Altyn Arachan to Cholpon Ata Town

We left the yurt camp this morning via a large green army style overland vehicle. The choice was walk 7 km through the gorge on narrow rocky roads full of ruts or be driven in this vehicle that scrambled the eggs we ate for breakfast in our stomachs. As we are now very fond of saying, “it was an experience”, just not one to be repeated anytime soon….please. The rides at Disney have nothing on this! After 90 minutes we reached Akul’s home town of Ak-Suu, which translates to white water. He pointed out where he lives and the mountains he played in as a child. From there the road improved and we arrived in Karakol around 11:30am. Yay, Gilles met us there and we all changed to a more comfortable tourist van. Anton is from Karakol and gave us a brief walking tour of the city, showing us the main square and a special church and mosque. We enjoyed a delicious lunch at a local cafe and then continued on bad roads for 3 hours until we reached Cholpon Ata and our beachside resort on the north shore of Issyk-Kul Lake. Boy did that feel like hitting the jackpot after 9 days of hiking and camping! It was sheer luxury and we enjoyed a leisurely stroll around the property before enjoying a hot shower, sporting some fresh clothes and savouring a pleasant dinner out at the restaurant at the resort.Read more