To most, Central Asia is a blank gap on a world map- an inconvenience that the eye must skip over. One of the region’s smallest states, Kyrgyzstan, is relatively unknown. Even with so much to offer the traveler- teeming mountain peaks, green-blue alpine lakes, twisting rivers, lush valleys, crazy rulers, strange customs and fiery personalities- Kyrgyzstan remains a seductively enigmatic destination.

At first glance this tiny country tucked into the heart of Asia may not seem so inviting. Winters are wantonly cold in the mountains. Summers blaze in the south.  And, everywhere you go, something is always in your way- a giant mountain pass, an empty void of steppe and sky, a deadly desert or a lake so high in altitude that you get dizzy.

Kyrgyzstan, however, quickly charms the traveler. Obstacles soon turn into monuments. What once was an obstruction is now what you seek. The bleak and barren beauty of its topography begins to mesmerize. The expansive, eerily vast spaces thrill. Kyrgyzstan, the most humble and soft spoken of the “Stans,” is quick in applying its magnetism.  

Traveling in Kyrgyzstan guarantees daily portions of that one-of-a-kind sensation. A feeling that what you are seeing has never been seen before and that what that you are doing has never been done.  Kyrgyzstan provides exclusive access to a corner of the globe seldom experienced by outsiders and these sensations, if not already an addiction, soon become one.

Witness centuries old nomadic games like headless goat polo (it is what it sounds like) or wander around otherworldly bazaars older than Rome. Hike up and ski down some of the highest peaks in the region. White water raft, swim in an alpine lake or soak in a hot spring. Partake in Kyrgyz hospitality and accept an invitation to spend the night in a boz-ooi (traditional Kyrgyz tent) while sipping tea and gazing at the stars. Spend days getting lost in a wide-open sea of mountain pastures and the nothingness beyond.  

Whatever your reason for going to the land of the forty tribes, this tiny country’s character is sure to win you over. While not the most recognized or easily accessed of travel destinations, Kyrgyzstan will be impossible to forget.