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Kyrgyzstan
In Central Asia there is a striking country with a lot of high mountains called Kyrgyzstan! It is visited by many tourists from different parts of the world who always esteem their travels. Here in our country people can see really lovely scenery of mountains and lake, they meet locals and learn about their captivating culture and traditions.

Kyrgyzstan is a landlocked country in the intermediate of Central Asia, bordering on Kazakhstan, China, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. It is located between latitudes 39° and 44° N, and longitudes 69° and 81° E. It is situated further from the sea than any other individual country, and all its rivers flow into closed drainage systems which do not end up with the sea. The mountainous region of the Tian Shan covers over 90% of the country's territory That is why Kyrgyzstan is occasionally denoted to as "the Switzerland of Central Asia". Issyk-Kul Lake in the north-eastern Tian Shan is the largest lake in Kyrgyzstan and the second largest alpine lake in the world after Titicaca in South America. The highest peaks are in the Kakshaal-Too mountain range, starting the Chinese border. Peak Jengish Chokusu, or Victory Peam at 7,439 m (24,406 ft), is the highest point and is considered by geologists to be the northernmost peak over 7,000 m (22,966 ft) in the world. The overflow streams from the mountains is also used for hydro-electricity.

Kyrgyzstan has weighty deposits of metals counting gold and rare earth metals. Due to the country's mainly mountainous terrain, less than 8% of the land can be cultivated, and this is focused in the northern lowlands and the environs of the Fergana Valley.

Bishkek in the north is the capital and largest city of the country, with approximately 1,3 million inhabitants. The second city is the ancient town named Osh, located in the Fergana Valley near the border with Uzbekistan. The main river is the Kara Darya, which flows west through the Fergana Valley into Uzbekistan. Across the border in Uzbekistan it confluences with another major Kyrgyz river, the Naryn.

The confluence forms the Syr Darya river the biggest in Central Asia. The Chu River also briefly flows through Kyrgyzstan before entering Kazakhstan.

Flora and Fauna

Kyrgyzstan is very rich in both flora and fauna. You may not come any closer to a Snow Leopard than the statues in the streets - but there is a wide range and variety of plant and animal life that you can encounter in the mountains.

Although Kyrgyzstan inhabits only about 0.04% of the world's surface area - about 2% of the world's species of flora are found growing here and about 3% of the animal world is also represented.

Many of the species are featured in the Red Book of Kyrgyzstan. To help protect the environment, the assortment of wildlife, and their habitats, a network of National Parks and Reserves has been recognized.

People of Kyrgyzstan

Up to date the population of Kyrgyzstan is about 6,000,000. The city dwellers make 34.1% of the country's population; the majority of them lives in Bishkek, the rest part of the population are rustic community and breeders-nomads. Such spreading is historically strong-minded by the fact that the Kyrgyz were indigenously nomadic tribes, migrating from one territory to another. They were affianced in agriculture and a cattle breeding, that is why Kirgizia is rather a large agricultural country than an industrial one with dominance of rural areas and mountains.

The native population of Kyrgyzstan is the Kyrgyz (62%) at the same time the country is populated with the representatives of 80 distinct nations. The main ethnic gropu is Russian, which is considered in terms of number to be one of the largest outside Russia. This is due to the fact that beginning from the XIX century the Russians played an important role in all spheres of life of this area. During the capture of Central Asia thousands of Russian peasants were moved to the territory of Kyrgyzstan. The majority of them established in the northern part of the country. A noteworthy part of the Russian lives in the province of Chuy and in the region of Issyk-Kul.

The second largest nation in modern Kyrgyzstan are Uzbeks. They amount to 14.3% of the whole population of Kyrgyzstan which make about 768,000 people. The Uzbeks live in the southern part of the country in Fergana valley.

The Uzbeks in the South of Kyrgyzstan live densely near the Kirgiz-Uzbek border. Their population is especially substantial in ancient cities of Osh making 49% and Uzgen which is 90%. Despite the identity of their religious conviction and approximating culture, the collisions between the Kirgiz and Uzbeks on the interethnic basis took place twice in 1990 and 2010. Nowadays the situation is taken under control.

With declaration of individuality in Kyrgyzstan a number of actions are being held to establish good and friendly relations among all nations living in the region.

Capital

Bishkek, the capital of the Republic of Kyrgyzstan, with a populace of more than 1 million, located in the Chui valley at the northern foot of the Kyrgyz Ala-Too range on an inclined plain, at an altitude of 700-900 meters above sea level.

Check out useful information for travelling in Kyrgyzstan:

Grigorievskoe gorge
Semeyonovskoe gorge
Dungan mosque
Altyn Arashan gorge
Jeti Oguz gorge Seven Bulls
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