Altyn Arashan

Altyn Arashan translates as the golden pool from the Kyrgyz language. It is a valley nearby Karakol and Issyk Kul. At the mouth of the valley there is the village of Teplokluzenka which translates from Russian to “warm springs”. Inside the valley there is the botanical research area called Arashan State Nature Reserve which is also a home for snow leopards and other mountain animals. Just little bit west from the Ararashan valley road and river there is a dendrarium calle Ak-Suu Dendrarium. If you are interested to see the different trees growing in the Issyk Kul area this is a nice spot to visit while in the Karakol area. There are also some hot spring resorts along the Ak-Suu river that flows from the valley.

At the upper part of the valley at the height of 3000 meters from sea level there are several hot springs where the water is collected into either outside pools or inside wooden cabins. The hot springs can be reached by hiking along the Arashan river along the Western side of the valley or by a rugged 4 wheel drive jeep. Mostly the locals use the old 1960s models of Soviet vehicles that can handle the extremely poor road conditions. The hot springs will for sure have a nice effect on you if you have chosen to hike all the 12 kilometers way up. One of the favorite spots for Instagram is the hot spring pool by the side of river which is also shown in the below pic.