Ala Archa National Park
Climate
Dry continental to polar in high Tien Shan; subtropical
in southwest (Fergana Valley); temperate in northern
foothill zone.
Landscape
Entirely mountainous, dominated by the Tien Shan range;
many tall peaks, glaciers, and high-altitude lakes. Highest
point: Jengish Chokusu (Pik Pobedy) 7,439 m.
Get in
By plane
- Daily flights by Aeroflot from Moscow
- Two flights a week bmi from London
- Two flights a week Turkish Airlines from Istanbul
- ocassional flights to Urumchi (China), Delhi (India)
By train
By car
Driving in Kyrgyzstan is, by European standards,
dangerous. Obviously locals have become used to missing road
drain covers, dry dusty roads (where water tankers sometimes
sprinkle water to keep dust down) and generally bad roads
that are not effectivly maintained.
Interesting usage of main and large roads: If your side
is too damaged to drive fast then is quite normal to use the
other side of the road.
If you get stopped by the police its likely to cost some
money.
Watch out for mini buses pulling out too.
- from
Kazakhstan to Bshkek - from
Almaty which takes 3-4 hours and from Taraz which
takes 5 hrs
- from
Uzbekistan to Bishkek the road goes through
Kazakhstan and drive would take more than 10 hrs, and to
Osh in the south
- from
Tajikistan to Osh the road from Khudjant (Tadjikistan)
and thruogh Batken (Kyrgyzstan) further to Osh. The road
is one of the most difficult to drive and requires
passing through Uzbek encalves. There is also a road
Khorog to Osh.
- from China there two passes - Irkeshtam leading to
Osh and Torugart leading further to Naryn.
Get In
By plane
Turkish Airlines and Aeroflot offer direct flights to
Manas International Airport in Bishkek (approx. 30km
northwest of the city) from Istanbul and
Moscow respectively. Additionally, British Airways
offers a service (operated by BMed) from London to Bishkek,
with a brief refueling stop at
Tbilisi. In October 2007, BMed will be taken over by the
UK-based airline British Midland Airways. In the short term,
BMI intend to maintain a three flights a week schedule for
the Bishkek-Tbilisi-London flight.
