I finally managed to visit Asian mountains again after many years. We went to the northeast Kyrgyzstan, one of the post-soviet Asian states, to trek in Tian Shan, the Celestial mountains. The three treks, not so far away geographically, were remarkably different in countryside and scenery.
Trek to Enyl-check glacier
Twelve day trek from mining village Shacht-Jergalan over smaller ranges of Tian-Shan to their highest area, to the Enyl-check glacier with beautiful views of Pobeda Peak and Khan Tengri. We had all kinds of weather but it was fantastic at the important places and the views were truly stunning.
Trek to lake Alakjol
Trek to lake Alakjol is fairly popular among tourists and even among locals who come to picnic in its lower parts. Even though this makes the area much less remote, it is still worth visiting. The forests and meadows under glaciers are very lush and pleasant, the lake itself has a pretty glacial color.
Tamga valley trek
This trek lasted only for four days but was no less diverse than the others. We started off in a semi-desert which was interrupted only by a thin green stripe around a creek from the mountains, on the way up we passed forests and meadows and finally crossed a pass to enter a vast wet high plateau.
Other pictures from Kyrgyzstan
Although we tried to spend as much time in the mountains as we could, we naturally had to spend some time below them too, either in transport, resting or looking for food, fuel, and other necessities. In this section you can find photos from the civilized Kyrgyzstan, most of them are pictures of people at the bazaar and cattle market in Karakol.