The pastures
Wide and green.
Peretz Partensky from San Francisco, USA — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Peretz Partensky from San Francisco, USA — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Peretz Partensky from San Francisco, USA — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Peretz Partensky from San Francisco, USA — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Peretz Partensky from San Francisco, USA — CC BY-SA 2.0
Suusamyr is a broad high valley among the mountains of central Kyrgyzstan. Green pastures stretch away, crossed by rivers, with scattered white yurts, grazing horses and snow-capped peaks all around. The valley runs 150 km from the Alabel Pass in the west at 3,184 m to the Karakol Pass in the east at 3,452 m and covers 4,300 km². Its central section is wide and flat for 80 to 85 km and reaches 45 km across at its widest. Its name may go back to a place recorded by Mahmud al-Kashgari in the 11th century, possibly meaning «water beaver». You cross the valley on the road between Bishkek and Osh, stop to see the yurts and horses in the pastures, and walk the pastures and sit by the rivers. The centre of the valley is about 114 km in a straight line southwest of Bishkek. The weather is cold and changeable even in summer, so bring warm clothes, and ask before photographing herders.
Wide and green.
White and traditional.
Snow-capped.
Chüy Region, on the Bishkek–Osh road, Kyrgyzstan
June to September, when the pastures are green.
On the Bishkek–Osh road.