GEOGRAPHY
The mountainous region of the Tian Shan covers over 80% of the country (Kyrgyzstan is occasionally referred to as “the Switzerland of Central Asia”, as a result), with the remainder made up of valleys and basins.
Issyk-Kul Lake, in the north-eastern Tian Shan is the largest lake in Kyrgyzstan and the second largest mountain lake in the world after Titicaca. The highest peaks are in the Kakshaal-Too range, forming the Chinese border. Peak Jengish Chokusu, 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.
Kyrgyzstan has significant deposits of metals including gold and rare-earth metals. Due to the country’s predominantly mountainous terrain, less than 8% of the land is cultivated, and this is concentrated in the northern lowlands and the fringes of the Fergana Valley.
OSH CITY
Osh has been a student city, a center of education, science, and technology for the last one thousand years. Osh, a mountainous city located in the heart of the historically famous Ferghana valley. The second-largest city in Kyrgyzstan. Osh is the administrative center of southern Kyrgyzstan, Southern capital of Kyrgyzstan, and the capital of the Osh region.
There are a lot of places for refreshment activities, a sports stadium, sports centers, swimming pools, billiard clubs, a winter sports center with skiing tracks and other winter sports, a number of cinemas with the latest English, Russian and Indian movies. Spare time can be spent in restaurants, drama theatres. concerts of famous Russian and Kyrgyz singers are often held at concert halls of the city. There is a lot of cafés, restaurants in the city, with fast food, Italian, Russian, Uzbek, Chinese, Pakistani and Indian cuisine. As Osh is a mountainous city, a hill station, summers are very beautiful. People come from other cities to Osh to spend their vacations and enjoy the beauty of nature. Weather in Osh is continental with temperature in summer ranges from +15°C to +30°C and in winter ranges from – 5°C to +15°C. There are the boulevards and parks with lots of trees.
Osh is definitely a city where you could walk around for hours, just to get to know the culture and try to feel it yourself. Reputedly three thousand years old, Osh is one of the oldest cities in Central Asia. In the middle ages, Osh was a point of intersection for commerce from India and China to Europe. One of the branches of a Great Silk Way – the Major Trade of an old age passed through the city connecting East with West.
The city has several monuments, including one to the southern Kyrgyz “queen” Kurmanjan Datka and one of the few remaining statues of Lenin. The second-largest mosque in the country and the 16th-century Rabat Abdul Khan Mosque can be found here. The only World Heritage Site in Kyrgyzstan, the Sulayman Mountain, offers a splendid view of Osh and its environs.
TOURISM
One of the most popular tourist destination points in Kyrgyzstan are the lake Issyk-Kul and Osh region. Numerous hotels, resorts and boarding houses are located along northern shore of the Issyk Kul. The most popular beach zones are in the city of Cholpon-Ata and the settlements nearby, such as Kara-Oi (Dolinka), Bosteri and Korumdy.
Some of the most popular locations for camping are southern Osh, the area between Naryn City and the Torugart pass, and the mountains and glaciers surrounding Karakol in Issyk-Kul. Kyrgyzsstan is popular for its skiing resorts and winter sports.