Good afternoon everyone. I’d be glad to get advice from people who know the area.
At the end of April we decided to fly from Minsk to Almaty, but we really want to see the sights of Kyrgyzstan.
Getting around between countries by buses / minibuses / taxis.
Would it be reasonable to plan a route like this:
Day 1: Almaty - Bishkek
Day 2: Bishkek – Ala-Archa – Bishkek
Day 3: Bishkek – Cholpon-Ata
Day 4: Semenov and Grigoriev Canyons
And here is the main question: after the canyons we need to get back to Almaty. Is it possible to do this from Cholpon-Ata, or do we have to return to Bishkek?
From Cholpon-Ata to Almaty there’s a bus almost every day, tickets can be bought online, the site is Tezket.kg.
It doesn’t find tickets for any dates at all 😐
I didn’t notice at first — it looks like those buses only run in the summer season.
And is it possible to go by taxi to the border and then switch to a Kazakh taxi there? Or will the checkpoint be closed in spring?
It’s always open, that’s the easiest way to do it, there are lots of taxi drivers waiting in Korday.
Day 4: Semenov and Grigoriev Canyons
And here is the main question: after the canyons we need to get back to Almaty. Is it possible to do this from Cholpon-Ata, or do we have to return to Bishkek?
Semenovskoye and Grigorievskoye gorges are similar to the gorges near Almaty — it’s the same mountain range. There are no canyons there. Closer to Cholpon-Ata there is the Cholpon-Ata Gorge, without intrusive “services.” In Cholpon-Ata, in terms of sights, there’s Rukh-Ordo and the Museum of Stone Petroglyphs. It might be more interesting to go to the south shore. You’ll have to return to Bishkek anyway. Or cross the Kazakh border in Tokmok. There are probably taxi drivers there as well, but I haven’t crossed there myself.
@andrey The plan is fine. You could also add one more day and go from Cholpon-Ata to Karakol — there are interesting mountains there, hot springs, the Przhevalsky Museum with an engaging guide, and from there you can head to Almaty.