Ala-Archa Nature Park

Ala-Archa Nature Park sits in Kyrgyzstan’s Tian Shan range, about 35 kilometers south of the capital, Bishkek. It became a protected alpine national park in 1976 and spans 16,485 hectares. The park takes its name from the Ala-Archa River that runs through it. In Kyrgyz, “archa” refers to a bright or many-colored juniper held in high regard in local folklore; people traditionally burn its wood to drive away evil spirits. Yet the same tree is kept at a distance from homes, as it is thought to slowly drain the energy of those living nearby.

The park covers roughly 165 square kilometers. Elevations range from about 1,500 meters at the entrance up to 4,895 meters at Semenov-Tian-Shansky Peak, the highest summit in the Kyrgyz Ala-Too Range of the Tian Shan. Within the park lie more than 20 glaciers—large and small—covering a total of 53.6 square kilometers, along with some 50 mountain peaks. Two smaller rivers, the Adygene and the Ak-Sai, originate from the meltwater of these glaciers. The Adygene gorge is a wooded valley featuring waterfalls, springs, and abundant trout.

The park includes the gorge of the Ala-Archa River and the surrounding mountains. Mountain climbing draws many visitors, with several peaks in the 4,000-meter class: Semenov-Tian-Shansky Peak (4,895 m), Korona Peak (4,860 m), and Free Korea Peak (4,740 m). A small reservoir on the Kargay-Bulak River was built to study the Amu Darya trout. Other wildlife includes the very rare snow leopard (called “ilbirs” in Kyrgyz), found on alpine meadows and snowfields above 2,500 meters, as well as wild goats, roe deer, and marmots. In May 2017, a park camera captured a snow leopard on film for the first time. Among the many plants in the park is the Crocus alatavicus.

Tourists come for weekend picnics, hiking, horse trekking, skiing, and climbing on ice, rock, and mixed routes. The park is open year-round, though late summer and early fall are the most popular times. Each May 1, hundreds of people camp in the valley and climb Mount Komsomolets for the Alpinada festival. There is a small entrance fee. Past the gate, a road runs 12 kilometers to a cluster of buildings, including a newly renovated lodge. At the road’s end, a trail to the left (east) leads to the Ak-Sai Glacier, where remnants of a Soviet climbing base mark the area’s high-quality mountaineering. That base (Ratsek Hut) has been recently improved and now serves rock climbers. The region’s most famous peaks—Korona Peak and Free Korea Peak—rise from the Ak-Sai Glacier. To the west of the Ala-Archa Valley, a trail goes to the Adygene valley, home to a climbers’ cemetery. A third main trail runs 10 kilometers down the center of the Ala-Archa valley to an old, now abandoned ski area and many other 4,000-meter peaks. In December 2016, a TripAdvisor map of each country’s most popular tourist site named Ala-Archa Gorge the top destination in Kyrgyzstan.