Around Lake Issyk-Kul

The regular camera picture formats are not adequate to capture the wide expanse of Kyrgyzstans plains and mountains. Kyrgyzstan is a photographer's dream. We had to be in Kyrgyzstan, and arranged to arrive a few days early. It was too cold in November to plan any longer hikes, but the drive around Lake Issyk-Kul and back to Bishkek was an excellent introduction to Kyrgyzstan and its mountains. It has been snowing in the mountains and the weather was bright and sunny providing glorious views. We start the trail at Ashu guesthouse, in order not to double-track too many of the coordinates. The roundtrip took us 4 days, which was just right to sample the many sights marked as waypoints. The road is asphalt throughout, old but without potholes. There is an alternative autobahn between Bishkek and the turn-off to Ashu.