Mountain ranges in Kyrgyzstan
There are 88 major mountain ranges in Kyrgyzstan, most of them forming the Tien Shan System in Kyrgyzstan and translated as the Celestial Mountains. The others such as the Chon Alai range in the South of the country belong to the Pamir System where we also can organize tours. They effectively divide Kyrgyzstan into a number of quite distinct regions - especially between the North and the South, there is only one road connecting them (the main Bishkek - Osh road). Most of the ranges in Kyrgyzstan vary in length from 100 to 300 kilometers - although the longest, Kakshaal, is 582 kilometers long and the Kyrgyz Range, lying to the South of Bishkek, is 454 kilometers long. Most ranges are between 10 and 40 kilometers wide.
The Terskey Ala Too range - (the "shady mountains") - is located along the Southern shores of lake Issyk Kul, which is a must visit place when travelling in Kyrgyzstan. The Kungey Ala Too range - (the "sunny mountains") - is located along the Northern shores of lake Issyk Kul and form the border with Kazakhstan which also can be combined with tours in Kyrgyzstan. The Kyrgyz range run from Issyk Kul across the Northern length of the country - about 40 km South of Bishkek. You can see them during the tours in Kyrgyzstan as these ranges lie on the main travel routes. The Pamirs are found in the South of Kyrgyzstan. Actually, only the most Northerly ranges of the system are in Kyrgyzstan - the Zaalaiskiy ridge. The Pamir-Alai Mountains, which separate the Pamirs and the Tien Shan, consists of Turkestan and Alai ridges. The ranges which are snow-capped throughout the year are distinguished by the phrase "Ala Too" - although in Kyrgyz the phrase means "many colors" or "colorful" or "bright mountains". The snow line lies at about 3600 meters in Kyrgyzstan which creates certain difficulty if you travel during winter. There are many smaller ridges, such as Ak Sheirak, Chatkal, Ferghana, Keolu, Kok Shaal, Talas and Zaalaisky.
