Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyzstan is a mountainous country in Central Asia that has kept large areas almost untouched by people. It is considered one of the last countries in the world with a genuine nomadic way of life. For centuries the Kyrgyz have kept their traditional life based on herding and their ethnographic roots, closely tied to legends and national heroes of the past, and they still pass on the ancient traditions of the nomads from generation to generation. Most visitors come for the rich flora and fauna, picturesque mountain lakes and rivers, peaks covered in eternal snow and the unique colour of Central Asia. The pearl of the country is the mountain lake Issyk-Kul. Some may be put off by its wildness and remoteness, but without them Kyrgyzstan would lose part of its charm and mystery. It is often called the Switzerland of Central Asia because of the unusually beautiful mountain scenery of the central Tien Shan, and most travellers find it the most attractive, accessible and friendly of the Central Asian republics.

It borders Kazakhstan to the north, China to the east and southeast, Tajikistan to the southwest and Uzbekistan to the west. Kyrgyzstan has one of the largest systems of modern mountain glaciers, covering 8,100 km², or 4.2% of the country.

There are more than 3,000 lakes, including picturesque Issyk-Kul, one of the deepest in the world (up to 668 metres). The largest rivers, the Chu, Naryn and Talas, rise in the highlands.

The climate is strongly continental, temperate in most of the country and subtropical in the Chui and Fergana valleys. Because of the very rugged terrain, conditions vary greatly: the high Tien Shan has an almost subpolar climate, the southwest (Fergana Valley) is subtropical and the northern foothills are nearly temperate. The air is dry throughout the country, with an average of 247 sunny days a year.

Average January temperatures range from -2 to -8 °C in the valleys and from -8 to -20 °C in the middle mountains, and around -28 °C in the high mountains. Thaws are common in winter outside the mountains. Summers are hot and dry, with average July temperatures of 20-27 °C in the valleys, 15-17 °C in the middle mountains and 5 °C or below in the high mountains.

Kyrgyzstan covers 198,500 km² and has nearly 7 million inhabitants. Mountains cover 94% of the country, with an average altitude of 2,750 metres.

The main cities are Bishkek, the capital (about 900,000 people), Osh in the west (about 300,000) and Karakol in the Issyk-Kul region (about 64,000).