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Seventy seven kilometers from Bishkek, nestled at a height of 1775 meters a.s.l. in the Issyk Ata valley which cuts into the Kyrgyz Range which runs south of the city. The slopes of the mountains have numerous alpine meadows and in the vicinity of the resort are fruit and decorative trees. The waters have attracted visitors for many centuries and this used to be a place of pilgrimage and in the nineteenth century villagers expressed their gratitude for the healing properties of the water by smearing onto a large rock, which has an inscription on the Buddha on it, which dates from the tenth century. The Tibetan inscription is on the face of a boulder with an eagle sculpture on top. Unfortunately, contemporary, modern, graffiti now joins it. There is a legend about a young woman who bathed here everyday in the river. The magic force of the mountains kept her young and preserved her youthful beauty, even when all the other women of her age were old and wrinkled so that she she still appeared young and beautiful. Nearby, it is said, was the home of an Uzbek shamaness, famous for her healing powers, who led a hermit’s life here until the 1950’s, after her husband and son were both killed as Basmachi rebels. Turkic nomads worshipped the springs and early Russian colonists used to take the cure here – when the only accommodation was local yurts. The river is famous for trout – and often attracts poachers. Another problem faced in this beautiful valley is the illegal chopping down of trees.
The Soviets built the first permanent building here as early as 1928. The upper reaches of the valley are covered in rich vegetation and are home to herds of horses.
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