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Published: September 12th 2008
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unstable rocks
the pass to Song Kul We left Bishkek on September 1st, catching a bus to Kochkor, about 4 hours drive south. The bus was full, and with our luggage, 2 bags each, there was no room at all. A young woman immediately engaged us. She had just finished a month's intensive English conversation course, and was very keen to talk English! She turned out to be a great translator between us and the others on the bus, who were keen to know about us, and vice versa.
It was our first real view of the countryside. After a spell driving along a valley- flat, cultivated in a pre-industrial revolution fashion- we did see a horse drawn machine for raking hay, but all other operations are done by hand. A single handled scythe seems to be the main the local tool for cutting hay and corn, which is then tossed and stacked into beautiful, rectangular ricks, often on the roof of the house.
After an hour we began to climb out of the valley, into the hills, with the snow-capped ranges seeming to surround us. We began to pass yurts and tents tucked away off the road. It was hard to believe people are actually living in
unstable c
the pass to Song Kul some of them, as they look rough, and some of the tents are quite flimsy and dilapidated.It seems that the resdients decamp in the autumn to towns and villages, to a more solid abode for the winter, but nevertheless, (as we were about to find out!), it still gets cold at nights, even after the hottest days of summer.
On arrival at Kochkor, we trundled down to the CBT office, where a very helpful woman suggested that we could take a taxi out to Lake Song Kul, to stay in a yurt. CBT-Community Based Tourism- is an excellent organisation set up to help both tourists and locals by providing homestays, guides and drivers etc. Song Kul is a lake at 3,000m surrounded by jailoo(high pasture) where the shepherds and their familes stay from spring to late September.
Very soon after leaving Kochor (in a very plush saloon!), we turned of the main road, and started climbing into one of the many arms of the Tien Shan (Celestial) Mountains. The "road" was a dirt track that in
England we would think twice about taking a 4WD on, but our inscrutable chauffeur handled it as if he wason the A23. What is
Song Kul Lake
Yurts(bosuy) on the lake shore so striking about the landscape, and mountainscapes particularly, is just how unstable it all is; constant erosion and movement is evident everywhere you look , and nowhere more so than the road you're on! Rocks falling, bits of track missing, gullies made by water running off, all add to a lively little 'run out'! The strongest contribution to this sense of instability is from the immediate foothills we are passing through. They look like, and presumably are, gigantic mud piles with a myriad clefts made by water carving into what looks like a very soft material . It looks as if a good downpour would wash it all flat! When the road cuts into this, it resembles rubble in composition, rather than layered rock, and in some parts erosion has carved some beautifully sculptured forms. There was a point when the most beautiful vista opened out with grassland, sun-dried to the most wonderful burnt oranges and yellows, surrounded by snow-capped mountains in the distance, and bare, maybe sandstone, mountains rising up from the plains. We soon saw herds of horses and flocks of sheep, with the occasional weather-beaten cowboy, and as we drove higher, yaks and eagles.
At the top
Song Kul
sunset on the lake of the pass we caught our 1 st view of Song Kul Lake (back to superlatives!) The sense of 'wide openess' was liderally breathtaking: to see a big expanse of water surrounded by vast areas of pasture, which itself was enclosed by the mountains, made an old couple very happy! And this was to be our place of residence for the next couple of days. Once we got there we had the slightly unnerving sensation of having landed on a wild west film set. The yurts were set in groups of 4-5, a short distance from the lake, each with a corrugated iron squat toilet set away from them. There were a few corralls for sheep; a few chickens scratching about; in the distance, herds of sheep and horses, and the only sound, apart from gulls on the lake, was the occasional thundering of galloping horses, as the cowboys sped acoss the plain!
The other impression, apart from the film set, was the quiet. There is no traffic, either on the ground or in the air. The only sounds are natural; water lapping on the shore, the occasional gust of wind, and the animals.
Eventually our hostess materialised, a young
Song Kul
the jailoo(pasture) at 3,500m woman of 25 with a small daughter, who came into our yurt and made up our bed - several shyrdaks ( felt mattresses). The only furniture was a low table and a small cupboard, but the interior was richly decorated. Reed mats bound with coloured wool formed the walls on top of the trellis frame, and the dome of the ceiling was tied together with woven strips of fabric and beautifully appliqued felt rugs. There was a flap at the top that opened to the sky. We sat on a sheepskin rug at the table and were brought large bowls of soup (shorpo), home made bread (nan), and a large pot of the ubiquitous green tea (chay).
We spent two nights here, and in many ways the nights were the most spectacular part. The sky was crystal clear on both nights, and as there was no light pollution at all, stars filled the sky right down to the horizon. A large yellowy-orange star, quite low in the sky, possibly Venus, reflected in the lake as strongly as moonlight. We have never seen a night sky so full of stars. It was hot during the day, but at night it was
yurt sunset
got very cold very quickly when the sun set very cold, and although we had been given thick bedding, we were grateful for our sleeping bags. This is a place of such extremes. In the middle of the day it can get to over 30c, and in winter can drop to -40c. Glad it's summer. When the wind did get up briefly, it was easy to imagine how chilling it would be in winter, racing down from Siberia with little in its way to temper it.
The overall impression felt slightly unreal as the family had 3 yurts, only one of which they lived in, so giving the appearance of living off tourism rather than the nomadic life. Still, it was an interesting experience, and we did see some shepherding.
We decided to head West to Jalal-Abad and the Fergana Valley, home of the famous walnut forests.
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Jacquie Smith
non-member comment
Are you sure it's clean?
Sounds great and good to see pictures too, although I am a bit concerned about your accomodation choices.I don't think you should accept anywhere under 4*. You just won't get the facilities.However that's just my preference .You seemed to be O.K with your starry sky.Keep the news coming. Its great to sit on my luxurious sofa and also imagine what it's like out there.Good on you you intrepid little pensioners. Love Jac xxx