Chuy Region

The east neighboring valley of the Shamshi gorge.

The Chunkurchak Gorge is located 45 km south of the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek. A unique landscape, a mixture of pastures and red sandstone rocks, at the foot of the highest glaciers of the Kyrgyz Alatoo mountain range. It is a recreational place where you can find several mountain hotels, as well as a ski resort.

Lake Koel Kogur lies in Chong Kemin National Park. The lake can be reached from Chong Kemin or from Tamchi village on the shore of the Issyk Kul lake. It is located 5 km below Kel-Tor Pass, and it takes a day of walking or riding from the Chong Kemin River, and 2 days from Issyk Kul Lake.

Nearly 60km south-east of Bishkek, the Kegeti valley lies between that of Issyk Ata and that of Shamshi. There is a pass that crosses the Kyrgyz Alatoo mountain range, and leads to the Kochkor valley.

Some 20km south of Bishkek, the Kashka-Suu valley, whose river is influential to that of Ala Archa. The largest number of ski resorts can be found there, including Polytech, Kashka-Suu, Ak-Tash, Ortussay, Edelweiss, etc.
The landscape is breathtaking, a mixture of pasture and red sandstone canyon.

Situated in the Koel Tor gorge part of the Kegeti basin. 

Burana Tower is seven km. far from the city of Tokmok. It is an 11th century minaret, and one of the first buildings of such type in Central Asia. The original height of minaret was 45 meters. Today the tower is 24.6 meters high, the remaining part came down during an earthquake in the 15th century. In the 10th to 12th centuries, Karakhanids khanate was a great feudal state of Central Asia and Kazakhstan.

This park encompasses the entire Chong Kemin Valley. There are many trails still virgin or almost. Several passes between Issyk Kul Lake or Kitchi Kemin Valley.

The total area is 126,514 hectares. Here in the park the river Chon Kemin flows. More than 780 species of plants grow and rare mammals such as snow leopard, brown bear, maral, Eurasian lynx, golden eagle, himalayan griffon vulture (Gyps himalayensis),  bearded vulture (Gypaetus barbatus), saker falcon and sablefly are found.

The main main road connects the Oblast of Chuy and that of Issyk Kul by a canyon 40 km long. But this passage was only opened during the expedition led by explorer Pyotr Semionov-Tian-Chanski in 1857. The colors of the rocks are incredible. You can visit several small canyons with red rocks like the Creek canyon.