Due to the political instability in the south of the country, we decided to approach Kyrgyzstan via the northern Torugart pass rather than the Irkeshtam pass that heads straight to Osh. The Torugart pass used to be infamous as one of the most difficult border crossings in Central Asia, not technically open to foreigners and requiring pre-arranged private transport on both sides of the border along with a series of permits. These days it is expensive but seemingly hassle free. After being confined to bed for a few days in Kashgar with gastro and fever we had enough time to find other travellers to split the costs with. So on Monday morning we headed off in our jeep with Rachael and Tobias from Switzerland, our driver and our Chinese "guide" (an official requirement).
Finally we completed the series of Chinese checkpoints and entered the 70km or so of no-mans land before Kyrgyzstan. The guards offered a jovial "Welcome to China!" (even though we were leaving), just metres before we were stopped by this roadblock:
Roadworks
We were told we would have to wait some hours for the roadworks on the next kilometre of new road to finish - possibly up to eight hours! Eventually some of the cars in the queue decided to skirt the affected road by driving down a steep embankment into a floodplain and back up to rejoin the road later on. With careful consideration and our encouragement, our driver decided to follow suit. We negotiated the floodplain after watching the paths that other vehicles took between the maze of streams. But our driver had trouble with the sandy path back up the hill. With the jeep tilting at a severe and worsening angle halfway up, Luisa bolted outside the vehicle. Roger took the steering wheel and managed to correct the path while everyone else looked on until we were back on solid ground. At the pass itself we were handed over to our Kyrgyz driver, Aziz, who proved to be more skilled and tempered than any drivers we had come across in China.
Negotiating the floodplain
The Torugart Pass: entering Kyrgyzstan
The lonely Kyrgyz checkpoint at 3700m housed a few guards in a sparse, chilly room with double glazed windows wearing thick fur coats despite it being the height of summer. They didn't give us any hassles and as we left Aziz slipped them some cigarettes. Our first view of Kyrgyzstan was a typical scene from the north of the country. In summer, the semi-nomadic Kyrgyz move from the towns with their animals to set up yurts in the high pastures, known as "jailoos".
First views of Kyrgyzstan
That night was spent at camping near Tash Rabat, a stone "caravanserai" from the 15th century that used to be an inn for silk road travellers. It may even been a monastery in the 10th century; no one is sure. It lies in a green valley at the end of a 10km dirt road and is built into the side of a hill. The family in the nearby yurt unlocked it for us to explore the rooms inside. Rachael and Tobias noticed that Kyrgyzstan, the "Switzerland of Central Asia", seems to grow more edelweiss than Switzerland itself. We were a little underwhelmed with our first experience of edelweiss. The views, on the other hand, were spectacular.
Luisa, Rachael and Tobias climb a hill above Tash Rabat
From the inside
That night we were treated to the hospitality of the nearest yurt's inhabitants, who were celebrating a new baby. There was food, Kymys (fermented horse milk), vodka and singing accompanied by a Komuz, the Kyrgyz three stringed lute. Judging by the visitors book they may have also been celebrating their first tourists this season. Locals had complained of a decline in tourists this year as a result of the political instability. We gingerly sampled the Kymys and Luisa tried to find a polite way of declining too much vodka. Kymys, we decided, tastes something like fizzy liquid blue cheese, although someone later suggested it is more akin to "vodka, as it comes back up". In any case, it is certainly an acquired taste. At dinner we met a French man who had lived in Kyrgyzstan for ten years running a horse tour business. His rival is Jacqueline Ripart, a French woman who is the founder of Kyrgyz Ate (Kyrgyz Horse) and subject of a "Global Village" episode we watched back home.
Pre-dinner celebrations in the yurt with kymys (foreground) and vodka
That night was the coldest night we would have in Kyrgyzstan, quite a surprise after +35 degrees Kashgar. In the morning there was frost on the ground, ice in our water and ice in the river. The sun quickly heated things up and we borrowed some horses for a few hours to explore the valley before driving off the Naryn.
Tash Rabat in morning light
Man practicing a Kyrgyz game: pick a coin off the ground without falling off your galloping horse
Luisa and fast horse
That afternoon we were dropped in Naryn where the "Community Based Tourism" operation helped us organise a two day horse trek to Lake Song Kul as well as homestay accommodation for that night, with the best shower we would have for some time. Our plans coincided with Rachael and Tobias' so we stayed together, taking it in turns to use the kettle to boil eggs. We were quite intrigued when our transport arrived to take us to take us there:
Roger helps load backpacks into Lada police car
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