Kochkor
Kochkor lies at about 1,800 m in the northern part of the Naryn region. The village is the centre of Kochkor District and has about 11,400 people (2022 census). It stands on the main road from Balykchy to Naryn and has been a stopover for nomads and travellers for ages; centuries ago it was a stop on the northern Silk Road towards China over the Torugart pass. Kochkor sits on a flat plain in a cup-shaped valley, its broad streets lined with tall white poplars and silver birches. Locals and vehicles gather around the main bazaar, with vegetable stalls on one side of the road and a clothes market on the other, and snow-capped mountains glow red above the village at dusk.
Kochkor at a glance
- Altitude: about 1,800 m.
- From Bishkek: about 3 hours; about 50 km from Balykchy on Issyk-Kul.
- Why come: the starting point for Song-Kul, and the best place in Kyrgyzstan to see shyrdak felt carpets being made.
- Best time: June to September, when the road to Song-Kul is open.
Tours visiting Kochkor
Our 9-day Heart of Kyrgyzstan Tour spends a night in Kochkor and a night at Song-Kul, and comes back to Kochkor for a felt workshop. For a shorter ride, the Song-Kol Lake 3 Days Horseback Tour reaches the lake on horseback from Kyzart.
The heart of Kyrgyzstan Tour
Burana Tower, the Cholpon-Ata petroglyphs, Karakol, Jeti-Oguz, Skazka, Kochkor and Son-Kul Lake at 3,016 m.
Son-Kol Lake 3 days horseback tour
Ride from Kyzart through the Kilemche Valley and over the Jalgyz-Karagai Pass to Song-Kol Lake. No experience needed.
Four Stan Tour through Central Asia
Four countries: Issyk-Kul, Almaty, Khujand, Istaravshan, Dushanbe, Samarkand, Bukhara and walled Khiva.
The Best of the Five Stan Tour
All five Stans: Kyrgyz nomad culture, Issyk-Kul, Almaty, Iskanderkul, Samarkand, Bukhara, Khiva and the Darvaza crater.
Kyrgyzstan tour from South to North
Across Kyrgyzstan: Uzgen, a two-day horse trek in Sary-Chelek, felt makers in Kochkor, Skazka Canyon and Karakol.
Central Asia in Depth Tour
Charyn Canyon, the Kolsay and Kaindy lakes, Kyrgyz mountain villages, Bishkek, Tashkent, Samarkand and Bukhara.
Mountain Trekking Tour in Kyrgyzstan
Eight hiking days: a 4-day pack-horse trek from Chon Kemin to Issyk-Kul, then Karakol, Jeti-Oguz and Skazka Canyon.
Kyrgyzstan Lake Tour
Ala-Archa, Burana Tower, a horse ride in Chon-Kemin, Karakol, Jeti-Oguz, Issyk-Kul and a yurt night at Song-Kol.
Moto Tour in Kyrgyzstan
Five riding days by motorbike over the Too-Ashuu Pass and through the Suusamyr Valley to Song-Kul Lake and Naryn.
From Kochkor to Song-Kul by jeep or on horseback
- By jeep: about 3 hours over the Kalmak-Ashuu pass (3,446 m), which is cleared of snow at the end of May and closes with the first heavy snow in October.
- On horseback: 2–3 days through summer pastures from Kyzart, sleeping in shepherds’ yurts.
Either way, plan at least one night at the lake.
Onwards from Kochkor
Kochkor is the turning point for the south: Naryn is about 2 hours away, and the Tash-Rabat valley a day’s drive (the caravanserai itself is under restoration).
What to do in Kochkor
- Felt workshops: visit the Altyn Kol women’s cooperative and watch shyrdak felt carpets being made; a demonstration or a short workshop can be arranged.
- Animal market: early on Saturday mornings, when farmers from the whole valley trade sheep, cattle and horses.
- Local museum and the Chon-Tuz salt mine.
Kochkor is about 3 hours from Bishkek, just off the Bishkek–Naryn road, which makes it a convenient stop. It has good guesthouses, cafes, shops and a well-run information centre, and is calmer than Naryn. It is one of the best places to see the modern nomadic way of life and an ideal base for treks into the mountains: its pastures are full of sheep and horses, and in spring the valleys turn into carpets of flowers.
If you are interested in the town’s history you can visit a private museum of the local history enthusiast. A local historian turned half of their house into a private museum. He has been curious about who lived in Kochkor from its very foundation, and what peoples have had the power on this land. He has been collecting artefacts from ancient settlements which have now been turned into cemeteries. Among that artefacts are stones with paintings, jugs, ancient tools, coins, arrows, and equipment for horsemen. In total, he has collected more than 1500 pieces of the local history.
Kochkor handicrafts
Kochkor is also a center of Kyrgyz handicrafts. People in this village have started to revive the old ways of producing the traditional Kyrgyz handicrafts. It is famous especially for the Shyrdak production but also many other mostly wool based handicrafts are being produced in Kochkor and the surrounding smaller villages.
Legend about Kochkor cemeteries and ruins
As an ancient city, Kochkor holds many legends. One of them is about 40 warriors of Manas. According to legend, after the death of Manas, his forty warriors did not obey Manas’ son Semetey and fled to Kochkor. However, the angered Semetey overtook them in the Kochkor area and killed all of them. According to one version, their bodies were buried here. So, today these mounds, located not far from Kochkor, have become known as the “Kyrk Choro” cemetery which translates as 40 companions or 40 guards. What is adding to this legend is that there are ancient or at least Medieval city ruins under the fields of Kochkor that have mostly not been excavated or studied in any way.
According to other sources, the best representatives of the Kyrgyz “Sary Bagysh” and “Solto” clans are buried here in graves dating back to the 17th-19th centuries. Earlier there were about 20 cemeteries that could be seen in Kochkor, that held images of hounds inside but now there are only 5-6 graves left. No one has studied these mounds due to the lack of interest. Meanwhile, these graves disappear due to the erosion caused by precipitation. Another major reason for the grave amounts going down are the residential building areas expanding around the town as the population is growing and also requiring more arable fields at the expense of the old cemeteries.
Chon-Tuz salt mine
Treatment in the microclimate of salt caves, called speleotherapy, has been used since the first salt clinic opened in the Wieliczka mine in Poland in the 19th century, and later spread across Europe and the former USSR.
Chon-Tuz (“big salt”), south-west of Kochkor, is Kyrgyzstan’s best-known salt-mine sanatorium. At about 2,100 m, a horizontal gallery about 500 m long runs into the mountain, and people come here to ease asthma, allergies and other respiratory problems. It has worked as a treatment centre since 1980. It is only a few degrees above freezing inside, so bring a warm coat.
Kochkor History
Legend says the khans chose Kochkor as a winter camp in ancient times because snow never lay here for long, and they rested here to gather strength for their journeys. The modern village was founded in 1909 as Stolypino, named after the Russian prime minister Pyotr Stolypin, and renamed in 1917; Kochkorka is the Russian form of its name. Remains of much older settlements lie under the fields of the valley, buried by mudslides and still mostly unexcavated.
Legend about Kochkor name
Locals tell another story about the name. Two men taking sheep to market in Andijan agreed to sell a woman’s ram, called Kochkor, so she could buy good clothes. On the way they mistreated him, and by the time they arrived he was so thin that no one would buy him, so they entered him in a ram fight. Kochkor nimbly dodged his heavier opponent until it collapsed, won fight after fight, and was finally sold to a rich merchant for the price of 90 sheep. The woman got her clothes, and the village got its name.
Destinations and sights near Kochkor
Written by Anssi Karppinen, Central Asia Guide · Page updated