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| Walnut Forest at Arslanbob |
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| Arslanbob Waterfall |
Although much reduced at this time of year the rivers are a major feature of the country. Water is a precious commodity and the water from their main reservoir at Toktogul is used for HEP generation at least three times before it crosses into Uzbekistan. Several of our campsites have been alongside mountain rivers or lakes fed from glacier meltwater, so are very cold, but incredibly clear. One excursion took us to Arslanbob where we climbed 250m up a very deteriorated path to view a waterfall which is now only a thin strip of water, but must be spectacular in the spring. The nearby natural walnut forest is the largest in the world, and 1500 tonnes of walnuts are harvested annually. Families were pitching tents in the forest to claim their collection rights despite it being 2 weeks before they are allowed to harvest the nuts.
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| Dirt road at 2800 m |
The very wide valley of the Kara Ungar River reveals the volume of water which flows off the mountains, and was one of the main feeds into the Aral Sea, now it has been diverted for irrigation, in the Stans leaving the Aral Sea to wither.
The last three days we have driven the fantastic dirt road from Osh via the fabulous Song Kol Lake to Narin. The road winds and climbs through empty countryside climbing several 3000m passes before the final climb to Song Kol Lake - set at 3012 m and surrounded by sloping grasslands leading up to craggy peaks, with thousands of sheep, horses and cattle grazing amongst the hundreds of Yurts. A slubime and incredibly peaceful location. We drove 20kms along the southern and western shore before finding a spot to camp on a knoll overlooking the lake. There was not a sound, nor sign of an artificial light, the only illumination being the startlingly bright Milky Way spanning the sky. Following the track a further 50kms to the north east corner of the lake tested some of the cans off road capability, crossing rivers and climbing their steep banks, finding a way through some boggy ground and scrabbling up some of the steeper hills, but round every corner there was another yurt, many being packed up as most of the nomads leave the lake by he end of September.
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| Yurts at Song Kiol |
One of the features of the Stans in general, and Kyrgyzstan in particular is the number of birds of prey, ranging from familiar kestrels and merlins, to golden eagles, European Vultures and a whole variety of eagles. Kyrgyzstan is a country to be savoured and we feel we have only scratched the surface, but China beckons, and we cross the border on Monday 26th with five other vehicles. We have met four of the five who are all really friendly and look forward to meeting all at Tash Rabat Caravanseri tomorrow night. Please note that we may be unable to access the blog in China, so there may not be any more updates until well into November.
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| Song Kol Camp |
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| European Griffon Vulture |
The last three days we have driven the fantastic dirt road from Osh via the fabulous Song Kol Lake to Narin. The road winds and climbs through empty countryside climbing several 3000m passes before the final climb to Song Kol Lake - set at 3012 m and surrounded by sloping grasslands leading up to craggy peaks, with thousands of sheep, horses and cattle grazing amongst the hundreds of Yurts. A slubime and incredibly peaceful location. We drove 20kms along the southern and western shore before finding a spot to camp on a knoll overlooking the lake. There was not a sound, nor sign of an artificial light, the only illumination being the startlingly bright Milky Way spanning the sky. Following the track a further 50kms to the north east corner of the lake tested some of the cans off road capability, crossing rivers and climbing their steep banks, finding a way through some boggy ground and scrabbling up some of the steeper hills, but round every corner there was another yurt, many being packed up as most of the nomads leave the lake by he end of September.
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