Nestled in the narrow mouth of the Ak-Suu Valley and covered in wild flowers in spring, this five-yurt-camp may be one of the best-positioned in the entire country. From camp, Köl-Tör lake is around 6 hours round-trip on foot or the family of owners can arrange horses. The camp is open from May to September, depending on weather conditions.
The remote location is poorly signed and quite hard to find – call from the highway and a member of the family can pick you up.
16 MILES
The two-day trek to stunning Ala-Köl is for many visitors a highlight of the entire Kyrgyzstan experience. Though less than 1.5 km², the range of massive…
15.84 MILES
Early on Sunday mornings one of Kyrgyzstan's biggest animal markets takes place around 2km north of central Karakol. Typical of such markets, you'll…
26.68 MILES
One of Kyrgyzstan's most photographed natural features, the Seven Bulls (Jeti-Ögüz) is an abrupt serrated ridge of ferric-red sandstone cliffs that have…
19.08 MILES
The main attraction of the shrine-like Przhevalsky memorial garden is a small, well-presented museum dedicated to Nikolai Przhevalsky, the Russian…
22.24 MILES
According to local legend, this large pile of thousands of rocks hearkens back to the Timurid era. As the story goes, en route to an invasion of China the…
15.12 MILES
Set peacefully amid trees, this hefty wooden structure is topped with green-roofed towers and almost-golden onion domes. The 1872 stone original was…
26.38 MILES
Just before you arrive at the Jeti-Ögüz resort from the north, the partly-wooded back side of the Seven Bulls ridge appears to be a single splintered hill…
15.3 MILES
Occupying an archetypal 1887 Russian house, this museum has a few Scythian bronze artefacts, local tools and musical instruments. Taxidermists' victims…
4.46 MILES
This small but pretty mountain lake is a great day trip up the Ak-Suu Valley. The hike climbs from 1760m off the highway to 3245m at the lake, so don't…
9.84 MILES
Though small, the craggy mountains that back these two high-altitude lakes make for an impressive scene; as does the long look back down from their shelf…
12.96 MILES
Hike the hour or two up from the village of Jolgolot (a suburb of Karakol) to take in stunning views of the city and Issyk-Köl to the north and the…
14.57 MILES
In addition to the standard monument of Victory on a plinth, memorialising the end of WWII, Karakol's Victory Park also includes an interesting monument…
14.72 MILES
This historic building still serves as the office of the local Radio and TV company, which is not open to the public.
14.83 MILES
Keep an eye out for the small statue of Lenin along Gebze, overlooking the university.
15.07 MILES
This two-storey home with an ornate balcony is one of the most attractive historic structures in town, but sadly isn't open to the public.
15.12 MILES
Set peacefully amid trees, this hefty wooden structure is topped with green-roofed towers and almost-golden onion domes. The 1872 stone original was…