Best places to stay on Issyk-Kul Lake in 2018

If we talk about beautiful and large lakes located near Russia, then Issyk-Kul is the second most popular destination after Lake Baikal. This is a huge lake, which is located between the Terskey Ala-Too and Kungei Ala-Too mountain ranges - the Northern Tien Shan. This lake is also called Kyrgyz Baikal.

You can always go on vacation to Issyk-Kul, regardless of the time of year. In winter, the lake does not freeze. Thermal springs, unspoiled nature, clean mountain air, beautiful landscapes will not leave anyone indifferent.

How to get there

You can get to the lake only through Bishkek. There is an international airport 20 km from the city, and a railway station is located in Bishkek itself.

Bishkek Airport accepts flights from many large cities of Russia. Flight from Moscow takes 4.5 hours. The cost in both directions is $ 240.

There are no direct flights from St. Petersburg, so travelers will need to make a transfer in Moscow, so they will have to spend 6.5 - 26 hours on the road. Hence the ticket price will be from 300 to 550 dollars.

Shuttle taxis and buses run from the airport to Bishkek. You need to drive about 30 minutes, the fare is 18 rubles. Buses do not run at night, a taxi will cost about 550 rubles. At the city station, you need to take a bus that goes to any settlement located on the shore of Issyk-Kul. The cost of the ticket will cost about 270 rubles, on the way - about 4 hours.

Residents of the capital can get to Bishkek directly by train. From the Kazan station, the train leaves twice a week. The trip will take about 3 days, and the cost of a reserved seat is $ 160.

Rest on Issyk-Kul 2018: private sector, hotels, hotels, guest houses

Along the coast of the lake there are various accommodation options - hotels, hotels, guest houses, apartments. Since health tourism prevails in this place, it is worth noting sanatoriums. In addition to medical procedures, they offer accommodation and meals. The price range for accommodation in a double room ranges from 2700 to 9200 rubles.

The cost of a room in a mini-hotel located in Choplon-Ata starts from 900 rubles. Breakfast is usually included in this price. There are two and three-star hotels in Choplon-Ata and Bosteri. Double room will cost from 3600 to 4600 rubles / day per person. If the company of vacationers is large there are many options for renting an apartment or a house. Usually this option is cheaper than taking a few rooms in a hotel. The average price of a house for 10 people is 35,000 rubles / day, for 4 people - about 5800 rubles / day.

The private sector on the coast of the lake is represented by nearby settlements. The cost of living here is almost the same. Depending on the location and season, the room for private traders will cost from 8 to 20 dollars per day. For an additional fee (about $ 40 per day), guests are offered 3 meals a day.

Rest on Issyk-Kul lake 2018: the best resorts, beaches

80 from Balykchi, on the northern shore of the lake is the city of Cholpon-Ata - one of the most popular and famous resorts of Issyk-Kul. The beaches are very clean. You can admire the lake from the top of the mountain. For this, 5 lifts are equipped. The city beach has a gentle entrance to the water, the water in this place is very clear. The bottom of the lake and its shore are covered with fine and clean sand. On the beach you can rent sun loungers, sun umbrellas and catamarans. On the outskirts of the city is a beach, which is located on the territory of the Blue Issyk-Kul Sanatorium.This is a very well-maintained and comfortable beach. Everyone will like it - it will be safe and convenient for children here, and young people will be able to have fun at night discos.

For a secluded and quiet holiday you need to move to the suburb of Cholpon-Ata - the beach “Laguna”. Vacationers here are much smaller, but the infrastructure is not so developed. This place is popular with fishermen - right from the shore, the crucian pecks well.

Not far from Cholpon-Ata there is a village of Bosteri. This resort village was created for families with children. There is a very large sandy beach, water park, extreme attractions and the largest selection of entertainment on the lake - parachutes, paragliders, bananas, motorbikes, boats. Golden Sands - the most famous beach in Bosteri, which belongs to the boarding house of the same name. The entrance is free.

Food

In any village located on the coast there are various cafes and restaurants where you can eat cheaply. Most of them offer to try traditional Kyrgyz cuisine - Beshbarmak, Lagman, pilaf, Khoshan, Kurut, etc.

Tourists who stay in guest houses are usually offered a comprehensive meal. Its cost is on average 500-700 rubles per day. About the same amount of food will be in hotels and guest houses.

Attractions and entertainment

Issyk-Kul - a large health resort with healing mud, hot mineral springs, golden beaches. But the Kyrgyz also organized educational tourism. Here you can take a boat trip along the lake, go rafting on the Chu River, go climbing, trekking. Be sure to climb into the sky on a glider to admire how clear the water is in the lake.

The center of the northern coast of the lake is the resort of Choplon-Ata. The best health resorts are located here, and on the beach there is a water park, which is considered the largest in Kyrgyzstan and many attractions. For those who are afraid to fly a hang glider, you can ride on a ferris wheel and see the beauty of the lake from 70 meters high.

For fans of an active type of recreation, hiking in mountain gorges and caves, parachuting, spearfishing, and surfing are available. In a hike in the mountains, tourists will see incredible beauty - waterfalls, eternal glaciers and alpine meadows.

On the lake, excellent fishing. You can visit the hippodrome with your whole family and see the Kyrgyz horses that are being taken out at the local factory. It will be interesting to visit the Stone Garden. On a vast territory of 42 hectares, an open-air museum is located, offering to explore the ruins of the ancient city, which existed in these places even during the time of the Great Silk Road.

Near the Issyk-Kul Lake there is another famous Dead Salt Lake or, as it is called Kara-Kol. It has a very high concentration of salt and a person can lie on the surface of the water. Black, green and blue silt mud of Kara-Cola have healing properties.

Tourists who choose the southern part of Issyk-Kul for a vacation should visit Barskaun. This gorge is 10 km long, which is located in the Terskey Alata mountains. The Great Silk Road to China ran right here. This place is famous for its waterfalls, which have their own name and legend. Yuri Gagarin loved to be in these places. There is even a monument to him. At an altitude of 2200 meters, there is a resort located in the Dzhety-Oguz valley, which is built on hot springs with hydrogen sulfide water.

Equestrian tourism flourishes for the reason that horses are considered sacred animals for the Kirghiz. You can ride horses, or you can go on a two-week hike along the alpine glaciers and passes. During the hike, tourists independently take care of the animals, prepare their own food, which they themselves get.

There are many diving clubs and diving rivers on the lake. At the bottom of the lake are the remains of settlements that are more than 2500 years old. For beginners, a dive will cost about 1800 rubles, for certified athletes 1400 rubles. The price includes video filming, equipment rental, guide services.

Advantages and disadvantages of rest

Issyk-Kul is a great place to relax, regardless of age and social status.The nature here is extraordinary - mountain landscapes, beaches, clean mountain air. All this will be deposited in the memory of any tourist for a long time.

The disadvantages include garbage in the water, despite its purity. But this is a problem of society, but not of the resort itself. Prices for accommodation and meals are not cheap. Cellular communication in some places disappears.