Nice walk from Kočkor
Although the town of Kočkor is not very interesting in itself and most travelers come here mainly because it is a starting point to both the huge lake Sonkol and the beautiful lake Köl Ükök. Even so, from here you can take an interesting walk south to an abandoned arid ridge with interesting views over the village of Isakayev.
Bazaar in Kockor
The bazaar in Kočkor is not a classic marketplace, as one might expect from the name. It is basically just around the main road in the center of the city, where taxis and the biggest local traffic are concentrated. In its vicinity there are most accommodation options and grocery stores. It is also a starting point for this hike.
Soviet monument
From the bazaar, continue for about 150 meters along the main road, where at the end of the block turn left. You will continue straight on in the direction of the mountain. You will be the first to come across a classic socialist monument to a conscious heroine.
Lenin's monument
Just a short distance from the monument to the striker, Lenin also has his statue. You will still come across this very often in Kyrgyzstan.
Bust in Cancer
The outage from the city is quite dusty and there is a lot of traffic. The city is quite extensive in terms of population and looks more like a village. After all, most of the people here work on fertile fields fed by the water of glacial rivers.
View of the lunar ridge
After about a kilometer and a half, the development ends on the west side of the road and across the field there is an interesting view of the roughly ten kilometer long ridge of arid mountains. These peaks are only about two thousand meters above sea level, so they are completely insignificant to local conditions, but the view from them is great.
Mosque on the outskirts of Kockor
The last attraction of Kočkor is a mosque standing almost on the very edge of the city. There aren't many people here, and even here you can see that religion is not very experienced in Kyrgyz.
View of the moonlit peaks
The hills that are the target of this walk look really insignificant compared to the main ridge on the horizon, reaching heights of about 4,200 m above sea level.
The beginning of the village Isakayev
After a two-and-a-half-kilometer walk from the Kočkor bazaar, you can walk to the city bypass. Go there and continue in the direction of the village of Isakayev. After about 750 meters, the road on the edge of the village begins to turn significantly east. However, you follow the dirt road past the farm buildings directly to the arid mountains. At this point, you basically leave, about halfway through, the walking route to the starting point of the trek to Lake Köl Ükök.
View of the Tör Ükök valley
At the last buildings you will pass an irrigation canal and you can comfortably climb to the eastern ends of the arid moon mass. There is a nice view of the mouth of the Tör Ükök valley, which leads to a great trek to Lake Köl Ükök.
View of the glacier mountain
There is also a nice view of the glacial mountain, one of the highest in the area that supplies water to the river Terc, which you will have to cross when you head to Lake Köl Ükök.
Badland
The mountain range itself is a typical badland towering over the fertile surroundings.
Small comb
The ridge of the lunar hills looks relatively compact in the distance, but in reality it is divided by a number of small valleys, so you won't make the Klais ridge here. So you can take the walk by crossing this small part and returning through the valley, or you will continue further down the individual pidi massifs.
View of Kočkor
The view of the wide oasis of Kočkor is very nice. Plus, you'll hardly meet anyone here. definitely not a tourist, at most some cowherd.
View of irrigation systems
There is also a nice view of the system of irrigation canals and ponds, keeping water in the landscape.
Abandoned cemetery
At the very southern end of the ridge is a small abandoned cemetery. It has a really special atmosphere in this place.
March through the valley
There is also a footpath and sparse vegetation in the valley – in the rain or spring, some water sometimes flows here
The end of the valley
You will walk through the valley in a moment and then the same way back awaits you. If you don't want to pedal all the way, there's a good chance you'll stop by a taxi. Traffic between Kochkor and Isakayev is relatively busy.
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Article: Trek to Lake Köl Ükök
The trek to Lake Köl Ükök is one of the most picturesque in Kyrgyzstan. From the semi-desert area around the regional town of… continue reading