Deryn managed to organise a driver from our hotel in Karakol to pick us up in Naryn, drive us to our guest house on the southern shores of Issyk Kul and then drive us to the canyon, waterfall and finally on to Karakol. All for the pricey sum of 17,000 Som ($280). We decided against paying an additional 8,000 Som for an SUV. Our original quote from the tourist office in Naryn was 14,800 Som just to our lake guest house.
We got picked up at 9.15 with Sandra already in the car. It was an easy drive to the little village and the Umar guest house, although again we marvelled at the amount of roadworks (and development) going on. Kyrgyzstan really is pumping billions into roading infrastructure. Issyk Kul is quite unique as although it is nearly 1900m above sea level it does not freeze because of its salinity and nearby thermal springs.
We were met at the guest house by Nora, a daughter of the family that owned it. She was down for a holiday, living in Bishkek working for a tourism company. Her English was really good. We had a choice of a room downstairs with a big bathroom or a room upstairs (with great views) but with a tiny bathroom (and I mean really tiny – you had to sit sideways on the toilet). We chose the view. I noticed on a laminated pamphlet that said there was eagle viewing available. I checked with Nora who said she could arrange it for 5,500 Som as a group charge. Bargain. She also recommended a restaurant down the road in a resort for lunch. The resort was very tidy but was only partially completed. It certainly will be impressive when done. The food was OK but half the stuff we ordered wasn’t available. Nora had arranged the eagle viewing for 630 with our driver taking us there for an additional 500 Som.
We all jumped in the car, including Nora, at 610. She was joining us as finding the location wasn’t that easy. After a 15-minute drive, Nora informed us we had to walk up this hill to meet with the eagle crew. It took us about 15 minutes to get to the top, only to find that the eagle crew were over the other side in a valley. We could have driven there in the car. We decided to walk there rather than turning round. Nora felt she had to escort us while the driver headed back to the car to drive it around the hill to meet us. It took us about 15 minutes to get down as Deryn and Sandra both had sandles on. The eagle crew consisted of an elder and 2 junior apprentices. One of the apprentices took an eagle and climbed up to the top of the hill from where we had just come. The elder then talked us through the process of training the eagles – they typically start training them when chicks but can train them up to 5 years old. Once the eagle reaches 15 years, they let them loose back into the wild – after a transition period. Golden eagles can live up to 35 years .
The second apprentice took one of the eagles across the paddock so that it could chase a rabbit skin tied to some rope attached to the elder’s horse. The speed of the eagle as it attacked the skin was incredible. Then it was the turn off the eagle up the hill. The elder held up his arm and called the eagle – it would have been at least 600m away. Hearing and watching it swoop in to land on his arm and grab the bit of rabbit the elder was holding was again impressive. The size of the eagle’s talons and the strength of its beak as it ripped the rabbit skin showed how eagles can hunt wild dogs etc. As an aside it took the kid about a 1 minutes to get from the top of the hill back us. The one that took us 15!!
Then it was the chance of the 3 hunting Afghan hounds to hunt a rabbit skin by a piece of rope attached to a horse. The dogs were strange looking things – but again could certainly move. Dits and I got to then don some local gear and have a chance holding the eagles on the super thick glove. The one we held was 5kg, so it was understandable why the elder had a wooden stick to help keep his arm extended. They need to be held at arms length from the horse or else they can damage their tail feathers. Holding anything weighing 5kgs at arms length is impossible for any length of time
We then got to do some archery. Firing at a target about 25m away. After a couple of sighters, Deryn and I both got our aim in. I even managed to hit within the circle of the bullseye. The elder was obviously impressed with my ability, so he offered me the chance of shooting at a moving target – a 50cm wide foam disk. I hit it with my second attempt much to everyone’s, including mine, surprise. We finished off the evening with a meal at a local restaurant, shouting both the driver and Nora as a sign of thanks. Easy to be generous when the meal for 5 of us cost $A40.
We got away early next next morning as we had a full agenda. The first stop was the Fairytale Canyon; or the Great Wall of China as our driver called it because of the steep wall of sandstone that ran for several kilometres through the canyon. The canyon is comprised of red Neogen-era clay and sandstone. The colours and rocks sculptures were amazing – hence the name Fairytale. The colours reminded Deryn and I of the coloured mountains in northern Argentina; although the source of those colours twas choral. We spent a fun hour exploring the myriads of shapes and colours before deciding it was getting a bit busy and time to get back on the road. Our driver enjoyed the stop as much as we did. Next stop was the Barksoon Waterfall.
The road to the waterfall was one big roadwork – even more so than the road alongside Issyk Kul. Our driver said the road was being developed to get the gold out of the mountains (gold is key source of Kyrgyzstan revenue). We parked in a yurt camp and headed up into the hills for a bit of a hike to the falls. It took us about 25 min of non-stop climbing to reach the first waterfall – there are 3 cascading falls. The lower waterfall was OK but nothing special. That’s not to say it wasn’t lovely being in the wilds. Our driver said we should climb up to the upper falls, but it was a very sketchy climb – after initially saying no we thought what the hell and up we went. We could see the second waterfall from our higher point but decided against going any higher. We then bumped into a group of tourists who had walked up from the yurt camp on a different path. Their path took you past a lower waterfall which they thought was it. They were pleased to know it wasn’t. We headed down the path to check out the other waterfall. Once again, they were just OK. Under instructions from our driver, I dipped my head under the water. Not as cold as I expected. There were about 7 or 8 Germans girls there who were spending a year in Kyrgyzstan teaching German. Apparently, Germany is a country of choice for emigrants or those looking for work
We grabbed an awful coffee and got back on the road to Karakol. It was nearly 4 by the time we arrived at our hotel. Virtually every time we use Google Maps in this country we end up in strange places. Must be a better local version. The hotel was very Russian but nice. As it was getting to the end of our trip, we were gradually increasing our nightly budget on accommodation – the Tagaytay Karakol Hotel was the $A75 per night. We were shattered so decided to go for a walk and grab an early dinner. The hotel gave us a nearby recommendation which was another of there very Chinese restaurants – in appearance nor cuisine. I did the ordering and completely botched it up. We thought we would have some bread while playing cards then order a main to share. I ordered a bread platter followed by creamy chicken to follow later. They brought out the bread quickly which comprised of these little dough balls that you dipped into some very tasty cheese dip. We were 1/3 of the way though when the waiter came out and said it was the wrong order and took the dish away. Language challenges made it impossible to convince him to leave it and flag the other order. The other order arrived and it was a massive plate of bread. Should have know as it cost 800 Son.
Breakfast was an impressive buffet with a broad range of sweets and savouries. Best of all there was a coffee shop next door that made decent coffees. Suitably nourished we headed off to our first destination – the Holy Trinity Cathedral – a Russian Orthodox Church made entirely from wood. We had to walk through the main square to get to the church which was a hive of activity with a stage being set up for some event later in the day. Karakol was a lot more Chinese (and probably Muslim) than other places we had visited. It was also a lot less touristy. The cathedral was impressive with golden domes glistening in the sunlight. The original church was destroyed by an earthquake in 1889 and replaced by a wooden one. The church was surrounded by lovely gardens. Next stop was the mosque – no accusations of religious favouritism with Dits and me. We ended going the wrong way getting to the mosque so we got to see a lot more of Karakol than we intended which was great in a way. We stumbled across a lovely little café so took the opportunity to grab some lunch – a chicken panini no less. The mosque itself was a waste of space – really not worth the time and effort. As they say, “it’s the journey that matters not the destination”.
We headed back to our hotel and Deryn grabbed a massage from a “strong Russian woman” while I spent some time writing the blog. We did a bit more research on a place for dinner and ended finding a place that provided a much better experience than the prior evening. It took a while to get to sleep as the activity we saw in the square tuned out to be a concert – mostly DJs with a fair bit of base. Thankfully, it finished at 10. In the morning we were heading to a new little guest house in the mountain town of Teploklyuchenka for a bit more hiking.