The most beautiful natural sites to discover Kyrgyzstan

Little-visited by travellers, this valley seems to be framed by sandy cliffs, raised and sculpted by erosion and then frozen by the operation of the Holy Spirit. High, red-hued needles with inspired shapes point skywards, forming canyons that are ideal for hiking. The site's rugged relief and the shapes and silhouettes of the rocks have earned it the nickname Valley of Legends. Take an hour or two stroll along the dry riverbed and let your imagination run wild.

The primary reason for the city's success. The sandy beach runs for several kilometres on either side of Cholpon-Ata, enjoying beautiful views of the mountains set back from the south shore. An enchanting place, populated by hundreds of holidaymakers in the summer and cows the rest of the year. From the beginning of June to the beginning of September, you can rent pedal boats, jet skis, water ski and indulge in all possible and imaginable water sports here. Or stay calmly at the water's edge, for those who prefer tanning above all else.

Behind the runway of the old airport of Cholpon-Ata is a huge site of petroglyphs, made between the Bronze Age and the Middle Ages.

More than 900 rocks form a veritable open-air museum in which you can walk around discovering drawings of sheep, horses, camels, hunting scenes... Most of the paintings date from the pre-Kyrgyz period, from the 8th century BC to the 1st century AD. It seems that the local priests used the site as a place for sacrifices and rituals dedicated to the sun. The engravings that can be seen are more recent, and date from the Turkish period from the ^5th to the 10th century. The walks are rather done in the morning or late afternoon to have a low light. At the entrance to the site, a large sign gives a few warnings about what to do to preserve the site. Take the time to go around this sign: you will discover the signposted routes to the petroglyphs that will save you from wasting time wearing out your eyes on virgin pebbles. Take a picture of it on your mobile phone to find the directions that you have not memorized, because the signposting on the site is unfortunately not the most effective. And despite their large number, not all petroglyphs are obvious. Some are hidden by moss or worn out by erosion, while others had been painted white by the Soviets, to stand out better, and remained more easily spotted.

The beach is obviously the main point of interest in Tamchy, whose main central street runs parallel to the lake, less than 500 m to the south. The beach is attractive, even if cows, sheep and donkeys are sometimes as numerous as the summer visitors. It stretches in length on both sides of the village. As soon as the weather is fine, umbrella hire companies, vendors of cold (or alcoholic) drinks, billiards, refreshment stands, shooting ranges... take possession of the first metres of sand to provide all the equipment and leisure activities necessary for a successful day on the beach. The atmosphere is very popular, much more so than on the beaches located further east and reserved for apparatchiks. If you find the whole thing too noisy and prefer contemplation, move away from the beach in one direction or the other to reach more peaceful corners. After the last houses in Tamchy, there is not really a beach anymore but a lot of nice places to picnic and have a little picnic. Even those who love peace and quiet, however, will certainly find it more interesting to stay close to the centre, to enjoy the atmosphere and the unique show offered by a day at the beach in Tamchy. During the summer months, each house opens to offer rooms for rent to Kyrgyz people who have come on holiday for the weekend or a short week's holiday (but do not necessarily have the necessary authorisation to accommodate western tourists, so there is no need to ring every doorbell).

About 40 kilometres west of Bokonbaevo is this small lake, separated from the Issyk Kul by a rise in land elevation and where evaporation has led to a rise in salinity. Kyrgyz people will tell you that it is perfectly possible to read your newspaper like on a sofa without even getting the bottom of the leaves wet! Joking aside, the floating feeling is real and anyway, the shores of this "dead lake" are worth a short walk for the beautiful views of the mountain ranges on one side and Lake Issyk Kul on the other.

Dominating the west bank of the river, the hill of Solomon's throne was called until the 15th century "Bara Kukh", the "Wonderful Mountain". A sacred water source flowed there until the beginning of the last century. Solomon, the mythical founder of Osh, is said to have been enthroned on top of this hill and is also said to be buried there. The legends surrounding the life and death of King Solomon are as numerous as they are contradictory, but have not prevented the hill from becoming one of the most famous holy places in Central Asia over the centuries. And if the mosque built on the hill reminds us that Mohammed himself would have come to worship there, the site was sacred long before the Islamic period, as the rites of the pilgrims, largely tinged with shamanism, still testify. According to archaeological findings on the site, the oldest construction dates back to the Pre-Mongolian period. A mausoleum, erected by Sultan Makhmudkhan, became a high place of pilgrimage until its destruction in the middle of the 20th century. The last Timurid khan, Babur, also had a khoudj built in the 15th century: a small prayer hall with an iwan, probably destroyed by the Soviets (an accidental explosion for which no investigation was able to establish responsibility) and rebuilt after independence. A French woman, Marie Bourdon, who went to Osh in 1877, tells how pilgrims, in order to cure their illnesses, had to stick their heads three times through a crevice in the rock next to the mosque erected by Babur. The hill itself, whose shape evokes the silhouette of a pregnant woman, has become the object of a ritual by all newlyweds (and their mothers) praying for the rapid arrival of a first child. On the left side of the path, during the ascent, you will see a large stone completely smooth: this is where women expecting a child let themselves slide to promote their fertility. Even today, pilgrims still come to Osh every day to climb the hill, rubbing shoulders with tourists for whom the main motivation remains the panoramic view of the city. There is a small mausoleum on the observation platform at the top, where an imam recites continuous prayers. Below, a large Muslim cemetery seems to have partly burned down: the earth is burnt on a good half of the ground. Finally, at the bottom of the hill are the Assaf Boukhia mausoleum and the Jami Ravat Abdullah Khan mosque, which has become a place of worship again since independence.

A hundred kilometers northwest of Djalalabad, several thousand rock engravings cover the rocks of the Saïmali-Tash site, in the Ferghana ranges near the Kurgat pass. Situated near a lake at an altitude of 3,000 m, these 3,000-year-old icons are dedicated to the cult of the Sun Man. Hunting scenes and ritual dances are depicted in over 11,000 drawings spread along a 3 km trail.

This hunt, reserved for the nomadic elite, is carried out on horseback with a golden eagle or sparrowhawk. The falconer, always from one of the "noble" clans, raises and trains his eagle from an early age. The bird of prey is released onto birds, rabbits or foxes. When the eagle grows old, its master gives it back its freedom. These hunters can be found in other regions of Kyrgyzstan, including the Tian-Shan and At-Bashi valleys. Hunting takes place in winter. Local tour operators can organize demonstrations.

Very close to Burana. The site contains the ruins of the ancient city of Suyab, capital of the ancient Turkish khanate in the 6th century, then of the Karluk Turks in the 8th century. These tribes were settled in Kyrgyzstan even before the arrival of the Kyrgyz, but unfortunately the site offers very little information on the daily life of these populations and the layout of their capital. Archaeologists have nevertheless discovered traces of a Buddhist temple and a Nestorian church dating from the 7th century, testifying to the lively circulation of ideas along this axis.

This 1,500-year-old stone block is engraved with Tibetan Buddhist inscriptions. Certainly engraved by monks or pilgrims following the path of propagation of religions between Afghanistan and China. It has become the pretext for nice hikes at a very easy level. The stone is not really in the middle of the path, and if you go alone you will have trouble finding it. Ask a guide to accompany you or, if you are in season and you meet people on the road, ask for the direction of "Tamga tash".