Introducing Bishkek to Osh & the Kyrgyz Fergana Valley

From the standpoint of landscape, the Bishkek–Osh road is a sequence of superlatives, taking the traveller over two 3000m-plus passes, through the yawning Suusamyr Valley, around the immense Toktogul reservoir, down the deep Naryn River gorge and into the broad Fergana Valley.

The road has improved dramatically recently as the government tries to solder the two halves of the country together using better transport and communication links. The Bishkek to Toktogul stretch is still blocked occasionally by rock falls and avalanches. Snow fills the passes from late October until March; the road is kept open but is dangerous. Scheduled transport thins out by October, although cars continue to push through.