Puneet Varma (Editor)

Issyk Kul Region

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Country
  
Kyrgyzstan

Time zone
  
East (UTC+6)

Districts
  
5

Area
  
43,100 km²

Team
  
FC Ysyk-Kol

Capital
  
Karakol

ISO 3166 code
  
KG-Y

Cities
  
3

Population
  
463,900 (2015)

Issyk-Kul Region kgefcaorgwpcontentuploads201309YBs2jpg

Points of interest
  
Issyk‑Kul, Khan Tengri, Dungan Mosque, Petrogliphs Museum, Jengish Chokusu

Destinations
  
Issyk‑Kul, Karakol, Cholpon‑Ata, Jeti‑Ögüz District, Balykchy

Farmers experience growing and storing local fruit crops in issyk kul region kyrgyzstan


Issyk-Kul Region (Kyrgyz: Ысык-Көл облусу, Isıq-Köl oblusu/Ysyk-Köl oblusu, ىسىق-كۅل وبلاستى Russian: Иссык-Кульская область) is one of the regions of Kyrgyzstan. Its capital is Karakol. It is surrounded by Almaty Region, Kazakhstan (north), Chuy Region (west), Naryn Region (southwest) and Xinjiang, China (southeast). It takes its name from Lake Issyk-Kul ("warm lake"), the second largest saline lake in the world, which never freezes despite its altitude in the Tian Shan mountains.

Contents

Map of Issyk-Kul Region, Kyrgyzstan

Geography

The north is dominated by the eye-shaped Issyk-Kul lake, surrounded by the ridges of the Tian Shan mountain system: the Kyungey Ala-Too mountains to the north and the Terskey Alatau to the south (the 'sunny' and 'shady' Alatau, respectively). To the south is mountains and 'jailoos' (mountain meadows used for summer grazing). The highest peaks of the Tian Shan mountains, including Khan Tengri, are located in the easternmost part of the region.

Most of the population of the region lives around the lake, in particular in the cities of Balykchy near the lake's western end, and Karakol near its eastern end.

Basic socio-economic indicators

  • Population: 463,900 (assessment for 1 January 2015) including 130,800 urban and 333,100 rural population
  • Employed population: 180,300 (2008)
  • Registered unemployed population: 4,902 (2008)
  • Export: 18.8 million US dollars (2008)
  • Import: 221.7 million US dollars (2008)
  • Direct Foreign Investments: 1,1 million US dollars (in 2008)

    • Demographics

    As of 2009, Issyk-Kul Region included three towns, five urban-type settlements, and 175 villages. Its de facto and permanent population, according to the Population and Housing Census of 2009, was 425,116 and 438,389 correspondingly.

    Ethnic composition

    According to the 2009 Census, the ethnic composition (de jure population) of Issyk-Kul Region was:

    Transportation

    The railroad coming from the northwest (from Bishkek) ends at Balykchy. The main highway (A365) from Bishkek passes through Balykchy and into Naryn Region on its way to the Torugart Pass into China. Highway A363 circles the lake and A362 runs east from the lake into Kazakhstan. Issyk-Kul International Airport and Karakol International Airport link the region with Almaty in Kazakhstan. Cholpon-Ata Airport and Tamga Airport have no regular flights.

    Tourism

    The region, which resembles the Alps or Colorado, would be a major tourist destination were it not for its remoteness, underdeveloped infrastructure, and growing conflict between Kyrgyz nationalists and independence factions, which in December 2008 flared up again, killing 39 civilians. Currently, it is visited mostly by locals who use the Soviet-era establishments around the lake and the more adventurous sort of international tourist.

    Districts of Issyk-Kul Region

    Issyk-Kul is divided administratively into five districts:

    References

    Issyk-Kul Region Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA


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