Naryn · Kyrgyzstan
At-Bashy
At-Bashy is the centre of At-Bashy district, a village of about 15,000 people at roughly 2,050 m, some 35 km southwest of Naryn on the highway to the Torugart Pass. It is the last large settlement before the Chinese border and a practical stop on the way to Tash-Rabat, Chatyr-Kul and Kel-Suu. On the road south stand the clay walls of the medieval Koshoy-Korgon fortress, with a small museum. The village is known for its highland white honey and a Sunday livestock market.
- Region
- Naryn
- Altitude
- 2,050 m
- Roads
- Any car
What At-Bashy is
At-Bashy is the centre of its district, a village of around 15,000 people at roughly 2,050 m on the highway to the Torugart pass. It lies along a broad valley between the At-Bashy range to the south and the hills above Naryn to the north, and it is the last settlement of any size before the Chinese border. For travellers it works as a stop and a staging point: this is where the roads to Tash-Rabat, Chatyr-Kul and Kel-Suu part company.
What there is to see
- Koshoy-Korgon, the clay walls of a medieval fortress on the road south, with a small museum beside them. The museum keeps irregular hours; the earthworks can be walked round whenever you pass.
- The Sunday livestock market, where sheep, horses and cattle change hands from early morning.
- White honey from the high pastures, which the district is known for.
When to go
The village itself is reachable all year on paved road. What decides your timing is where you are going next: the Tash-Rabat camps run from June to September, Kel-Suu from about late June to mid-September, and the Torugart road is clear of snow from roughly the end of May to the end of September. Winters here are long and cold.
Getting there and onwards
From Naryn it is about 45 km and an hour along the Torugart highway, paved and open year-round. From At-Bashy, Tash-Rabat is roughly 70 km and two hours, the last 15 km on gravel, and needs no permit. Kel-Suu is about 105 km and five hours by 4x4 over the Kayyndy pass, inside the border zone and needing a permit arranged weeks in advance.
Practical notes
Accommodation is family guesthouses and simple hostels in the village — plain rooms and home cooking rather than hotels. There are shops here and there are none in the valleys further south, so it is the sensible place to stock up and to make sure you are carrying enough cash before heading to Tash-Rabat or Kel-Suu.
Good to know
Questions travellers ask
- Is At-Bashy worth stopping in?
- It is a working village rather than a sight in itself, but it is the practical base for the south of Naryn region. The Koshoy-Korgon fortress walls stand on the road out, the Sunday livestock market is worth timing a visit around, and this is the last place to buy supplies before Tash-Rabat, Chatyr-Kul or Kel-Suu.
- What is Koshoy-Korgon?
- The remains of a medieval fortress on the road south of At-Bashy: low clay walls enclosing a large rectangle, with a small museum beside them. The museum opens irregularly, so do not count on finding it staffed, but the walls themselves can be walked round at any time and the site is easy to reach from the highway.
- How far is At-Bashy from Naryn?
- About 45 km and an hour by road. The route follows the Torugart highway over a low pass into the At-Bashy valley. It is paved and open all year, though winter driving is slower. Shared transport runs between the two, and most travellers pass through At-Bashy on their way to Tash-Rabat or further south.
- Do you need a border permit in At-Bashy?
- Not for the village itself, and not for Tash-Rabat. A permit becomes necessary further south: Kel-Suu, Chatyr-Kul, the Ak-Sai and Kok-Kiya valleys and the Torugart pass all lie inside the border zone, with military checkpoints on the approaches. Those permits take one to two weeks to arrange, so plan ahead.
- Where do you sleep in At-Bashy?
- In family guesthouses and simple hostels in the village: a room in someone's house, dinner and breakfast if you ask. It is a modest place, so rooms are plain and it is worth arranging a bed in advance during July and August, when traffic towards Tash-Rabat and Kel-Suu is at its heaviest.
Kyrgyzstan
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