Visit Kyrgyzstan, the land of celestial mountains, to learn about true nomadic life and to discover the true spirit of independence and happiness. Kyrgyzstan’s current territory acted as the key crossing point for a massive trading route linking East and West. Some routes are still used as highways in the region. By visiting historical sites along the Great Silk Road’s path, one can travel back in time and experience the spirit of antiquity and the Middle Ages.
Until the second quarter of the twentieth century, the Kyrgyz were a nomadic people. Today, Kyrgyzstan is one of the few countries in which a significant portion of the population still lives in a semi-nomadic manner.
Kyrgyzstan’s terrain is almost entirely mountainous, making it an ideal location for a variety of trekking activities. Many natural hot springs can be found in Kyrgyzstan’s mountains, and Lake Issyk-Kul, the world’s second largest alpine lake (after Lake Titicaca), has many beautiful beaches for relaxing and swimming during the summer.
International visitors are drawn to Kyrgyzstan for its culture as well as its natural beauty. On the Republic’s territory, more than 5,000 historic and cultural sites dating back to antiquity have been discovered.
Priceless preservers of ancient culture are of great intellectual importance, including cave dwellings of primitive humans and runic writings on stones, wonderful petroglyphs and stone sculptures, ruins of antique settlers and medieval castles, which impress all with their rationality and high level of mastery. The Great Silk Route passed through the territory of contemporary Kyrgystan, and along the Route settlers and caravansarais appeared; their ruins can be visited today.
The biggest and the most important archeological and architectural monuments are: Suleiman-mountain, Uzgen architectural complex, tower of Burana, Shakh-Fazil mausoleum, and caravansarai Tash-Rabat.
