Chon-Kemin

Chon-Kemin is a long, green valley 150 km east of Bishkek, protected as a national park, with spruce forests, alpine meadows and some of the best horse riding near the capital.

The Chon-Kemin river runs for over 100 km between the Kungei Ala-Too and the Trans-Ili Alatau before joining the Chu at the start of the Boom gorge. Below the village of Shabdan the river cuts through a narrow rocky gorge; above it the valley widens into a green basin with villages, guest houses and herders’ pastures, and higher still, dark spruce forests below glaciers and snowfields.

The national park protects more than 700 species of plants and animals such as the snow leopard, bear, maral deer, lynx and golden eagle. Village guest houses organise horse rides, hikes to mountain lakes and multi-day treks; an old route even crosses the mountains to Almaty in Kazakhstan.

• Distance: about 2.5 hours from Bishkek
• Altitude: valley 1,400–2,500 m
• Best time: June to September
• Good for: horse riding, trekking, a quiet village stay