Issyk Kul - Jety Oguz Gorge

The Jety Oguz Gorge (also Dzhety Oguz, Djety Oguz, etc.) is one of the most popular attractions in the Issyk-Kul region. It is located 30 km from Karakol and attracts many tourists, both locals and guests from abroad.

Jety-Oguz means “7 bulls” in Kyrgyz. The gorge got this special name because of the red clay massif, which is a kind of visiting card of the gorge. The rocks have a very light colour, which is a rarity in the Tien Shan Mountains.

Jety-oguz is also known for its balneological spas with radon and sulphur springs. The facility is located at an altitude of 2,200 metres and can accommodate up to 250 people at a time. These hot springs are used to treat diseases of the nervous system, the musculoskeletal system and the skin. It is also possible to take a preventive cure at the spa.

The Jety-oguz Gorge is quite long, almost 40 km, and there are many interesting places to visit in this vast area of the Issyk-Kul region. Widely known are the waterfalls of Jety-oguz, including the Maiden’s Spits waterfall, so called because of the bizarre shape of the water flowing down the cliff.

12 kilometres above the village is the Valley of Flowers, where the Cosmonauts’ Lodges are located. The name is by no means poetic – in the days of the Soviet Union, participants in space missions actually trained and recovered here. Many trees grow here and in May this small valley is covered with a carpet of poppies.

Numerous tourist routes lead through Jety-oguz. From here you can cross the Teleta Pass to the Karakol Gorge and Lake Ala-Kul, reach the Sarychat-Ertash nature reserve or admire the peaks of Oguz-Bashi and Zhukov.