Things to see and do Cholpon-Ata

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.

Probably one of the most interesting museums in the country. It retraces the history of the region, exhibits objects from the nomadic culture: everyday objects, but also musical instruments, carpets, jewels... It is a good opportunity to perfect one's culture on the subject, and one realizes while rubbing shoulders with this nomadic culture that many questions come to mind: how food is conserved, where are clothes stored, how a yurt is transported... So many subjects and themes tackled in an illustrated way in this beautiful museum. At the same time, a large collection of archaeological objects dating from the Scythian period can be discovered, in particular many finely worked gold jewels. Most of them were discovered in kurgan and have allowed us to learn more about the burial sites of this nomadic people. In the ethnography section, you will know much more after your visit about traditions, clothing styles or akyns... The museum's collection is really interesting but there is a lack of means for the presentation and explanations in English or French of the different exhibits, even if things are tending to improve. The best thing is to be accompanied by a guide, who will be able to reveal all the secrets to you. In addition, the museum has collected numerous photos of petroglyphs discovered throughout Central Asia, particularly in the more remote regions of Kyrgyzstan, such as Kazarman, but also in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.