The relief of the country is naturally divided into the northern and to southern part by towering mountain ranges. There are big valleys like the Chui-valley and the Talas-valley in the north of the country, and there is the famous lake Issyk-Kul that is also called "Blue Pearl of the Tien-Shan" located in that part of the country.
The name "Tien-Shan Mountains" from Chinese translates "Celestial Mountains ". Its proves with two highest peaks that located here: The Peak Pobedy (Peak Victory) with an altitude of 7439 m and the Khan-Tengri with 6995 m above sea level. Peak Pobedy is the most northern situated 7000m-high mountain in the world. Usually people start to explore this area, from the town of Karakol at the eastern end of lake Issyk-Kul. They also explore one of the world's biggest glaciers Enylchek and the mysterious Lake Merzbacher, that disappears once a year, but then refills completely. Because of that, many years scientists and explorers were questioning whether it is exist at all - some of them mentioned it on their maps and in their descriptions, some did not - depending on the time of the year and the level of water.
Except the most famous lake Issyk-Kul, which is used mainly for beach-holidays, we should mention the regions of lake Son-Kul at an altitude of about 3000m, and lake Sary-Chelek at about 1900 m above sea level (see also List of main touristic places / Son-Kul ; Sary-Chelek). The Tien-Shan mountain range offers all kind of mountainous landscapes you could imagine: fertile and green high-altitude pastures, picturesque valleys with woods, rocky and snow-covered high-altitude mountain regions.
The wonderful mountain range attracts many fans of wild nature also because of its varied fauna: the Marco-Polo sheep and the snow leopard live in the area, and very common birds are eagles, falcons and vulture, while you could also at an altitude of 3000m watch seagulls and find rare species everywhere around the country.
In the south-west, the Tien-Shan mountains are split into two parts by the Ferghana-valley that is embed in their middle. The biggest part of it situated in Uzbekistan but the east borders also reach into Kyrgyz territory. It is famous mainly for its rich choice of juicy and fresh fruits and vegetables. This part of Kyrgyzstan is quite dense populated, and Osh, the second-biggest town of the country with about 300.000 inhabitants is situated here.
The very south of the country is covered by the Pamir mountain range, which is the natural border to Tadjikistan and China. Another famous peak is situated here: Peak Lenin (7134m), which is popular with mountaineers from all over the world, also because the ascent to the summit. This ascent technically is rather easy.
Kyrgyzstan Travel industry has been steadily developing, and we can offer you high quality hotels in big cities including Bishkek and Osh. Travel to Kyrgyzstan, with its virgin nature, will make you journey remarkable and absolutely unforgettable.