Monument to Yuriy Gagarin

Барскаун, счастье есть! Barskaun, there is happiness!

Ущелье Барскоон (также Барскаун) — это одно из красивейших ущелий на южном берегу Иссык-Куля, знаменитое своими высокими водопадами и густыми еловыми лесами. Именно здесь находится самый большой золотоносный рудник Кыргызстана — «Кумтор». Здесь же в свое время бывал первый человек, полетевший в космос — Юрий Гагарин.
Протяженность ущелья Барскоон составляет около 30 километров. Оно тянется глубоко в горы Терскей-Ала-Тоо, доходя до высокогорного плато (сырта) Арабель, которое отделено от ущелья каскадом перевалов. Высота перевалов в ущелье Барскоон очень велика и доходит до 4000 метров. По ущелью проходит дорога хорошего качества и по ней можно беспрепятственно передвигаться практически на любом автомобиле, а также на мотоцикле.
Барскоон очень привлекателен для туристов как своими природными красотами, так и культурными достопримечательностями. Каскад барскоонских водопадов среди которых водопады Слезы барса, Чаша Манаса, Брызги шампанского и Борода Ак-Сакала являются излюбленными местами для посещения туристами. Среди культурных достопримечательностей нужно отметить древнюю ставку Тагай-бия, или как его еще называют, Мухаммеда-Кыргыза, одного из основоположников кыргызской государственности, которая располагалась в ущелье Барскоон. Знаменит Барскаун и памятниками Юрию Гагарину, который бывал в этих местах и в самом ущелье. Вопреки распространенному мнению, сам космонавт бывал лишь проездом в этих местах, а не отдыхал регулярно.

Barskoon gorge (also Barskaun) is one of the most beautiful gorges on the southern shore of Issyk-Kul, famous for its high waterfalls and dense spruce forests. Kumtor, the largest gold mine in Kyrgyzstan, is located here. Yuri Gagarin, the first man to fly into space, was here in his time.
The length of the Barskoon gorge is about 30 kilometers. It stretches deep into the Terskei-Ala-Too mountains, reaching the high plateau (syrta) Arabel, which is separated from the gorge by a cascade of passes. The height of the passes in the gorge Barskoon is very high and reaches 4000 meters. The gorge is a good quality road and it is possible to move freely on almost any car, as well as on a motorcycle.
Barskoon is very attractive for tourists both for its natural beauty and cultural attractions. Cascade barskaunsky waterfalls, including waterfalls of Tears of the leopard, the Manas Bowl, champagne and Beard, AK-Sakal of are favorite places for tourists. Among the cultural attractions should be noted ancient rate tagay-Biya, or as it is also called, Muhammad-Kyrgyz, one of the founders of the Kyrgyz statehood, which was located in the gorge Barskoon. Barskaun is famous for its monuments to Yuri Gagarin, who visited these places and the gorge itself. Contrary to popular belief, the astronaut himself was only passing through these places, and did not rest regularly.

15 Things to do in Karakol, Kyrgyzstan Travel Guide

Come join us as we visit Karakol, Kyrgyzstan in this travel guide covering all of the top things to do in Karakol City (Каракол) including attractions for both culture vultures and outdoor enthusiasts seeking adventure travel.

Karakol, located on the eastern section of Lake Issyk-Kul, is for many considered the adventure capital of Kyrgyzstan. Many adventurous travelers visit Karakol to arrange hikes, treks, horse rides and camping adventures; however, Karakol city warrants considerable exploration as its unique mosques, cathedrals, parks and other quirky attractions will capture your attention along with its food scene and cultural opportunities to learn regional cooking.

This is place the offers something for everyone as you'll see in our travel guide below.

15 Things to do in Karakol City Tour | Kyrgyzstan Travel Guide:

1) Karakol city walking tour
2) Dungan Mosque
3) Holy Trinity Russian Orthodox Church wooden cathedral
4) Antique Shop Aleksandr Korablev for Soviet era souvenirs
5) Karakol's History Museum
6)Victory Park and World War II Memorial
7) Fat Cat Karakol for food and drinks
8) Visiting local markets and bazaar in Karakol
9) Dungan 8 course meal eating Ashlyanfu (Ашлян-фу)
10) Uyghur Cooking Class
11) Eating Lagman (Лагман)
12) Sunset Cruise on Lake Issyk-Kul (Ысык-Көл - Иссык-Куль) Przhevalsky Bay
13) Jeti Oguz (Jeti-Ögüz) and Valley for hiking
14) Barskoon Waterfalls for adventure travel
15) Karakol day hike for scenic views, forest walk and a picnic

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Our visit Karakol travel guide documentary covers some of the top attractions including a food guide, top sightseeing tourist attractions and all of the adventure travel activities you can do in Karakol including hiking, boating and visiting mountains. We also cover off-the-beaten-path outdoor activities you won't find in a typical Karakol city tourism brochure, Karakol itinerary or Karakol, Kyrgyzstan city tour.

15 Things to do in Karakol, Kyrgyzstan Travel Guide video transcript:

Hey guys this week we are in Karakol, Kyrgyzstan. Yeah, so Karakol (Каракол) is a place that we've actually visited last year but we were only here on a day trip so we didn't get to see a whole lot. Right and this is basically the adventure capital of Kyrgyzstan. There is a lot of good hiking, you can take boat trips. So we're just going to show you like what you can do in and around this area. Let's

Our first stop was the Dungan Mosque. This mosque is unique because architecturally it looks a lot like a Buddhist temple; this is because it was built by the Dungan community, an ethnically Chinese people group who follow Islam.

Another iconic place of worship in Karakol (Каракол) is the Holy Trinity Russian Orthodox Church. This is a traditional Russian wooden cathedral complete with onion domes.

We also squeezed in a quick visit to Karakol’s History Museum, which has a rather fascinating taxidermy collection.

Okay so it is dinner time here in Karakol (قاراقول) and the sun has gone down and today we are going to be doing a traditional meal with a family.

So we're going to be preparing Ashlyanfu (Ашлян-фу) which is a cold noodle starch soup and then we're going to go into their home and have a nice family dinner together.

And because we love our food, we also took a cooking class where we learned to make a traditional Uyghur dish: laghman (Лагман).

As far as day trips go, one nearby attraction from Karakol (Каракол) is Jeti Oguz known for its red hills. It’s about a 30 minute drive and you can easily hire a driver to take you out there.

Last but not least, one of the most popular things to do in Karakol (Каракол) is hiking. This is considered the adventure capital of Kyrgyzstan (Киргизия) with many hikes and horse treks starting right in town.

And that’s a little taste of what Karakol and the surrounding area has to offer visitors. We hope you enjoyed this travel guide and that it gave you a few ideas of things to do in Karakol (Каракол).

This is part of our Travel in Kyrgyzstan video series showcasing Kyrgyz food, Kyrgyz culture and Kyrgyz cuisine.

Music by Joakim Karud: