ECOTREK

Ecotrek is excited to announce that we now have brand new tents and backpacks for the 2014 season!

Thank you to everyone who helped make this happen! We are looking forward to the start of the season more than ever now!

Name: Parhat Karabashev

How long have you worked in tourism?

15 years

How long have your worked at EcoTrek?

Since foundation of EcoTrek, 13 years

Education:

Technical College

Language abilities:

Kyrgyz & Russian: fluent

English: basic

Where are you from?

Karakol, Kyrgyzstan

What are your responsibilities at EcoTrek?

I’m responsible for the outside policy of the EcoTrek

What do you like most about your job?

Being in mountains and getting know new people

What do you do in your spare time?

Fishing

What would be your first thought if you get lost in the mountains?

To find a road back to home

Your advice to tourist:

Explore unknown part of Kyrgyzstan

List any 3 golden rules of behavior in the mountains? (Without hesitation)

- Don’t walk alone

- Be careful

- Have proper equipment

Name: Tashtanbek Turdumambetov

How long have you worked in tourism?

About 14 years

How long have your worked at EcoTrek?

Since foundation of EcoTrek, 13 years

Education:

Ecology

Language abilities:

Kyrgyz & Russian: fluent

Where are you from?

Karakol, Kyrgyzstan

What are your responsibilities at EcoTrek?

I do everything J

What do you like most about your job?

Tourism gives me the opportunity to learn more about my country, I visit amazing nature and historical sites of our country.I enjoy meeting people from different countries and communicate with them. There is no daily routine in our work; I have the opportunity to combine business with pleasure. We are connected with our wildlife, conducting multi-day hikes away from civilization.

I do not have the opportunity to visit the whole world, but the whole world comes to us!

What do you do in your spare time?

I like to spend my time with my family and friends.

What would be your first thought if you get lost in the mountains?

Look for an approximate guideline.

Your advice to tourist:

Visit other wonderful places in Kyrgyzstan

List any 3 golden rules of behavior in the mountains? (Without hesitation)

- Follow safety rules.

- be ready always to help.

- Treat well the nature

Name: Bahram Khalmurzaev

How long have you worked in tourism?

About 13 years

How long have your worked at EcoTrek?

About 12 years

Education:

Professional Guide College

Language abilities:

Kyrgyz & Russian: fluent

English: advanced

Where are you from?

Karakol, Kyrgyzstan

What are your responsibilities at EcoTrek?

I’m a professional mountain guide & cook. Since I’m all the time in the mountain I’m the one who organizes the trek descriptions.

What do you like most about your job?

Mountains…

What do you do in your spare time?

I like to play computer games J

What would be your first thought if you get lost in the mountains?

Find a way to the campsite

Your advice to tourist:

Visit us in Kyrgyzstan more often J

List any 3 golden rules of behavior in the mountains? (Without hesitation)

- Listen to the guide

- Keep clean environment

- Be careful

Name: Azat Tabaldiev

How long have you worked in tourism?

10 years

How long have you worked at EcoTrek?

3 month years

Education:

Teacher of English

Language abilities:

Kyrgyz & Russian: Native languages

English: good

Where are you from?

Jenish, Jety-Oguz, Kyrgyzstan

What are your responsibilities at EcoTrek?

A lot of things. Some of them are small but crucial and some of them are huge but still have some importance.

What do you like most about your job?

Getting information about other countries and applying efforts to improve the tourism in my country.

Feeling that I am one of many people who contribute to development of tourism in my country in proper way.

What do you do in your spare time?

Go in for sport, read, watch TV, play guitar.

What would be your first thought if you were lost in the mountains?

If it is getting dark: To find a shelter and to light a fire. If I still have time: To go back the route to figure out the right way.

Your advice to tourist:

Visiting Kyrgyzstan will be one of your best experiences in your life.

List any 3 golden rules of behavior in the mountains? (Without hesitation)

- Mind the cleanliness

- Be tolerant and endurable

- Your safety is the first priority

Whether you like active holidays or relaxing in a calm, peaceful environment then Kyrgyzstan is the right place for you. Here you can get away from your busy schedule and the noise of the city, enjoy our mountains and get acquainted with local culture and people. We can offer you a tour proposal tailor-made to your time requirements and traveling preferences - whether you have a short amount of time or like to travel alone, we've got you covered!

Please contact us and we will be happy to make your trip unforgettable and help you realize your dreams.

We offer many different types of tours all over Kyrgyzstan:

Climbing

Kyrgyzstan is located in the heart of Central Asia, in a space the size of South Dakota, Kyrgyzstan sits landlocked in a twisted maze of borders left from the Soviet past. With half the country lying above 2,500 meters, 94 percent of Kyrgyzstan is mountainous. The country has two major ranges, the Tien Shan and the Pamir Alai, with a number of smaller groups that segment the country like a pie-chart. Although these ranges create tremendous geographic, political, and cultural challenges for the local population, they provide a haven for alpinists. Because of its several distinct ranges, Kyrgyzstan offers every type of climbing imaginable. From the high-altitude endeavors of the Tien Shan, to the Chamonix-like alpine crags of Ak Sai, to the Yosemite- style monoliths of the Karavshin, Kyrgyzstan truly has it all. In addition, Kyrgyzstan is a trekkers’ paradise. The country also boasts a romantic yurt culture and people who greet travelers with genuine warmth and curiosity.

Biking

Kyrgyzstan is a cyclist’s paradise: roads that take you from high mountains to lakeside beaches, nomads who will welcome you into their yurt for a taste of the local cuisine and a growing tourism industry ready to organize trekking and accommodation in local homes across the country. With more and more flights going to the capital Bishkek from Europe and visas easy to get (on arrival if you come by plane), this gem of Central Asia has never been so accessible. The best time to visit is from late spring to early autumn, with peak tourist season in July and August. Temperatures are comfortable from mid-May onwards but some high passes may not be clear from snow until June. By summer the lower areas of Kyrgyzstan including Bishkek and Osh are swelteringly hot

Cultural tours

Visit Kyrgyzstan in summer or in autumn – in high tourist season to enjoy fully its bright nature and numerous cultural events annually held for tourists.

You will get familiarized with the culture, traditions and every-day life of the nomads, life and entertainment of the large cities and also visit picturesque natural places, Kyrgyzstan is famous for. Horse riding, conquest of mountain peaks, picnics and hunting as well as beach-related rest by the Issyk-Kul lakeside – all these are included in the Kyrgyz cultural tour programs prepared by us.

Horse riding

This adventurous trail ride follows part of the ancient silk route. There is a real contrast of landscapes with deep fertile valleys and arid canyons separated by high mountain passes. Reaching the high grasslands, home to nomadic families in summer, the route takes you over open pastures with a stunning backdrop of snow capped mountains.

Welcoming travelers is central to Kyrgyz culture and the opportunity to spend some time with the herders who live their life on horseback is a once in a lifetime experience. Part of the enjoyment of this ride is spending time with the local people you meet along the way which means that the timing can be unpredictable. In addition severe mountain weather can disrupt the itinerary.

Horse riding tours are one of the most famous activities in Kyrgyzstan. Our country is the best place for real horse riding. For many years nomads were wondering in our mountains with their collapsible dwellings yurts and their herds of cattle. Now is your time to be as a nomad in our untouched mountains. You can ride a horse in our stunning gorges that are so far from the civilization with is noise and polluted air. You will be alone with nature and your thoughts!!!

Skiing

Three ways of spending ski holidays in Kyrgyzstan

If you think about ski regions, Kyrgyzstan probably doesn’t spring to your mind in the first blink. People often struggle to locate the country on a map. How can you therefore think of skiing there? Well there are several reasons speaking for it. It’s not as if skiing is a new business in Kyrgyzstan. During the Soviet Union the Olympic team used to train in Karakol, a Kyrgyz ski resort, which was specially built for this reason and nowadays it’s a popular place for winter holidays. It is noteworthy that different possibilities Kyrgyzstan offers. The only things which are missing are mega resorts like France, USA or Austria has it. But never mind if wonderful untouched nature is expecting you and slopes of each difficulty level. Kyrgyzstan ski resorts are great places for recover from stress outside the broad mass.

If you rejoice by skiing down perfect prepared slopes, hike up with your skis or split board unknown mountains and at the same time get to know a new part of the world, this may well be the chance to give Kyrgyzstan’s ski resorts a try.

Trekking

There are many places in Kyrgyzstan that are really worth to be visited. Kyrgyzstan is especially famous among travelers who like trekking tours. That is why we want to present you a trekking program to get unforgettable impressions about Kyrgyzstan. With us you will have a nice trekking tour in our celestial mountains. You will discover the magnificent nature of our country and you will never forget it. If you are fond of mountains there is a good chance for you to have trekking in Kyrgyzstan and to see mountain rivers and lakes. You will absolutely not find such a quiet and beautiful place anywhere else! This tour is for people who want to discover the land of nomads. Kyrgyzstan is a perfect place for trekking over incredible mountains and through unforgettable gorges. There is the second largest mountain lake in the world Issyk-Kul on the way. You will experience the nomadic style of life far away from the hectic of busy and stuffy cities.

Combined

Do you like experiencing many things in a very short period of time? Then our combined tours are for you. Biking in mountain area, horse riding in Alpine meadows, hiking in different altitudes and quadrocycling in various landscape. There are many places in our country you can visit and many activities you can take part in. Get familiar with culture and traditions of Motherland. We present you an unforgettable pass time.

Since Kyrgyzstan is a nomadic nation, the yurt is more than a comfortable dwelling, its an essential part of their heritage Today many Kyrgyz people live in apartments and houses still many Kyrgyz families use their yurts on national holidays and celebrations.

To get closer to the nomadic life of the Kyrgyz people, we offer you the Jeti-Oguz Yurt camp in Jeti—Oguz gorge. Spending a night in a yurt surrounded by beautiful nature and eating tradi-tional Kyrgyz food is the true Kyrgyz nomadic experience. Transportation: Private taxi: Karakol-Jeti-Oguz Sanatorium/Broken Heart 35km 600 SOM; Private taxi: Karakol-Jeti-Oguz (yurt camp) 40km 1200 SOM; Shared taxi: part 1. Karakol’s Ak-tilek Bazaar to village Jeti-Oguz 80 SOM; part 2. Change the taxi from village Jeti-Oguz to Sanatorium/Broken Heart 80 SOM 35km.

Note: There is a shower and electricity 6pm-11pm

Photo Credit Eric Anderson http://www.ericandtaylor.com/

About the Union

Our Union was founded in 2002 and specializes in eco-tourism, trekking and horse-riding. Members include guides, porters, cooks and other staff necessary to serve trekkers on foot or horseback. Most of our members have many years of trekking experience.

The union was created in order to share experiences and work together in order to improve the services provided to tourists in Kyrgyzstan.

Mission of the Union

We create customer oriented service through training of trekking personnel, ensuring employment of members of the association and the development of ecotourism in the country.

Aims of the Union

- Raise the quality of services by increasing the qualification level of trekking staff and securing the necessary equipment;

- Create favorable conditions for cooperation between members and potential clients of the Union;

- Contribute to the development of sustainable tourism in Kyrgyzstan;

- Contribute to the preservation of the cultural, historical and natural legacy of Kyrgyzstan;

- Promote ecotourism.