Cholpon Ata

Cholpon Ata is the centre of spa life in Issyk-Kul, located between the cities of Balykchi and Karakol, it attracts thousands of tourists from different countries every year in summer. It is located 250 kilometers from Bishkek. From the Kyrgyz language “Cholpon Ata” is translated as “Father of the Stars”.

The health resort Cholpon Ata was by far not always. Russian settlers were the first to come here at the beginning of the last century. The village was small at that time and had about 15 families. New Year’s Day 1926, when Leonid Lvovich Rapport – Cavalryman-Budennovets, who organized a large equestrian factory in Cholpon Ata, arrived here, the life of the town changed a lot. In 5 years the factory had about ten thousand horses. In the following years, the Cholpon-Ata horse factory became famous far beyond Kyrgyzstan, and Kyrgyz horses are among the best in the world.

The first resort in the city was established in the thirties of the last century thanks to a horse farm. It was used to treat children with tuberculosis. After the Second World War the sanatorium was given a broader status and was called “Cholpon Ata”. At present, the city has 2 well-known health resorts: ” Blue Issyk-Kul” and “Cholpon Ata”, where diseases are treated like: diseases of the nervous and cardiovascular system, skin, intestinal infections, non-tuberculosis respiratory diseases, etc.

During the summer months, the city is also transformed into an entertainment centre. There are shops, restaurants, museums, banks and exchange offices. However, the most amazing place in the city is undoubtedly the cultural center “Ruh Ordo”. Five world religions are united in this place: Catholicism, Orthodoxy, Judaism, Buddhism and Islam. There are five chapels of the same type on the territory of the centre, each of which is dedicated to the same religion. On the beach there is a unique pier with four arbours that symbolize 4 sides of the world and 4 seasons.

The town is not only famous for its modern entertainment. Not far from the town there are ancient petroglyphs with various drawings of ancient people and animals, several thousand years old.