Mountains of Kyrgyzstan: description, history and interesting facts

The mountains of Kyrgyzstan are mighty giants who try to become above the sky, cutting the white clouds with icy tops. Tours to these places are very popular among lovers of extreme leisure, coming here from many countries. On the territory of the Republic of Kyrgyzstan there are two mountain ranges: Tien Shan and Pamir, which are considered to be the highest in Asia.

History of the mountains of Kyrgyzstan

The mountains in this region are mentioned in ancient writings and notes of travelers who visited this region with expeditions, all the information about which over a few centuries was overgrown with many legends.

One of the first research surveys was carried out by P. Semenov's expedition in 1856, which made a description and detailed study of the terrain, for which he received an honorary addition from the Russian tsar to the name Semenov-Tianshansky. He first sketched a scheme of ridges, surveyed the Issyk-Kul lake, discovered the Khan-Tengri pyramid and reached the glaciers in the Tengri-Tag group.

To answer the question about what mountains in Kyrgyzstan, you need to see them with your own eyes. Mountain massifs here have an alpine relief, which is characterized by numerous mountain ridges and high sharp peaks, less common are more even areas of ancient origin, usually inclined in one direction due to folding.

In the highlands there are many glaciers and talus, all mountains with a height of more than 3,500 m are frozen to a depth of 30-100 m of rocks, the peaks are covered with snow, the snow line passes at an altitude of up to 3,800-4,200 m, some areas are considered dangerous due to avalanches .

Tien-Shan mountains

Translated from Chinese, they are called "Celestial Mountains", which stretch in the direction of the west-east and consist of 88 ridges. The Tien-Shan Range is the mountains of Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, it is by right considered the longest in Asia (2800 km). In its center are the highest mountains: Victory Peak (7440 m) and Khan-Tengri peak (almost 7000 m), there are also 40 peaks having a height of more than 6 thousand meters.

Most of the ridge is located on the territory of Kyrgyzstan and is divided into 6 zones of the Alpine type. The republic is 92% mountainous, the ridges divide it into the northern and southern parts, connected by a highway between the cities of Bishkek and Osh. The average length of the ridges is 100-300 km, and the width reaches 40 km. Climatic zones are represented almost everything, from taiga and stony tundra and to alpine meadows, where pastures in the southern part of the mountains are located.

The mountain ranges of Kyrgyzstan are constantly used by climbers and nature lovers for climbing mountain peaks, horseback riding, rafting along the mountain rivers, since the times of the Soviet Union. Even then, the beauty of this region, despite the great distance from civilization and the high complexity of passing the routes, has become popular with all tourists and climbers.

Valleys and lakes

On the Tien Shan, there are many high-mountain valleys, which are used for fertile pastures. Covered with grass. At the foot of the ridges, alpine hollows lined the banks, which turned into lakes and swamps, the most famous being Issyk-Kul.

According to the researchers, the Tien Shan mountains were covered during the glacial epoch by very powerful glaciers, the remains of which are found in the form of trees, moraines, circuses and lakes. From these places all the rivers of Kyrgyzstan originate.

The mountains of Kyrgyzstan are especially beautiful in spring in May, when all the valleys are covered with flowers: yellow and red tulips, edelweiss, etc. Flowers in the mountains of Kyrgyzstan look unusually against the background of snow-capped mountains.

Lake Issyk-Kul - the pearl of the Tien Shan, occupying a deep depression (702 m) between mountain ranges, is the third deepest reservoir in the territory of the CIS.

Mountains of Pamir

Another massif of the high mountains of Kirghizia, represented only by its northern part, is Pamir. The most famous ranges here are Zaalaysky and Turkestan, the average height is 5.5 thousand meters, and the highest peak of the Pamir is Lenin Peak (7134 m).

Pamir is the greatest mountain system in the world, located on the territory of Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and China. Here the continental climate is less wet compared to Tien Shan and more sunny. The Zaalaysky Range has a length of 200 km on the territory of Kyrgyzstan and continues in China for another 50 km, has sharp peaks, in the valleys even deciduous shrubs grow. The highest peak of the Zaalaysky Range is the Sat peak (5900 m).

Mountains in Kyrgyzstan: the name of the peaks and description

The highest mountain peaks in Kyrgyzstan, regularly visited by climbers:

• The Victory Peak is the northernmost of the 7,000-hectare mountains, was first opened in 1938, has a height of 7,439 m, is located on the border with China in the Kokshaal-Too Range near the lake Issyk-Kul. Mountaineers call it the most formidable and inaccessible, because Only highly qualified athletes with good training can conquer it. The difficulty of climbing it is determined by the harsh climate, the sharp gusts of the northern wind, the steepness of the slopes in combination with a strong cold. This peak was first noticed visually by the conquerors of the Khan-Tengri peak in 1936, which two years later, under the leadership of L. Gutman, collected an expedition to survey the open peak and could conquer it.

• Khan-Tengri peak, which means "Lord of the sky" in Turkic language, does not reach the height of 7-thousandths only 5 m, but in complexity it is counted among them. When climbing to this peak climbers adhere to an interesting ritual: each newly arrived group digs out the previous capsule with information about the climber (surname, date), then writes his own and again digs in. Local residents gave the peak another name of "Kan-Too" ("Blood Mountain") for the large number of accidents occurring with the ascendant daredevils. The peak is also famous for its picturesque views.

• Lenin Peak is the most visited in the Pamirs, because Climbing it is quite simple and does not have strict health requirements for climbers. As a rule, all tourists get to the base camp by car from the city of Osh.

Mountain peaks, which are slightly lower than the seven thousandths in height:

• Peaks Chapayev (6370 m), Przhevalsky (6450 m), Marble Wall (6400 m) and Tent (6700 m) are in the central part of the Tien Shan.
• The peaks of Karakol (5216 m), Nansen (5697 m), Pyramid (5621 m) and others.

Glaciers of mountainous regions of Kyrgyzstan

In the mountains of Kyrgyzstan there are many glaciers:

• The Korzhenevsky Glacier is located in the valley on the northern slope of the Zaalaisky Range, 21.5 km long.
• The glacier of Lenin - a mountain type in the basin in the northern part of the same range, 13.5 km in length, lies at the foot of Lenin Peak.
• Mushketov Glacier - belongs to the tree type, is located in the center of the Tien Shan, on the northern slope of the Saryjaz, length of 20.5 km and others.

Mountain passes

To get from one valley to another, it is necessary to use mountain passes, in the mountains of Kyrgyzstan there are several of them:

• Bedel - is located in the mountains of the Tien Shan, passes through the range of Kokshaaltau on the border between China and Kyrgyzstan, the height of 4284 m, for many years entered the Great Silk Road and was a famous caravan road.
• Kyzyl-Art highway, located on the Pamir road, passes through the border between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, the altitude is 4280 m, in the northern part the rise is flat and picturesque, with the southern one - the steepest descends into the valley of the river. Marcans.
• Taldyk - the pass connects the valley of the r. Gyulci and Alayskub, a valley in the south, is located in the Alai Range, at a height of 3,615 m. A highway is run through it, along which it is possible to get to Osh, on the other hand - the village of Sary-Tash.

Suleiman's Sacred Mountain

The city of Osh is considered the southern capital of Kyrgyzstan. In 2009, the city was replenished with another attraction - the sacred mountain of Suleiman-Too (the throne of Suleiman), which was recognized as a World Heritage site.

Its history dates back more than one century, and all this time it is famous as a place of sacred significance, which is confirmed by petroglyphs on the mountain. Muslims still believe that this sanctuary is of magical significance, giving to those who come here with a request, well-being, health, offspring and everything that the pilgrims will ask.

Mount Suleiman in the city of Osh in Kyrgyzstan has a length of almost 1 km and a height of 1110 m. Tourists and pilgrims can take the paths along the mountain (for a small fee) and admire the neighboring peaks and a view of the city below it.

On Suleiman-Too there are cult places, each with its own meaning:

• The Sirat Bridge - according to legends, is the road to the afterlife, which can only be passed by a person who does not have sins.
• Ene-Besik - an opening 2 m wide, which affects the fertility of the female half of humanity.
• Tamchy-Tamar-laz, which extends to a depth of 8 m, helping to recover from infertility and eye diseases.
• Kol-Tash - a hole from the karst rocks, heals from diseases in the joints.
• Bel-Tash - plate 3 m long, in the middle passes the trough, to cure diseases of the back, it must travel at least 3 times, which children and old people do successfully.
• Bash-Tash - a hole near the path, according to legends, heals from headaches.

At the top of Suleiman-Too stands the chapel "Babur's House", built in the 15th century and rebuilt by local residents in 1989, a museum with local artifacts was built inside the mountain.

What attracted mountains of tourists

Kyrgyzstan is a country in Central Asia that attracts tourists with its fabulous and beautiful mountains, rich in history, unusual culture and interesting traditions. It is considered a mountain paradise for climbers, climbers and lovers of travel: there are a lot of peaks that seek to conquer climbers to get the title of "Snow leopard", here in winter and summer skiers can train, hikes and descents on the rivers, tourists and lovers of extreme recreation .

The mountains of Kyrgyzstan are the edge of glaciers and snow-covered fields and peaks, rugged rivers, blue lakes, many charming alpine meadows with bright flowers and fragrant herbs, a variety of plants and animals.