region and Jalal-Abad Region — read below as chapters, with 2 more waiting past them.

Chapter I · Bishkek · 10 places

Bishkek

The main public square of Bishkek and the ceremonial heart of Kyrgyzstan, laid out in the Soviet era and remodelled after independence. It is dominated by a statue of the epic hero Manas and backed by the state history museum, with a changing of the honour guard performed at a nearby flagpole. Broad paving, fountains and flowerbeds make it the setting for national holidays, concerts and demonstrations. The square has been the stage for pivotal moments in the country's modern political history.

Ala-Too Square

Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan

✦ May–September

State Historical Museum of Kyrgyzstan

Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan

✦ Year-round

Victory Square, Bishkek

Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan

✦ May–September

All 10 places in Bishkek →

via Wikimedia Commons

Chapter II · Chuy Region · 8 places

Chuy Region

Ala-Archa is a high-mountain gorge national park situated about 40 kilometres south of Bishkek in the Kyrgyz Ala-Too range, making it the most accessible alpine wilderness from the capital. The main valley rises steeply through fir and spruce forest before opening into glaciated terrain above 3000 metres, with several peaks exceeding 4500 metres. Day hikes to the Ak-Sai glacier and longer mountaineering routes to the summit of Semyonov-Tian-Shansky Peak attract both casual visitors and serious climbers.

✦ June to September · $

Meet Ala-Archa National Park All 8 places in Chuy Region →

Chapter III · Naryn Region · 5 places

Naryn Region

Song-Kul is an alpine lake at 3016 metres elevation in the central Tian Shan, lying in a broad, flat-floored basin ringed by rolling pasture hills. From late June to early September, Kyrgyz herders bring large flocks to the summer pastures and establish yurt camps along the shore, giving the lake its characteristic image of white yurts reflected in still water. The lake has no tree cover, leaving the sky dominant; sunsets and the Milky Way at this elevation are photographically spectacular.

Song-Kul

Naryn Region, Kyrgyzstan

✦ June to September · $

Tash Rabat

Naryn Region, Kyrgyzstan

✦ June to September · $

Kel-Suu

Naryn Region, Kyrgyzstan

✦ July to September

All 5 places in Naryn Region →

via Wikimedia Commons

Chapter IV · Jalal-Abad Region · 4 places

Jalal-Abad Region

Sary-Chelek is the centrepiece of a UNESCO-listed biosphere reserve in western Kyrgyzstan, a deep glacial lake at roughly 1870 metres encircled by dense walnut and fruit forests whose autumn colours are among the most vibrant in Central Asia. The surrounding reserve also contains several smaller lakes and significant populations of wild bear, lynx, and ibex. The lake is accessible via a rough road from the town of Arkit, and the remote location keeps visitor numbers low.

✦ June to October · $

Meet Sary-Chelek All 4 places in Jalal-Abad Region →