Cholpon-Ata is a serene lakeside town on the northern shore of Issyk-Kul, one of the largest and deepest alpine lakes in the world, located in Kyrgyzstan. Known for its dramatic mountain backdrop and clear blue waters, this small resort town has a blend of natural beauty and cultural significance. One unique feature of Cholpon-Ata is its collection of ancient petroglyphs—rock carvings dating back to the Scythian and Hun periods, depicting hunting scenes and symbolic figures. These carvings are located in an open-air museum just outside the town.
We stopped in Cholpon-Ata for a day between our trek to Ala-Kul and our horse ride to Son-Kul, two of Kyrgyzstan’s most scenic lakes. Originally, we had planned to stay longer and explore the area with some additional treks, but we changed this plan because the forecast predicted storms in the coming days.
Affiliation disclosure: By purchasing goods or services via the links contained in this post, I may be earning a small commission from the seller's profit, without you being charged any extra penny. You will be thus greatly helping me to maintain and keep enriching this website. Thanks!
We arrived in Cholpon-Ata in the early afternoon after a fraught bus ride from Karakol. We hopped off in the town’s eastern district, at the nearest point to our accommodation along the bus route.
We stayed at U Nazguli, a simple yet cozy family-run guesthouse with a nice courtyard. I totally recommend it if you’re looking for something economical and homely.
If you’re looking for more upscale options, consider Hotel Aurora Plus for a mid-range stay or Olimp Hotel for a high-end experience. Or check out more on the convenient map below.
Stay22 is a handy tool that lets you search for and compare stays and experiences across multiple platforms on the same neat, interactive map. Hover over the listings to see the details. Click on the top-right settings icon to adjust your preferences; switch between hotels, experiences, or restaurants; and activate clever map overlays displaying information like transit lines or concentrations of sights. Click on the Show List button for the listings to appear in a list format. Booking via this map, I will be earning a small cut of the platform's profit without you being charged any extra penny. You will be thus greatly helping me to maintain and keep enriching this website. Thanks!
After checking in, we went straight out for lunch at this rustic local eatery around the corner. Belated and generous as our lunch was, it also sufficed for dinner.
We then headed to the beach. Cholpon-Ata offers several beaches, with Keysar Beach and Kaganat Beach being the most popular and well-developed. We opted for the eastern beach, marked on Google Maps simply as Public Beach, as it was the closest to us and reputed to be a bit more laid-back. Despite this, it was still bustling with activity, featuring plenty of canteens, parasols, tour boats, a diving platform, and water sports centers. The beach was lively with Russian tourists, presumably vacationing from the heart of Siberia.
Taking in the placid view of the lacustrine horizon in the heart of Eurasia, we savored a milkshake before continuing our walk through the inner parts of Cholpon-Ata’s eastern neighborhoods. The entire town seemed designed to cater specifically to Russian tourists. All inscriptions were exclusively in Russian, and nearly every wall was plastered with ads for various tours around Issyk-Kul. We still considered staying another day and thought about joining one of the advertised tours. However, business seemed to be so good that none of the operators bothered to reply when we messaged them on the provided WhatsApp numbers.
As it was, we decided to leave the next day. After a good night’s sleep, we headed to the bus station in the morning. On the way, we strolled through a few charming parks and a bustling local market. By changing three shared taxis, we managed to reach the remote village of Kyzart by afternoon, where we arranged a highlight-worthy horse trek to the stunning Son-Kul Lake.
Activities in Kyrgyzstan
Photos
View (and if you want use) all my photographs from Cholpon Ata in higher resolution.
