Karkara Valley

Introducing Karkara Valley

The beautiful, broad valley of the Karkara River, 200km east of Almaty, is an age-old summer pasture for herds from both sides of what’s now the Kazakhstan–Kyrgyzstan border. The river forms the border for some 40km before heading north to join the Kegen River, beyond which it becomes the Charyn.

From Kegen, 250km by road across the steppe from Almaty, a scenic road heads south to Karkara, then to the border post about 28km from Kegen. The road, normally open from about April to October, then veers west towards Tüp and Lake Issyk-Köl in Kyrgyzstan. No public transport reaches the border, but several daily minibuses run to Kegen (800T, three to four hours) from Almaty’s Sayakhat bus station, and from Kegen you can get up the valley and into Kyrgyzstan by hitching or taxi. At Santash, 19km into Kyrgyzstan, you can find a bus or shared jeep to Tüp or Karakol.

A chabana (cowboy) festival, with a market, traditional foods and sports such as kökpar and kyz kuu (where a man chases a woman on horseback), is held on the Kazakh side of the border for two or three days around 10–15 August each year. It brings together Kazakh and Kyrgyz herders in a reminder of the valley’s historic role as a meeting place of nomads and Silk Road traders.

Mountain-tourism company Kan Tengri maintains a summer base camp at about 2200m on the Kazakh side of the international border. Primarily a staging post for treks and climbing expeditions to the central Tian Shan, the camp also offers accommodation to all comers. Accommodation is in tents, with hot showers, a café and bar; full board costs US$45. It’s open from late June to late August. It’s possible to join helicopter flights to the central Tian Shan from here, but you may need a border-zone permit for this, so ask ahead.

Last updated: Jun 3, 2009