Places · Kyrgyzstan

Natural Wonders of Kyrgyzstan: The 4 Most Beautiful Places to Visit

4 places in the atlas

Kyrgyzstan is one of the most mountainous countries on Earth — the Tian Shan range covers the great majority of its territory, cresting above 7,000 metres. Between the peaks lie broad high-altitude pastures (jailoo) and jewel-like alpine lakes such as Song-Köl and the vast Issyk-Kul. Each summer, Kyrgyz herders drive their livestock up to these meadows and raise felt yurts, sustaining a nomadic tradition centuries old. With glaciers, gorges, wildflower valleys, and some of the darkest skies in Central Asia, it is a paradise for trekkers, riders, and lovers of high, open country. Below are the 4 natural wonders of Kyrgyzstan in the atlas — the most beautiful places to build a trip around, each with what makes it remarkable, when to go, and how to reach it. Best overall time: High summer (roughly June–September), when the mountain passes open, the pastures green, and the herders bring their yurts to the high lakes.

Ala Archa National Park

Kyrgyz Ala-Too range, about 35 km south of Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan

A glacier-filled alpine valley in the Tian Shan just 35 km from Bishkek, rising from 1,500 m to the 4,895 m summit of Semenov-Tian-Shansky Peak.

Mountain Central Asia

Issyk-Kul

Issyk-Kul Region, Tian Shan, Kyrgyzstan

A vast, slightly saline mountain lake ringed by the snow peaks of the Tian Shan — the world's second-largest alpine lake, 182 kilometres long, and warm enough that it never freezes despite sitting at 1,607 metres.

Lake Central Asia

Jeti-Ögüz Rocks

Jeti-Ögüz District, Issyk-Kul Region, near Karakol, Kyrgyzstan

Sheer cliffs of red conglomerate rising from spruce-covered hills near Lake Issyk-Kul — Kyrgyzstan's 'Seven Bulls'.

Rock formation Central Asia

Song-Köl

Naryn, central Kyrgyzstan

A vast alpine lake on a high Tian Shan plateau, ringed by summer pastures where nomadic herders raise their yurts — a serene, roadless world of grass, water, and sky at 3,000 metres.