Issik-Kul and Cholpon-Ata
Imagine a beach resort at over 1,600 meters elevation. This is exactly what you will find when you explore the Breathtaking Issyk Kul Lake, the second largest saline lake in the world. Once you see it in person you will understand why it is called the pearl of Central Asia. There are several resort towns along the lake but th most popular is Cholpon-Ata.
The small city of Cholpon-Ata is famous for its petroglyphs, resorts, sandy beaches, and underground mineral springs.The signature sight of Cholpon-Ata is the "Stone garden", where many millennia old petroglyphs are collected in an open air museum. The Museum of Petroglyphs contains more than 2000 petroglyphs dating from 800 BC to 1200 AD. On the rocks you can see drawings that depict hunting scenes, sacrifice, victory, war, and everyday activities.
