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Curiosity led us to Zardaly

Southern Kyrgyzstan is full of surprises. There are so many wild valleys, dream-like landscapes, mysteries to be uncovered. It is mesmerising how much variety in landscapes and cultures
there is here.
We've been really busy exploring the south of the country - pretty much up at sunrise, back late
at night from yet another adventure. And when we think it really can't get any better, we are left speechless discovering something new, something even more exciting than the day before.
We just can't quench our thirst for adventure!
We've been really busy exploring the south of the country - pretty much up at sunrise, back late at night from yet another adventure. And when we think it really can't get any better, we are left speechless discovering something new, something even more exciting than the day before. We just can't quench our thirst for adventure!
The sanatorium building resembles a ship: perhaps Chingiz Aitmatov's White Ship, perhaps even the Aurora cruiser in St Petersburg. The sanatorium has the largest landscaped garden in Issyk Kul. It is still a joy to get lost in it. There is even a dinosaur - we don't know how and why it ended up here.

The Aurora is an all-inclusive resort. Breakfast, lunch and dinner, games and activities, film screenings and spa procedures are included in the stay. All meals take place at a set time in a communal dining room. Food is surprisingly good.
People in Zardaly grow up and live only to the sound of birds and donkeys. There are no cars, no radios, no TV, no mechanical sounds. There are no roads, just paths. You really go back in time.

But that's not the biggest deal about Zardaly.

It is about the people. And how amazingly friendly they are. Their homes, and their hearts are always open here. And the apricots… oh, the apricots! We visited during harvest time. There were carpets of apricots left everywhere to dry. These Zardaly apricots are so sweet, so full of sugar and sun.
To reach Zardaly you can walk, for about two hours, on a path carved through the rock. Before this you have to drive for around four hours from the nearby town (glorified village) of Batken. Roads are bad, in some places they hang just above a steep precipice. And they are bumpy. On the way you pass through a bunch of pretty interesting villages. You can drive through an Uzbek enclave (where your documents will be checked numerous times) or take the bumpy detour around the enclave.
There is also a summer-only road to Zardaly which takes an extra three to four to five hours. It makes a big detour and to be honest, it is not as interesting as the path. Walking you will probably meet many locals travelling to and from, bringing animals up or down. Join them.
We have many more adventures to tell here. We are in love with all the places we do tours at: Armenia and the Caucasus, Kyrgyzstan and Central Asia, Bulgaria and the Balkans. Soon, we hope, Mongolia and Siberia. Each has so many secrets, so many stories to tell. This is just the beginning.

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