DAY 9 In KYRGYZSTAN, KARAKOL

DAY 9 (4th September 2024)
Kyrgyzstan (Karakol - Ski Base Karakol & City Walkabout)

After reviewing our original itinerary and listening to the advice of our hotel host, we affirm that locals know best, and cancelled our planned hike at the Altyn Arashan National Park.  One of the reasons was because the map shows that there were roads all the way deep into the Altyn Arashan area, but our host informed us that this was not the case, and we would have to walk/hike all the way in – private vehicles are not allowed.  Whoopsy!

We also realised that we had not properly seen Karakol, and from our earlier research, the city contains some interesting places to visit.  So, we would spend half the day up at the Ski Base Karakol, and then the rest of the day in the city.  For dinner, we finally went to the restaurant that we were originally meant to visit the day before – Dastorkon Restaurant, which serves some local cuisine.

Scrumptious breakfast to start the day

Ski Base Karakol

Since we did not do any research at all about this place, we sorta allowed for things to just happen.  It wasn’t a very long drive to the foothills of the Ski Base, and we noticed that there were several other road off-shoots which we could check out once we were done with the Ski Base.  Since it was late summer, there would obviously not be any skiing at this place, hence we were informed to be at the ski base resort by 11:00am for the ride up to the summit.

Ski Base used to house many of Russia’s Olympics skiing team members in the days of USSR, but today is more known for tourism.  There are many slopes to explore for beginners and professional skiers, but all of them end up at the resort, already located at 2,300m above sea level.  Even though the entire area was bathe in the warmth of the bright sunshine on this day, the wind was slightly chilly, perfectly made for walking and hiking.

When we arrived at the resort, there were already groups of people there.  A family of eight individuals from Chennai, India consisting of kids and adults (including ladies in traditional saree) and four guys from Oman.  The operators of the chairlift mentioned that to operate the lifts, we would have to collectively pay 10,000som.  So, we shared out the cost among the groups, since we were the only ones there.  In fact, the journey to top of Ski Base Karakol required two separate chairlift rides.

The resort has a hotel (as pictured); and our new-found friends from Oman and India

When MIL saw the open chairlift at the previous place earlier in the trip, she expressed her apprehension and fear about riding one of those.  Although it is perfectly safe (Bro Ray: hundreds of thousands of people ride these all over the world every year without much incident – statistically safer than most modes of transportation, I would say!), the fact that your legs would be dangling in midair and there was no safety basket around it, probably did make it a little scary for her.

Getting ready to go
See! Nothing to worry about, Mom...
The view from the chairlift

After a fifteen-minute ride, we reached the peak of the Ski Base Karakol, at the altitude of 3040m above sea level and there was a sign to say as much.  The simple sign is really just that – a simple one. Several adjacent peaks and their slopes still have snow, clearly indicating that the peak we were on is by no means the highest in the area.

Basically, we were standing on a small ‘plateau’, barely the size of a tennis court, but thankfully the surrounding slopes were not very steep, hence it was not dangerous even for the kids who were with us.  In fact, it was possible to walk a short bit down the slope.  There was a also visible trail that could possibly go all the way down to the river below.

The operators of the place have started construction works to build a platform, possibly with the aim of installing a small restaurant or café.  The platform would more than double the size of the ‘plateau’ once completed.  Since we were the only ones up here (Bro. Ray: the ‘plateau’ could on fit in that many people), there was really no rush to go back down.  In fact, they shut off the chairlift since no one else was coming up either.  When everyone had more or less taken photos of all 360⁰ views, we collectively agreed to head back down.

Off-Shoot Road: Masaliev Street

At one of the key junctions of the road to Ski Base Karakol stands the Jaisan Hotel.  We had earlier taken the road to the left, and now we wanted to explore what is at the right side.  It turns out that the road to the left is named Masaliev Str, which runs parallel to the Karakol River and would lead to Karakol Gorge, but private cars can only go so far – we would have to go on foot or rent horses to traverse the balance 8km to the gorge.

The Karakol River running beside Masaliev Str. (on the left)

On the map, we saw a short hiking trail to Jyldyz View, just off Masaliev Str.  I thought that this would probably be the best bet for us, since it was very hot and we were hungry.  We had stopped by at Jaisan Hotel earlier, hoping they would serve some food, but their cafetaria was not open.  Anyway, we parked the car by the roadside at the trailhead, and walked across this rickety bridge and walked up the path towards Jyldyz View.  Unfortunately, the path crosses a shallow stream and we were in no mood to get our feet wet!  So we abandoned the quest, and went to look for lunch instead.

Lunch at Ashlyan-Fu U Saidy

Since we could go no further, and with hunger pangs hitting us, we decided to turn back and head to town.  We heard that there was a place which served cold noodles, and it is said to be a local Dungan delicacy.  The Dungan people are descendants of the Hui Muslims, who emigrated from China to Central Asia in the 1800s to escape trouble in their homeland.  Although they are technically Hui people anyway, they have been called the Dungan people to differentiate between the two since their culture and language have evolved separately over the decades.

The Dungan people of Kyrgyzstan mostly reside in and around the Karakol region as this region is literally next door to China.  They can also be found in parts of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.  Their presence has greatly influenced the immediate area, as there is a Dungan Mosque in the centre of the town and the influence on the food of the local populace.

The famous Ashylan-Fu U Saidy is located inside a market.  There was great crowd of people inside, even though it was already 2:30pm.  We found our seats and quickly ordered our food.  There isn’t any other food than their famous cold noodles and some fried pastry.  I guess they only focus on what they know best to cook.  The cold noodles come with a slightly spicy and sourish soup – a very potent combination!

Well, this is the place
This is what cold noodles look like

Holy Trinity Cathedral

Built in 1894-1895, this fully wooden church building is the first cathedral ever built in Karakol, replacing the stone and brick building chapel which crumbled during an earthquake in 1889.  Wood was the chosen material since it could withstand an earthquake better.  Just like the cathedral in Almaty, this building was used by secular organizations for various purposes (school, gym, theatre, coal storage, etc) since the 1917 Revolution until the collapse of the Soviet Union, whereby the building was returned to the orthodox church.  At the time of its completion, with its cross standing at the height of 26m, this building was the tallest building in Karakol.

We spent some time taking photos of this unique-looking church building and the colorful flowers planted around the garden outside.  We went inside and looked around also, taking some photos as we went.  The same “covered-hair” policy for ladies apply here as well.

City Walkabout

We went back to the market, getting some respite from the hot weather outside.  As we shopped around, we met a lady who was selling the Ak-Kalpak, a type of traditional headgear worn by Kyrgyz men.  We had seen people in the countryside wearing it, and they look like no other headgear.  At first, we were not sure why people wore them, especially the older generation, but we later learnt more about it.  The Ak-Kalpak has been considered as a national symbol.  FIL and I each bought one, and we are now unofficial sons of Kyrgyzstan!

Wifey also bought a traditional vest, and since the temperature was turning colder, she wore it around as well. 

Now We Know

The Ak-Kalpak is made of wool felt constructed in four equal sections in the shape of an elongated cap, and then sewn together, with tassels added to the top of the hat.  At the bottom, it is folded upwards, forming a small rim.  There are often some types of embroidery sown onto the sides, symbolizing the family tree of the wearer.  Since 2017, March 5th is regarded as national Ak-Kalpak Day.  Leaders of the country, such as the President and the ministers are required to wear them for important functions and ceremonies.

We proudly walked around with our new hats thereafter to the nearby parks, which were all within walking distance.  Seems like both the two countries love to commemorate their national heroes and people whom have contributed to their nations.  These parks also have monuments built in their honour.  Some of them can even be considered as recent heroes, as in they lived and died no more than 100 years ago.

Dastorkon Restaurant

So, the night before, we went to the “wrong” restaurant by accident.  The food wasn’t bad, to be clear.  Just that it wasn’t the recommended one.  To ensure we had a table, I booked Dastorkon Restaurant the day before, as I saw that it was packed.  We also wanted to be sure that we got to try their most famous foods, as our hostess pointed to us on the menu what the best food offerings were with a mixture of using sign language and Google Translate.

The entrance to the restaurant
"This one's yummy and it's our crowd favourite..."

 

And when the food came, this was what it looked like:

She was right... these were yummy!

Summary for Day 9

 

We completely did not follow the itinerary that was planned before we came.  I am really glad for our hotel host who not only knows the city so well, but gave positive suggestions that was compatible with our capability.  I am glad, at the same time, that all of us were flexible enough to change plans.  The ski resort, the plateau at the top, the sights and tastes around the city…. Not forgetting buying the Ak-Kalpak – a very fulfilling day indeed.

I think Karakol has many more things to offer and we would need a few more days here to be able to cover the other sites we didn’t get to visit.  Alas, we are leaving tomorrow.  Will definitely return another time to try out the trails at Altyn Arashan National Park.

Share:

More Posts

Send Us A Message