Day 88 Naryn - Tash Rabat

So our last full day in Kyrgyzstan and indeed all of the former soviet stans. Kyrgyzstan is a really beautiful country that more people should see. There is huge potential for tourism here but it will take a lot to develop it. So if you want to see a raw and beautiful place this is it.
A very pleasant morning our first port of call was a tourism office to see if they could photocopy a few copies of our passports, we have been told we may need them for checkpoints along the Karakoram Highway. The people were friendly and happy to oblige at no charge. Then a nice drive on a good road towards Tash Rabat. 






The area is very barren and the further south we got the scarcer the population. I had marked the last petrol station in maps.me but when we got there it has closed down for good. So a 15km backtrack for gas.

 Next on the agenda was accomodation, we were hoping for something on the main road but unfortunately it was the same story as the gas, the only game in town was closed down. So then we hit the turn off to Tash Rabat, a 15km gravel road and about half way there we came across a yurt camp. Luckily they had a spare one which means a quicker getaway in the morning as we have long day ahead of us with crossing into China. 






After we unpacked and had a spot of lunch we headed up to Tash Rabat.






 Tash Rabat is the sight of a stone wall constructed Caravanserai (motel) dating to the early 1400’s. Set in a beautiful valley this impressive structure served traders on the silk road travelling from Pakistan and China and onto who knows where. It must have been a welcome sight for those travellers. 












We climbed a nearby hill, not too far as we are at 3500 metres and lay in the sun dreaming about days gone by and perhaps just hear a whisper from the walls of stories they must have heard. 




We were heading off for a walk from our yurt when the thunder claps warned us off an incoming storm, so we beat a hasty retreat just as it started to rain. 




We settled for a sauna instead very nice and unexpected. Dinner also was surprisingly good in fact it may have been the best meal we have had in a good while. 




Comments

  1. Selwyn Crane15 August 2019 at 21:24

    Postcard photo quality. Goodbye Kyrgyzstan - Hello China...

    ReplyDelete
  2. Audrey Larsen16 August 2019 at 02:35

    What a vista! And accommodation to match.....loving the photos and travel stories.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Robyn 16 August 2019 at 03:22

    Thanks Selwyn and Audrey. I am really enjoying taking the photos. It’s easy with such spectacular scenery.

    ReplyDelete

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