Almost everybody back home skeptically asked me why had I decided to go to Kyrgyzstan, alone! Well if you like mountains, travel and nature its quite obvious. Here are three facts that first draw me.

• Tian Shan and Pamir mountain ranges dominate the landscape and occupy about 65% of the Kyrgyzstan’s territory.
• average elevation is 2,750 meters, ranging from 7,439 meters at Peak Jengish Chokusu to 394 meters in the Fergana Valley near Osh.
• almost 90% of the country lies more than 1,500 meters above sea level.

Kyrgyz nomadic culture and specially their relationship to nature is something I look up to. It is a place where you can go to any mountain, lake or meadow and camp out in peace. Everything is very clean and green, in a way it reminds me of Switzerland. People are warm and welcoming. In summer months Kyrgyz live very simply in Yurt camps where they herd cattle, horses and sheep. Their diet is mostly meat and dairy which is of excellent quality, much better then most of the Europe. After all, the animals are always out in the open and graze only grass. Since there is no pollution and mountain meadows reach as far as eye can see, honey is plentiful and very good. Kyrgyz drink milk or tea, mostly one with another.

I came to Kyrgyzstan solo, with no previous arrangements and big plans. Hiking in the Tian Shan was the only thing I was certain about, everything else I let to unfold naturally. Along the way I got a privilege to meet incredible people from around the world who made this trip so much better, and I thank them for that. In Bishkek I had crossed paths with Lucie and Jean Denise and in Karakol we stayed with a local family. We also did a rest day at the beach in Tosor, by the Issyk Kul lake, the 2nd biggest saline lake in the world. After that I had decided to proceed to Kochkor, where I met Ursula, Tobias and Cyriel who I joined for a tour around Song Kul lake and a 4×4 roadtrip afterwards.

Hiking in Tian Shan mountains above Karakol is surreal. Green alpine meadows, snowy mountain tops and countless streams. I have never in my life seen so much Edelweiss flowers, “putain de belle!” as Cyriel would say. Marmot population is also much bigger then in the Alps, every 50 meters you will see another marmot family out on the lookout.  I did all of the hiking by myself, accept from one day when Asan, a 60 year old local, invited me to join him on a hike to Ala Kul lake. The valleys are at 2500 meters and mountain passes at almost 4000 meters, so you just need to go up and down, and again. My diet was primarily freeze dried food or if I was offered something in the yurts and down in the valleys. On the way back to Karakol I had run into a group of Slovenians who gave me a lift in a Russian 4×4 truck that drives on an unimaginable terrain. It was probably the biggest roller coaster ride of my life, I’ll never forget it, just like anything else from this amazing trip.

I used Nikon D750 body with 28/1.8 on it most of the time, while for the longer shots I used light, yet brilliant 85/1.8. The 28mm has been with me for about 6 years now and is a backbone of my photography. I love it for its versatility and low weight that comes in handy while traveling. The angle of view combined with 1.8 aperture is perfect for reportage and ambiental portraits of people that I love very much. Everything wider than that would distort picture to much for my liking.
It allows me to show context rather then just taking plain photos of landscapes. Landscapes never change, but people do. Every day. A mountain will look the same, today tomorrow and in 50 years.
Take a look at my photo story, hope you like it 🙂