{"id":193,"count":5,"description":"<!-- wp:heading -->\n<h1>Issyk Kul, the<em>\"C\u00f4te d'<\/em><em>Azur\"<\/em> of Kyrgyzstan<\/h1>\n<!-- \/wp:heading -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>Lake Issyk Kul is a good place to be. Young and old, Kyrgyz and tourists, pawpaws and party animals, adventurers in search of the wild solitude of mountain peaks and plateaus, a solid chunk of couleur local, colorful cocktails in swanky resorts or deserted beaches. An area as large as Denmark has something for everyone.  <\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:image {\"id\":126378} --><\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><\/figure>\n<!-- \/wp:image -->\n\n<!-- wp:image {\"id\":126376} -->\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img class=\"wp-image-126376\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Issyk-Kol-lake01-1.jpg\" alt=\"Issyk Kul\">\n<figcaption>The lake is ideal for sailboats<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n<!-- \/wp:image -->\n\n<!-- wp:heading -->\n<h2>Facts about Lake Issyk Kul to unpack with<\/h2>\n<!-- \/wp:heading -->\n\n<!-- wp:list -->\n<ul>\n<li>Issyk Kul is the second largest mountain lake in the world. Only Lake Titicaca is larger.  <\/li>\n<li>The lake is 60 km at its widest, 182 km at its longest and 668 m at its deepest.<\/li>\n<li>Ranks seventh among the world's deepest lakes.<\/li>\n<li>The lake is slightly salinated.  <\/li>\n<li>At the bottom of the lake are remains of a 2,500-year-old sunken city. Historians and archaeologists of all countries: over there!<\/li>\n<li>Even more fascinating: on the east side of the lake is a Russian test site for torpedo and submarine technology.  <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<!-- \/wp:list -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>In Kyrgyz, Issyk Kul means <em>warm lake<\/em> because it never freezes, even during the harshest winters. And in Kyrgyzstan, it can get damn cold. Also remarkable when you consider that the lake is some 1,600m above sea level and surrounded by mountains covered with eternal snow.  <\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>Throughout its history, the Issyk Kul region has always been a place of tranquility. An oasis on the Silk Road and popular vacation destination during the Soviet period. Even now, the rest of the country is looking at those laid-back Issyk Kulians with a bit of disdain.  <\/p>\n<h2>Tourism<\/h2>\n<p>Today, many tourists find their way to the lake . In general, mass tourism (as far as we can talk about mass tourism in Kyrgyzstan - but think resorts, clubs and cocktails) in the north, and mainly agriculture and deserted beaches in the south. The main cities on the lake are Cholpon Ata in the north and <a href=\"https:\/\/rycetravel.com\/location\/kirgizie\/karakol\/\">Karakol<\/a> in the east. Cholpon Ata is somewhat the Lloret of Kyrgyzstan.  <\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:heading -->\n<h2>Points Of Interest along Lake Issyk Kul:<\/h2>\n<!-- \/wp:heading -->\n\n<!-- wp:list -->\n<ul>\n<li>Barskoon Waterfall: a beautiful waterfall in the Barskoon Valley. A fun fact is that this is where <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Yuri_Gagarin\">Yuri Gagarin<\/a> trained to become an astronaut.<\/li>\n<li>Fairy Tale Canyon: also called the <a href=\"https:\/\/rycetravel.com\/location\/kirgizie\/sprookjesvallei\/\">fairy tale valley<\/a> in Dutch.<\/li>\n<li>Bokonbayevo: Traditional eagle shows can be seen in Bokonbayevo.<\/li>\n<li>Solenoye Ozero: This is a salt lake in which you literally float due to the high salt content. A special experience it certainly is!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<!-- \/wp:list -->\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img class=\"wp-image-126378\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Issyk-Kol-lake02-1.jpg\" alt=\"Issyk Kul and mountains\">\n<figcaption>Issyk Kul lake from the mountains<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n<!-- \/wp:image -->","link":"https:\/\/rycetravel.com\/en\/location\/issyk-kul-en\/","name":"Issyk Kul","slug":"issyk-kul-en","taxonomy":"travel_locations","parent":168,"meta":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Issyk Kul - Ryce Travel<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/rycetravel.com\/en\/locatie\/issyk-kul-en\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Issyk Kul - Ryce Travel\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Issyk Kul, the&#8220;C\u00f4te d&#8217;Azur&#8221; of Kyrgyzstan  Lake Issyk Kul is a good place to be. Young and old, Kyrgyz and tourists, pawpaws and party animals, adventurers in search of the wild solitude of mountain peaks and plateaus, a solid chunk of couleur local, colorful cocktails in swanky resorts or deserted beaches. An area as large as Denmark has something for everyone.    The lake is ideal for sailboats  Facts about Lake Issyk Kul to unpack with  Issyk Kul is the second largest mountain lake in the world. Only Lake Titicaca is larger.  The lake is 60 km at its widest, 182 km at its longest and 668 m at its deepest. Ranks seventh among the world&#8217;s deepest lakes. The lake is slightly salinated.  At the bottom of the lake are remains of a 2,500-year-old sunken city. Historians and archaeologists of all countries: over there! Even more fascinating: on the east side of the lake is a Russian test site for torpedo and submarine technology.   In Kyrgyz, Issyk Kul means warm lake because it never freezes, even during the harshest winters. And in Kyrgyzstan, it can get damn cold. Also remarkable when you consider that the lake is some 1,600m above sea level and surrounded by mountains covered with eternal snow.   Throughout its history, the Issyk Kul region has always been a place of tranquility. An oasis on the Silk Road and popular vacation destination during the Soviet period. Even now, the rest of the country is looking at those laid-back Issyk Kulians with a bit of disdain.  Tourism Today, many tourists find their way to the lake . In general, mass tourism (as far as we can talk about mass tourism in Kyrgyzstan &#8211; but think resorts, clubs and cocktails) in the north, and mainly agriculture and deserted beaches in the south. The main cities on the lake are Cholpon Ata in the north and Karakol in the east. Cholpon Ata is somewhat the Lloret of Kyrgyzstan.   Points Of Interest along Lake Issyk Kul:  Barskoon Waterfall: a beautiful waterfall in the Barskoon Valley. A fun fact is that this is where Yuri Gagarin trained to become an astronaut. Fairy Tale Canyon: also called the fairy tale valley in Dutch. Bokonbayevo: Traditional eagle shows can be seen in Bokonbayevo. Solenoye Ozero: This is a salt lake in which you literally float due to the high salt content. A special experience it certainly is!  Issyk Kul lake from the mountains\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/rycetravel.com\/en\/locatie\/issyk-kul-en\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Ryce Travel\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"CollectionPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/rycetravel.com\\\/en\\\/locatie\\\/issyk-kul-en\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/rycetravel.com\\\/en\\\/locatie\\\/issyk-kul-en\\\/\",\"name\":\"Issyk Kul - Ryce Travel\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/rycetravel.com\\\/#website\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/rycetravel.com\\\/en\\\/locatie\\\/issyk-kul-en\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/rycetravel.com\\\/en\\\/locatie\\\/issyk-kul-en\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/rycetravel.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Issyk Kul\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/rycetravel.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/rycetravel.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Ryce Travel\",\"description\":\"Adventure tours along the Silk Road\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/rycetravel.com\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/rycetravel.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/rycetravel.com\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Ryce Travel\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/rycetravel.com\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/rycetravel.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/rycetravel.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/10\\\/cropped-ryce_logo-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/rycetravel.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/10\\\/cropped-ryce_logo-1.png\",\"width\":472,\"height\":77,\"caption\":\"Ryce Travel\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/rycetravel.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Issyk Kul - Ryce Travel","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/rycetravel.com\/en\/locatie\/issyk-kul-en\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Issyk Kul - Ryce Travel","og_description":"Issyk Kul, the&#8220;C\u00f4te d&#8217;Azur&#8221; of Kyrgyzstan  Lake Issyk Kul is a good place to be. Young and old, Kyrgyz and tourists, pawpaws and party animals, adventurers in search of the wild solitude of mountain peaks and plateaus, a solid chunk of couleur local, colorful cocktails in swanky resorts or deserted beaches. An area as large as Denmark has something for everyone.    The lake is ideal for sailboats  Facts about Lake Issyk Kul to unpack with  Issyk Kul is the second largest mountain lake in the world. Only Lake Titicaca is larger.  The lake is 60 km at its widest, 182 km at its longest and 668 m at its deepest. Ranks seventh among the world&#8217;s deepest lakes. The lake is slightly salinated.  At the bottom of the lake are remains of a 2,500-year-old sunken city. Historians and archaeologists of all countries: over there! Even more fascinating: on the east side of the lake is a Russian test site for torpedo and submarine technology.   In Kyrgyz, Issyk Kul means warm lake because it never freezes, even during the harshest winters. And in Kyrgyzstan, it can get damn cold. Also remarkable when you consider that the lake is some 1,600m above sea level and surrounded by mountains covered with eternal snow.   Throughout its history, the Issyk Kul region has always been a place of tranquility. An oasis on the Silk Road and popular vacation destination during the Soviet period. Even now, the rest of the country is looking at those laid-back Issyk Kulians with a bit of disdain.  Tourism Today, many tourists find their way to the lake . In general, mass tourism (as far as we can talk about mass tourism in Kyrgyzstan &#8211; but think resorts, clubs and cocktails) in the north, and mainly agriculture and deserted beaches in the south. The main cities on the lake are Cholpon Ata in the north and Karakol in the east. Cholpon Ata is somewhat the Lloret of Kyrgyzstan.   Points Of Interest along Lake Issyk Kul:  Barskoon Waterfall: a beautiful waterfall in the Barskoon Valley. A fun fact is that this is where Yuri Gagarin trained to become an astronaut. Fairy Tale Canyon: also called the fairy tale valley in Dutch. Bokonbayevo: Traditional eagle shows can be seen in Bokonbayevo. Solenoye Ozero: This is a salt lake in which you literally float due to the high salt content. A special experience it certainly is!  Issyk Kul lake from the mountains","og_url":"https:\/\/rycetravel.com\/en\/locatie\/issyk-kul-en\/","og_site_name":"Ryce Travel","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"CollectionPage","@id":"https:\/\/rycetravel.com\/en\/locatie\/issyk-kul-en\/","url":"https:\/\/rycetravel.com\/en\/locatie\/issyk-kul-en\/","name":"Issyk Kul - Ryce Travel","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/rycetravel.com\/#website"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/rycetravel.com\/en\/locatie\/issyk-kul-en\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/rycetravel.com\/en\/locatie\/issyk-kul-en\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/rycetravel.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Issyk Kul"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/rycetravel.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/rycetravel.com\/","name":"Ryce Travel","description":"Adventure tours along the Silk Road","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/rycetravel.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/rycetravel.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/rycetravel.com\/#organization","name":"Ryce Travel","url":"https:\/\/rycetravel.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/rycetravel.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/rycetravel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/cropped-ryce_logo-1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/rycetravel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/cropped-ryce_logo-1.png","width":472,"height":77,"caption":"Ryce Travel"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/rycetravel.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rycetravel.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/travel_locations\/193","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rycetravel.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/travel_locations"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rycetravel.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/taxonomies\/travel_locations"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rycetravel.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/travel_locations\/168"}],"wp:post_type":[{"href":"https:\/\/rycetravel.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/itineraries?travel_locations=193"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}