Karakol

Karakol was founded in 1869 as a Russian military and administrative outpost near the eastern shore of Issyk-Kul, laid out on a grid of streets lined with poplars and single-storey wooden houses, many of which still have carved window frames. It was home to Russian settlers, Kyrgyz, and Dungans, Chinese-speaking Muslims who had fled the Qing empire in the 1870s and 1880s. The explorer Nikolai Przhevalsky died here in 1888 at the start of an expedition to Tibet, and from 1889 the town bore his name for much of the following century.

What to see

The Holy Trinity Cathedral, completed in 1895 after an earthquake destroyed an earlier stone church, is a large wooden church with green onion domes. In the Soviet period it served as a club and dance hall; it has since been restored and is again in use. A few streets away, the Dungan mosque, built between 1907 and 1910 by Dungan craftsmen under a Chinese master builder, looks more like a Chinese temple than a Central Asian mosque: a wooden structure with upturned eaves, a pagoda-style minaret and brightly painted carving, reputedly assembled without iron nails. On Sunday mornings the animal market on the edge of town draws farmers trading horses, cattle and sheep, an authentic and lively scene. Near the lakeshore at Pristan-Przhevalsk is the explorer's tomb and memorial museum.

Food

Karakol's Dungan heritage shows at the table: try ashlyan-fu, a cold, spicy noodle soup with starch jelly, sold in cafés around the bazaar, and Dungan-style home dinners, which can be arranged with local families.

Into the mountains

Karakol is the main base for trekking in the Terskey Ala-Too range. Popular routes include the walk or 4x4 ride to the hot springs of Altyn-Arashan, and the multi-day loop over the Ala-Kul pass to the turquoise Ala-Kul lake at about 3,500 metres. The red rocks of Jeti-Oguz are about half an hour west, and in winter the Karakol ski base operates above the town.

How to visit

Karakol is about five to six hours by road from Bishkek along the north shore, or a day's touring along the south shore via Skazka canyon and Jeti-Oguz. Plan to arrive on Saturday evening if you want to see the Sunday market.