We spent two days in a yurt camp in Son-Kol.  The main goal of the first day was to move from Bishkek to the yurt camp that, even though was  located in the nearby Tian Shan mountains, meant a long drive!  Fortunately our itinerary was designed to have several stops along the way to break up the trip.  Leaving the hotel at 8:30am we headed east out of Bishkek to join a highway that runs along the Krygystan/Kazakhstan border.  I was so close to the border that at one point my phone service transferred over to a cell tower in Kazakhstan.

After an hour of driving we reached our first stop, Burana tower, a 1000 year old structure that is all that is left of the once thriving Silk Road metropolis of Balasagun, part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site in Kyrgyzstan. During the Soviet era archeological studies determined the area was devastated first by an earthquake and then by neglect as people moved away.  The complex also had other stone artifacts, gathered from all over Kyrgyzstan, dating from before the 8th century, which had men of various forms and aspects carved onto the face of the stone.  However, regardless of appearance or artistic styling each carved figure held a cup in one hand and a knife in the other.  Scholars speculate that the stones marked territory boundaries; the cup representing hospitality and knife a warning. Other stones on display at Burana tower were even older, dating back to the Scythians who lived in the Krygystan area, and had carvings of various animals represented.

Burana Tower- all that remains of a larger city that was a major stop on the Silk Road.

After an hour or sowe headed back out on to the well-paved, well-maintained road.  It turns out the highway we were using was paid for by China since, just as centuries ago with the Silk Road, the current highway is a major trade route between China and many of the other Central Asian countries.  China sends trucks laden with all kinds of goods through one of the four border checkpoints between Krygystan and China although Olga, our local tour guide, mentioned that the trucks return without taking any trade items back. China is also investing in a railroad that parallels the highway that runs from the checkpoint close to the Krygystan/Kazakhstan border (the one we were using).

An example of one of the stone figures that were located all over Krygystan and now displayed near Burana tower. Purpose unknown.

Even though we were headed to the mountains we were traveling along the valley floor for most of the morning, passing corn and wheat fields. Just before lunch we turned off the main trade road to head south directly towards the mountains.  We were fortunate to still be on a well-maintained highway as the route we were on also led to Lake Issyk-Kol, the largest lake in Krygystan and a huge vacation spot for locals. But Lake Issyk-Kol was not our destination and after stopping for lunch at a guest house—where we ate lunch in a yurt—we turned on a dirt road leading to to Lake Son-Kol, our destination.  Each time we turned onto a new road civilization fell behind a bit more and that was especially true as we slowly and with much bouncing and jostling drove along the final route to the lake. Our driver had to slow down to avoid potholes, manage washboarded areas of the road, and pay attention for drivers coming from the opposite direction on the narrow road.  As we progressed, we started to gain altitude and spent the next few hours navigating switchbacks with hairpin turns.  The terrain slowly changed from the agricultural valley to sheer bare rock walls to green slopes covered with lush carpet of grass interspersed with riots of yellow, white, blue and purple wild flowers.

As we climbed we saw fewer and fewer homesteads but as we began reaching the summer pasture lands, we encountered herds of cows, horses, sheep and goats roaming freely through the meadowlands.  The herds were sometimes accompanied by horse-mounted Shepards and other times there was no obvious caretaker in sight.  I asked about this and was told that the animals have been trained to show up at a certain place at nightfall so they don’t need as close attending during the day although occasionally I saw Shepards actively herding.  Yurts dotted the land near where the herds were, serving as summer homes for the Shepards, a testimony to and remnant of the nomadic culture that was active up until the early 1900s when Stalin halted the lifestyle forcing the tribes to settle in towns and villages.

Cows, horses, goats, sheep- they were all wondering around everywhere, even on the road—especially when the Shepards were driving the animals up to the high pastures for summer grazing. Cars were second class citizens!

On the way up to the pass at 3480 meters we had to traverse to get to the lake, we stopped several times to take in the majestic views.  The dilapidated dirt road was busier than one might expect, given the remote location, but apparently yurt camps are starting to become more popular with foreign tourists, and the traffic, such as it was, reflected that fact.  The wind was notable when we stopped at the pass to snap some scenic photos and it was time to add layers to keep warm.  Finally about 7pm we rolled into our yurt camp on the shore of Lake Son Kol. At approximately 11,000 ft, Lake Son-Kol is the second highest lake in the world (behind Lake Titicaca in South America) and it stretched impressively across the high plateau.  Not unsurprisingly, random horses and cows were serenely grazing at the edge of the lake and in the hills surrounding the yurt camp. In fact, I spotted six other yurt camps in the vicinity although there did not seem to be much activity happening anywhere.

After being assigned my very own yurt, I stepped in, having to duck down to get through the door, to find a large comfy space with three beds surrounding a wood and coal-fired stove.  The blankets and bedding looked more than sufficient to keep me warm throughout the night so I did not bother to deploy my sleeping bag. After sorting my stuff out, and adding another layer due to the increasingly strong (and chilly) wind,  I went outside and walked down to take a look at the lake.  The lake extended beyond my line of sight and I could not see the opposite shore. The lake appeared shallow as it terminated in a spongy grassy boundary but Olga said it is roughly 40 feet deep at the deepest point.

Very comfy yurt! My home for two nights.

We did not have to wait long for dinner and assembled in the dining yurt for a filling three course meal of traditional food that was quite good (dill again!).  Since we were all tired, we headed off to bed shortly after finishing our meal. While we had been eating the staff had fired up the stove in the yurts and thus when I walked into my yurt after dinner it was at sauna temperatures.  (We were told that the yurts would be very warm and if necessary to open the door to regulate the heat.)  However, we were also told that during the night the heat would dissipate, with the temperature in the yurt turning cold somewhere around 3am or so.  It is a slightly weird system but if you consider that to keep a constant temperature would require someone dedicated to managing the stove full-time throughout the night, then their approach makes sense.  I love heat but the sauna-like temperature was almost too much for me, but having been warned that it was going to get colder later, I did not want to waste any heat so I did not open my doors to cool the yurt off.  The wind was blowing fairly hard and various parts of the yurt was creaking but other than that there were no sounds; the night was quiet.  When I stepped out later to walk to the toilet, I happened to look up and the night sky was simply magnificent.  The Milky Way was clearly visible across the sky and there were an incredible number of stars visible; there are not many places on Earth where you get such a clear picture of the night sky.  It did indeed get colder in the yurt later but with my fleece and the thick blankets that were provided I had no problems staying warm.

After breakfast we went hiking up to the top of the nearby hills to look at some petroglyphs and get some great views of the plateau. We hiked and climbed slowly as not everyone was acclimatized the altitude. It was a pleasant way to spend the morning despite the stiff wind that was our constant companion contributing to the chill in the air despite the blue sky and plenty of sun.  Later it started getting cloudy, making it seem colder, requiring careful management of layers as we were walking. We got back to the camp in time for another filling meal.  The afternoon is free time so I am catching up with the blog and simply relaxing to soak up the peace and quiet before leaving tomorrow.

Amazing views from the top of the hills we climbed around the Son-Kol lake. The plateau went on and on and on.

It was really striking how quiet and peaceful it is here-clearly one of the few remote areas of the world that people have not yet discovered.  Things have changed slowly, however, as apparently in the last 20 years the tourist yurt camps, like the one we stayed in, have become more numerous.  That small growth has not yet reached the point where the camps are so numerous, nor so occupied, that it was even noticeable other people were in the area. Sitting on the hill overlooking the yurt camp and staring at the lake, it was hard to imagine that billions of other people in the world were busily going about their lives with all of the accompanying noise, conflict, concrete, and frenetic activity.  Places like this bit of untouched nature high in the Krygystan mountains are special- completely separate from and unaffected by whatever the outside world is doing. (Although the apparently have wi-fi over satellite service here now…..)

Great views in all directions!