heading north from Karakol

Kyrgyzstan: completing the circuit of Issyk-kul Lake – 18 July 2012 – mile 10853

---

July 18th 2012
From Kakakol we continue our circumnavigation of Issyk-Kul lake. We're heading up the eastern shore and our 1stdetour soon arrives. Some sketchy instruction and a GPS co-ordinate take us down a gravel track to what should be an old Soviet submarine/torpedo testing base. We don't really expect to find it but, amazingly, the co-ordinates lead us straight there!! The derelict main ... read more

Asia » Kazakhstan » East Kazakhstan » Almaty

---

Native Kazakhs, a mix of Turkic and Mongol nomadic tribes who migrated into the region in the 13th century, were rarely united as a single nation. The area was conquered by Russia in the 18th century and Kazakhstan became a Soviet Republic in 1936. D... ... read more