Rainbow Mountain Hike - Secret Kyrgyzstan | Fairytale Canyon | Skazka canyon
Fairytale Canyon (also known as Skazka Canyon) is a magical landscape with incredible colour and beautiful shaped in the rocks. It really is Kyrgyzstan’s rainbow mountain - the one that nobody knows! Everyone flocks to the rainbow mountains in Peru, but Fairy Tail Canyon is an unspoilt beauty that everyone seems to be missing!
I love how few people seem to be exploring Kyrgyzstan, it really is a "get there whilst you can" place!!! ...and before everyone else does! The local name is “Skazka canyon” and it has more recently been dubbed Fairytale canyon... to us, it will always be the incredible Rainbow mountains that we explored as a family.
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How to get to Fairytale Canyon
Fairytale canyon (Skazka canyon) is a bit tricky to find on google maps. Fairytale canyon is located around 4km west of Tosor village on the South shore of lake Issyk Kul. It is around 100km west of Karakol.
1. If you are going by bus from Karakol: Minibuses run from Karakol West bus station every hour or so. You will need to take a bus that goes from Karakol to Balykchy (Балыкчы) and tell the driver that you want to stop at Skazka Canyon. Locals, including bus drivers, will probably not know the name “fairy tale” so you will need to use the local name “Skazka Canyon” (Каньон Сказка). The journey takes around 2 hours from Karakol. As you are travelling along the south shore of Issyk Kul (away from Karakol and towards Bishkek), the entrance to the canyon is a dusty road to the left of the road. Unless you have your own car you will probably need to trek a few km up the dusty track to the canyon - it is a very beautiful trek in its own right.
2. If you are going by taxi from Karakol: The cheapest way to do it by taxi is to flag a car at the side of the road as it leaves Karakol in the West direction. Explain you would like to visit Skazka and agree a price. A little Russian can be very helpful.
Skazka canyon is very cheap to visit 50 KGS (around 50 pence!) There is a small ticket hut on the road up to the canyon. Top tip: If you visit in the summer bring sun cream and an umbrella as it is very hot and exposed at the canyon.
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Places to stay
If you are staying in Karakol it is possible to visit Skazka canyon as a long day trip. There is also some accommodation Tosor. If you would like to stay on a yurt camp situated on a beach by Issyk Kul lake, the closest place is the Oimo Tash Ethno-complex:
Ethno-complex Oimo Tash: LINK TO COME HOLD TIGHT! :-)
Yurts cost around 1,000 Som (about £10) if you are happy to rock up and see what they have. If you would like to book in advance it will cost more but at least you will know you have a place to stay.
NOTE: At present the Oimo Tash yurt camp is incorrectly pinned on google maps. It is located a few km to the West of Skazka Canyon and is right by the lake. It is easy to spot if you are keeping an eye out towards the lake.
Check out or video about Oimo Tash here: [ Ссылка ]
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If you have any questions please drop them in the COMMENTS. And remember to SUBSCRIBE for more tips and giggles 😎
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All music in this video is from Epidemic. We have a subscription for youtube content creators (No copyright claims or Royaly fees):
[ Ссылка ]
