parks in bishkek
Bishkek Botanical Gardens
There are two Botanical Gardens in Bishkek. Generally, botanical gardens in Bishkek are abandoned and not really taken care of. They are only maintained by the effort of some local enthusiasts and students.
The first and the larger Bishkek botanical garden of not only Kyrgyzstan but of Central Asia, is located in Ahunbaeva street 1a. It was founded in 1938 and occupies 124 ha area in the Southwest part of Bishkek. This garden is a perfect place for jogging, cycling, and just walking around during the hot summer days.
Another smaller botanical garden is located in the city center, Gorkiy str 212, not far from the Vefa center. This one is more compact than the first one but also better taken care of.
Bishkek Oak Park
Oak park located at the center of Bishkek, East from the Ala-Too square. Oak Park was built in 1885 and is considered being one of the oldest parks in Bishkek. The first trees were planted by the students of the agriculture school and directed by the plant scientist and a botanist Alexei Fetisov from Russia in 1890. The park is divided into two parts, the first being a garden for walking amongst big oak trees and the second an aesthetic side occupied by the monuments, statues, and historical buildings.
Even though the park was renamed in honor of Chingiz Aitmatov in 2010, it is still more known among locals and guests of Bishkek as a Dubodyk Park (Oak Park). Trees have grown to be very high, and in the summertime provide shade from the hot sun, and in the fall change outfit to plenty of crispy falling leaves. On the right corner of the part is the Red Guards Memorial, for those who died defeating an uprising in 1918, and next to the Russian Drama Theater. The Alley of State Figures of Kyrgyzstan. In the middle of the part located a fountain called 12-bowl. If you walk further there is a big monument of Karl Marx and his colleague and Friedrich Engels seating on a bench and chatting, they are known as “Fathers of Communism”.
Same as any other park you might find fountains, cuddling teenagers on every couple of benches and people walking dogs. Near the park you can notice entertainment business in the square, who are offering cycle ride with 2 or 4 seat bikes where you can cycle around the monuments and sculptures of the park for 15 min is 50 som. Walking west from Oak park through the old squire (staraya ploshad’) you will see the statue of Lenin on the left side behind the historical museum and in the further west will be placed Panfilova Park.
Open Air Sculptures in Bishkek Oak park
Sculptures appeared in the Bishkek Oak park back in 1984 when the All-Union Sculptors Symposium was held in Frunze (former name of Bishkek). Sculptors came from throughout the Soviet Union to illustrate their works according to the theme of “Work and Peace” symposium, which was held in honor of the 60th anniversary of the creation of the Kirghiz Autonomous Oblast.
That time the sculptures were mainly metal, concrete, or wood brought by the participants. When the symposium concluded, the sculptures remained, and since then even more, sculptures have been added over the years. In September 1984, an open-air park sculpture museum was opened in the park. Today, there are more than 90 sculptures made of various materials but mostly stone and metal.
The most modern addition was a statue of Kurmajan Dakta in 2004. From a distance, most of the sculptures look like large rocks, set among the trees and next to the pathways. If you get closer you realize for example that the orange rock actually has a shape of a woman wearing a headscarf or a woman hugging a fish.
Panfilova park
Panfilova amusement park is situated behind the White House, the park is laid next to Frunze Street in the North and Panfilova street in the East. Just some meters West from the park is the Spartak outdoor sports Stadium. The Panfilova park is a popular within the residents and loved place by the kids.
The park has numerous carousels, karaoke machines, several fountains, a newly installed Ferris wheel and fast food kiosks. If you look at it from above (or the map), you can see that it is made in the form of a star. The shape of the star of Communism was not chosen by chance as the park bears the name of Ivan Vasilyevich Panfilov, a Major General, Military Commissar of Kyrgyzstan, and a hero of the Soviet Union. Not far from the park you can see a monument to this legendary man.
The park started as a municipal garden planted by the horticultural students in 1979 lead by the gardener of Fetisov but was an amusement park already a long before. They planted a luxurious orchard and also opened a nursery of ornamental and fruit crops.
Today it is green park where residents and guests of Bishkek prefer to relax. This park is ideal for a great family day and for those who seek a break from the bustle of the city secluded in the shadow of large old shade giving trees. There are several benches where young couples often sit and cuddle discreetly.
Yntymak, love and Adinai park
Two new parks called Adinai and Yntymak were recently opened in the northern part of Bishkek and they are connected with the old park named “love park”. The new park is located at the intersection of Aitmatov Avenue and Masaliyev Street, and its territory is about 10 hectares. Yntymak means Unity in Kyrgyz language. It is still a young park with short trees and filled with several small animal statues.
Another new park called Adinai, is located in the south part of the love park. This park is named after Adinai Myrzabekova, a 5th-year student of the Faculty of Medicine. She worked as a volunteer in a temporary hospital organized at the Discovery Hotel during the first wave of covid 19. According to preliminary data of the Health Ministry, she died of bilateral pneumonia.
Combined these parks are large and new with a jogging roads, many kiosks selling ice-creams, playgrounds and a small stadium and pretty cozy and nice to spend time with kids. You can also rent a 6 seated bicycle or have a cold drink next to the lake view restaurant in the hot summers.
Bishkek Victory park
Victory Park (Pobeda park) is also know as “Yuzhnie Vorota” within the locals. Victory Park is located in the Southern part of the city next to the South Magistral area of Bishkek. The park lies South from the 9th Microrayon (9th district) and Southwest of Ally Tokonbaev and Baitik Baatyr intersection. The park was found in 1981 and bears the name of the hero of the WW2 Diar Asanov.
Victory park has the territory of 25 ha set with with flourishing trees such as poplars, ash trees, pines, spruce, etc. There are also well established bicycle roads (a rarity in Bishkek) and bicycle renting kiosks. For 100 som you can rent bike for the next 1 hour.
There are also several monuments dedicated to the heroes of Batken events. The park has many different sections, some more open with mostly flowers and some a lot more dense with trees giving shade during the hot summer season.
Atatyrk park
Ataturk park located 5 km South from the Ala-Too main square, Southeast from Ahunbaeva and Shakirova streets intersection nearby the medical University. Ataturk park initially had a long and difficult name to remember: A culture and recreation park named after the 50th anniversary of the USSR. The park was composed in 1957-1958 as the arboretum of the Botanical Garden of the Academy of Sciences of the Kyrgyz SSR. In 1967 the park was renamed to Park Drujby (Friendship) and almost in any post-Soviet city you can find a park with that name nowadays. And at the same time, the first children’s attractions began to appear in the park.
Since 1996, the park has bore the name of Kemal Ataturk and also has a statue of him. The area of the park was originally 20 hectares but now it covers an area of 74 hectares. The ground part of the park is made with two circular centers. From these circular alleys, diagonal alleys start, which divide the site into regular triangles. The park contains 40 species including 5 conifers and 35 species of shrubs.
Ataturk Park is one of the largest parks in Bishkek. It could have been even bigger if the city authorities had not given 181 plots to private hands in the last 20 years which has consumed more than a third of the park’s territory. A big part of the park is covered by large trees and can in some locations even be a bit dark due to the heavy canopy.
Karagachev Grove
Karagachev grove lies in the northern part of Bishkek just 10 drive min from the Bishkek center. Karagachevaya Grove got its name thanks to the elm trees (karagach in Russian) that grow in this area. Karagachevaya Grove was founded in 1883 by A.M. Fetisov, once a famous gardener from St. Petersburg. He is also the founder of Oak park, Panfilova park and Erkindik boulevard in Bishkek. The park began first with planting fruit trees, he planned to create a unique green oasis with artificial reservoirs to form wetlands.
Fetisov managed to arrange about 80 000 seedlings on the territory of the future grove. Later, the arboretum was replaced with new types of trees and shrubs like oaks, nuts, poplars, maples, thuja, birches, junipers, lindens, catalpas, bird cherry and lilac bushes began to grow there. The variety of trees and bushes were represented by 50 species and it consisted of several sections: Walnut Grove, Plane Grove, Oak Grove, Linden Grove and Pine Grove.
In 1939-1940 Komsomolskoey Lake with the maximum depth of 6-8 meters appeared in the park. It was equipped also with a special swimming area. In 1946-1947, the park obtained another lake – Pionerskoye, with the maximum depth of 3 meters. The water surface is almost twice as large as the Komsomolskoye Lake. In addition, the Chuisky Canal flows in the arboretum. Initially, the area of the Karagachevaya Roshcha park reached 215,69 hectares. Gradually, it began to decrease. As a result, the arboretum has lost 60% of its territory. Today, its area is about 128.34 hectares and constantly the park is damaged due to poor care. Illegal housing construction in the parking area, cutting down trees, blocking, filling drainage canals with garbage and lack of proper maintenance has led to the miserable condition of Karagachev Grove.
Karagachevaya Roscha is neveretheless a great park for walking, it is vast and provides shade in summer time under the crowns of trees. You can also cycle here and it is equipped with special paths for riding. Karagachevaya grove has gained more attention lately due to the extreme park called “Arkan Tokoi” translated as rope forest, built inside the forest, which is furnished for adults as well. Furthermore, there is also a recreation center “Bata” with yurt-like huts, a swimming pool, billiard tables, cafes and restaurants.
Other Sights to Visit in Bishkek
Page updated 13.3.2021
