Issyk-Ata Resort:
Soviet Spas and Healing with Horse Milk
One thing I really enjoy about Bishkek is the presence of so much nature and so many quirky trips within the Chuy Valley where the city is located.
One of these highlights is the old Soviet-Era health resort at Issyk-Ata.
There are certainly plenty of reminder of the halcyon days of the USSR, with Lenin on lookout and a number of hammer/sickle combinations celebrating the union of Soviet states.
For a Kyrgyz twist, though, Kumiz is also a popular focus of time spent at the Issyk-Ata Sanatoria. The fermented milk of a mother horse, this stuff is said to be good for the skin and stomach and restorative towards all sorts of bodily ailments.
Bring your map, too, as there are a number of good hikes to be done from the health resort.
I’m hoping to get back up there sometime soon in order to hike what looks to be a beautiful path over the Alamuddin Pass and down to a DIFFERENT Soviet-era Sanatoria a couple of valleys over.
That sounds like alot of work, though. For now, a Soviet-era beer?
Been there one too many times (twice), but the mud bath will leave you speechless, I promise.
Was that the one you described as a hive of scum and villainy and fungi? I’ve really gotta check the place out next time I head through there.
That will be the one.
How did you get there from Bishkek??
There’s a bus direct from the East Bus Station. It leaves a couple of times per day, first around 9a and last around 6p with a cople in between, but I’ve never been able to get hold of a hard schedule for it. Just turn up to the station and it’ll be the last stand away from the entrance. It takes a couple of ours to get there, though, so try not to leave too late.
Awesome thanks for the advice! I can’t find Issyk Ata anywhere on a map. Do you think I’ll be able to get onward travel from their to Kochkor? Is it close to Tokmok because if not I can make my way to Tokmok and hop on a marshutka to Kochkor.
Thanks again
Adam
There won’t be anything direct for Kochkor, unless you happen to stumble across a family miraculously headed that way. The times I’ve just missed a bus I usually try to hitch my way to Tokmok, so that is definitely an option.
As to the location, plug this into google maps: 42.6001358,74.9101657 It’s the next valley east of Alamuddin, if memory serves, but I’m away from home and don’t have my Chuy Valley maps handy.