I love the mountains
I love the clear blue skies
I love the landscapes
I love when great whites fly
I love the whole world
And all its sights and sounds
…
Boom de yada, boom de yada
Boom de yada, boom de yada
…
Its a wonderful world out there, full of new surprises around every corner, and full of new adventures every day. And unless you go seek those adventures, you never get to experience the magic the world has to offer!
Songkol
Naryn Kyrgyzstan
Dawn on the Jailoo
I stepped out from the warmth of the dark yurt to a freezing cold outside. In the gentle pre-dawn light, I spotted the beautiful rolling hills covered with a thin crust of overnight snow. A cold fog was flowing down from the heavens along the smooth contours of the surrounding hillscape. High above, the sky was aglow with a bright pink, while down below, horses and cattle gently grazed on the fresh summer grass.
This is life on the jailoo, a harsh, silent and beautiful landscape in the heart of the Tien Shan mountains of Kyrgyzstan.
Songkol
Kyrgyzstan
Horses of Kyrgyzstan
High in the Tienshan lies several beautiful grassy meadows that serve as the summer pastures for the majestic Kyrgyz horses. Life in this terrain yields one of the most hardiest breed of horses, walking on treacherous terrain with an unparalleled ease. But the one thing they lack in this high terrain is salt.
While in Arslanbob, I hitched a ride with a local herder who maintained his stock in the high alpine meadows. Crammed into SUV with 8 other folks wasn't a pleasant experience, but I was grateful for his hospitality as it saved a precious few hours of hiking. Upon reaching his pastures, the herder opened up bags of salt and spread it around. And all it took was a whistle to attract a few dozen horses galloping in from all over the valley to eat salt. To see the majestic equine beasts thundering about the thin mountain air was like nothing else.
Arslanbob
Jalal-abad Region, Kyrgyzstan