Kyzyl-Oy
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Kyzyl-Oy is a village in Jumgal District, in the Bishkek and the Northwest region of Kyrgyzstan.
Understand
Kyzyl-Oy's main focus seem to be foreign tourists due to its convenient and picturesque location between the hills. Weirdly enough, there is a traffic light in the middle of town, although there is not much traffic and waiting to cross the street seems highly strange in this place.
CBT office
Get in
By road
About 25 km by road from the Bishkek-Toktogul highway, shortly after coming down south from the Tör-Ashuu pass. Hitching a ride is straight forward.There is also a direct gravel road from Toktogul, with however no regular public transport.
On foot
You can also hike across the hills from the Ytch-Chymchyk (Үч-Чымчык) village near Suusamyr (Суусамыр), which lies a few km from the highway along the above mentioned road. Trail see below.Get around
The village can be walked from one to the other end within 10 min.
See
Many come here for the orange mountains surrounding the village.
Do
- Hike into the mountain valley west of the village and stay in one of the many yurts there. The CBT has comprehensive information.
Ytch-Chymchyk - Kyzyl-Oy (on foot)A 30 km easy to medium hiking trail across the mountain range surrounding Kyzyl-Oy. Marvellous during sunset when you look down northwest into the valley with the Bishkek-Osh highway. highwDownload: GPX, KML.
Buy
The village has a least two supermarkets.
Eat
Most guesthouses also cater for their guests.
Sleep
The CBT has an extensive list of local guesthouses (some including yurt) available. Also, OpenStreetMap lists many establishments. Prices are touristy and increased, but you can get often 20-30% discount if you ask, especially in low season. Average prices: 500-800 som per person.
Go next
- Talas – A far off town with the popular Manar Ordo pilgrimage complex nearby.
- Toktogul – A nice and picturesque water reservoir and convenient hub/stop between Bishkek and Osh. A 4WD can bring you down southwest from Kyzyl-Oy—you might be lucky hitch-hiking this route.
- Sary-Chelek Nature Reserve – One of the highlights of Kyrgyzstan with a beautiful lake, excellent hiking, diverse flora and fauna, picturesque mountains and much more. On the way between Toktogul and Jalal-Abad.
- Song Kul and Kochkor – Hitch a ride towards Kyzart Pass, Kyzart and Aral for the eastern regions of Kyrgyzstan. See also Issyk Kul and the Tian Shan#Get in.