Kyrgyzstan: hiking in Djety Orguz Gorge

Djety Oguz Gorge

Many gorges course down from the towering Tian Shan Mountains to the valleys surrounding Issyk Kul Lake.  We had a beautiful hike in one of those gorges, the Djety Oguz Gorge, starting with a picnic lunch in a high meadow.

picnic in meadow

Our first trek was to a pretty waterfall over a ridge and into the next valley.  There was a busload of Russian tourists, many in "ballet" shoes and sandals, struggling down some steep slopes and across a few muddy patches.  We helped about a dozen of them get up one steep spot before continuing on to the waterfall.  Not a difficult hike if you're slightly in shape, which they weren't, and have reasonable shoes, which they didn't.

Since this was a pretty short hike and the area was so beautiful, we hiked through a forest, across a pretty meadow full of sheep, goats and yurts, and up a river valley.  Although this is late in the season, there were still quite a few nomadic families in their yurts with their horses and herds. 

herd of goats and sheep in high meadow

Most of the nomads live in the towns during the winter, so we watched several families packing up their yurts, blankets, felt carpets and gear to move into town for the winter.  All of them had horses, but they were loading their belongings into 4 wheel drive vehicles instead of onto horses, a much more efficient means of moving.  I imagine it takes several trips over rough roads to move everything.

yurt in meadow

A couple of the yurt camps are for tourists and trekkers.  These camps have small pumps in the river, attached to hoses that run to toilets and showers (very rudimentary, but functional) higher up the meadows.  There are yurts available for these tourists to stay.  While the accommodations may not be 5 star, they are certainly located in one of the most beautiful valleys imaginable, settled high on grassy meadows amidst snow-covered peaks and herds of sheep and goats.  I imagine the flowers are spectacular in the spring and early summer months.

tourist camp by river



red rocks in gorge

The nearby town is small, but has a school.  Surrounding the town are beautiful red rocks.  There are still a couple of Soviet-era spas that Kazakhs, Kyrgyz and Russians like to visit to relax in the sulphur springs and heal their ills in the strict hospital-like environment of these spas (which are more like old-style Russian sanitariums than spas that we know).

village in Djety Oguz Gorge