Ala Archa National Park
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The Ala Archa National Park is an alpine national park in Kyrgyzstan, established in 1976 and located approximately 40 km south of the capital city of Bishkek. The park, comprising the gorge of the Ala-Archa River and the mountains surrounding it, is a popular destination point for weekend picnicers, hikers, horse trekkers, skiers as well mountain climbers looking for challenging ice, rock and mixed routes. The park is open year round, although the most popular season is later summer and early fall.
In Kyrgyz, the Archa, which gives rise to the park's name, is a bright or many-colored juniper which the Kyrgyz people have traditionally held in special esteem, using smoke from its burning wood to chase away evil spirits. However, the archa is not supposed to be planted near the home, because it is believed gradually to sap the energy from human beings living close-by.
The park covers about 200 square kilometers, and its altitude ranges from about 1,500 meters at the entrance to a high of 4,895 meters. There are more than 20 small and large glaciers and some 50 mountain peaks within the park, and two smaller rivers, the Adygene and the Ak-Sai, originate from these glaciers' melting waters. The Adygene gorge is a beautifully wooded valley, with waterfalls, springs and abundant trout. A small reservoir on the Kargay-Bulak river was built to study the Amu Darya trout. Other wildlife includes the very rare snow leopard (in Kyrgyz: "ilbirs") on the alpine meadows and snowfields above 2,500 m elevation, wild goats, roe deer and marmots.
There is a small fee for entering the park, approximately US$ 2 per person as well as US$ 3 for the car. Past the gate the road continues 12 km to a small collection of buildings, including one newly renovated lodge. This once was an alpine camp of the Soviet alpinist system, where climbing teams from all of the former USSR gathered to climb the Ak-Sai. At the end of the road, to the left, lies Ak-Sai Glacier, to the right is the Agydene valley where a climbers' cemetery is located. The road continues down the valley for another 10 km to an old, now abandoned, ski area.
[edit] References
- "Ala-Archa National Park marks 30th anniversary," in The Times of Central Asia, 16 Nov. 2006 (www.times.ca.com)
