Cholpon and the Two Winds: The Legend of Ulan and Santash

Anyone who has spent a few days on Issyk-Kul knows how quickly the lake can change. A calm blue morning turns into white waves by noon as a wind rushes in from the east or the west. The locals even have names for these winds — Ulan, the wild west wind that bursts out of the Boom gorge, and Santash, the east wind that comes over the Santash pass. And of course there is a legend about them.

The girl with eyes like the sky

It happened when the Kyrgyz were still one tribe living under the high snowy mountains. Among them lived a beautiful girl named Cholpon — her eyes were bluer and clearer than the sky and brighter than the stars. Two young heroes fell in love with her, Ulan and Santash, both strong and brave, each ready to give his life for her heart.

Cholpon could not choose between them. So the heroes fought. They tore each other’s clothes to rags and wounded each other until the blood ran, but neither could win. Then their relatives joined the fight, and blood flowed like a river.

Cholpon could not bear it. She did not want to hurt either of them. So she tore out her own heart, so that it would belong to no one, and fell dead. She still lies on a high mountain, her face turned towards the rising sun — and the place is called Cholpon-Ata in her honour.

A lake of tears

The people wept for their beloved daughter for a long time. Their hot tears ran in streams and filled the valley between the mountains, and a lake was born. They called it warm — Issyk-Kul.

The tribe split in two. One half settled on the sunny north shore and became the Kungei people; the other on the shady south shore, the Terskei — the names of the two mountain ranges around the lake to this day.

But Ulan and Santash have never forgotten Cholpon. Whenever they meet, they fly at each other like a whirlwind, howling and moaning, one from the west and one from the east, and a storm breaks out on the lake. Then they rest, gather their strength and start again — a quarrel that will never end.

Cholpon-Ata today

Cholpon-Ata is now the busiest resort town on the north shore of Issyk-Kul, with beaches, boat trips, the Ruh Ordo cultural centre and, just above the town, a great field of ancient petroglyphs. Cholpon is also the Kyrgyz name for Venus, the morning star.

Visit

Watch the winds play on the lake on any of our Issyk-Kul tours — and if a storm comes up, now you know who to blame. Read also: The sunken city of Issyk-Kul. More legends and places: the Kyrgyzstan travel guide.