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
Morning in the Jailoo
I woke up before the alarm finished ringing, layered up, and stepped outside into the cold dawn. The whole sky had opened up, a welcome contrast to the cold and damp evening the day before. The peaks nearby, with a fresh dusting of snow from the prior night's downpour, started to glow in the early morning light. And while it may sound like perfect condition for sunrise photography, freezing winds swept across the vast alpine pasture, and until the sun came through, it was a miserable experience.
Nevertheless, it was special, for what lay in front of me were the vast summer pastures (jailoos) at 3000m (10000ft) around the high alpine lake called the Songkol in Kyrgyzstan. And ringing this 270 sq-km (100 sq-mi) lake were mountains rising another 1500ft, making for an landscape like no other. This is terrain where the horses run free and cattle have a field day. And the only way to get here is on a beat-up dirt road, and the only place to stay is in the traditional yurts set up by the nomadic herders.
I had a field day photographing the awe-inspiring location, and this is one of the morning scenes where the cattle lazily graze in the backdrop of snow-capped peaks.
Songkol
Kyrgyzstan
Refuge in the mountains
Out in the middle of a green valley in the western Tien Shan mountains lies a stone refuge. At 3200m, this seemingly desolate refuge is miles away from the nearest village, with nothing but tall treeless mountains with grassy slopes all around. The setting is remarkably beautiful, but for what purpose was this built? Why does it have 31 rooms, with many hidden passageways? And why was it so far away from anything? Mysteries abound this stone refuge, the Tash Rabat Caravanserai.
I had heard about this place during my initial research into Kyrgyzstan. My interest was piqued by the fact that it was a caravanserai that was not built along any major caravan route. But being so far off from the main cities, I had put off visiting this attraction. Thankfully, not only did I get an opportunity to visit, I also got to spend a night by one of the yurts next door.
Despite the half-moon, the clear night sky, bereft of any haze thanks to being at 3200m, afforded a great opportunity to capture some star trains. I set up on a nearby hill, and with an entire retinue of herding animals to provide company: galloping horses, barking dogs, and grazing cattle wandered all over, but thankfully never knocked my tripod. 15 exposures and 90 minutes later, I ended up with this star trails image over Tash Rabat
Tash Rabat Caravanserai
Naryn Kyrgyzstan