Karakol Activities Winter

In addition to snowboarding and skiing at the Karakol Ski Resort, there are various winter activities in the Karakol Valley and in town to round out your experience. 

Karakol Ski Resort Activities

For those with a great sense adventure, you can go tandem paragliding off the top of the ski resort.

Or for something more mellow, there is an ice skating rink at the ski resort. Skate rentals are available.

Snowmobile rides are available which are on a dedicated track and are pretty sedate.

For the kids or young at heart, there is a dedicated sledding slope at Karakol Ski Base. It’s not one of those hairy steep tobogganing tracks that you find in some places in Europe.

Karakol Town Sightseeing

Just wandering around town can be interesting to watch the locals going about their daily lives, or there are a few sightseeing spots.

Holy Trinity is a Russian Orthodox Church that is an indication of the town’s Russian orthodox legacy. The outside is quite striking with its old timber and shiny gold spires. Inside is the typical gilded gaudiness that you’d expect, and there is a shop too, which really demonstrates the ultimate in church tackiness.

Also vibrantly colourful is the Dungan Mosque in Karakol. It has Chinese architecture to resemble a Buddhist temple even though it functions as a muslim place of worship, and it reflects the Dungan Chinese muslims that settled in the area in the late 1800s.

The Przhevalsky Museum is about 15 minutes out of town. This small museum showcases the travels of Russian explorer and geologist Nikolai Przhevalsk. He died in Karakol which was called “Przhevalsk” for about a century before the town reclaimed its Karakol name in 1992.

Horse Riding Karakol

Going horse riding in Kyrgyzstan seems like an apt activity considering that the country has a nomadic culture and horses are part of the national identity. Horse riding in the Karakol Valley is a beautiful spot to do it, although outfits are not as prevalent in winter compared to summer.

Horse Skiing

No, the horses don’t go skiing themselves, but horses can be used for some uphill access to go skiing or snowboarding, whilst one of the team leads the horses back down the hill. Whilst the horses won’t be able to walk up steep mountains, it can be fun to go skiing or snowboarding on somewhat mellow slopes. It’s a novel way to go skiing and a quintessential Kyrgyzstan activity. The other option on the flats is to go horse skijoring ie being towed along by a horse. Click into your skis and hang on for the ride.

You can go horse accessed skiing and riding as part of the Ski Adventure Kyrgyzstan.

Jeti-Ögüz Rocks

About 25km southwest of Karakol are the famous and dramatic rock formations, Jeti-Ögüz, aka Seven Bulls. The 7 Bulls are associated with a legend about a Kyrgyz khan that stole the wife of another khan and a ritual that involved the slaughter of 7 bulls and a story that ended in tragedy.

Part of the rock formation is the well known landmark of the broken heart. This too has a sad legend of a woman who died of a broken heart after two men killed each other whilst fighting over her. Despite it being a famous Kyrgyzstan icon, it’s a shame that someone thought to build some power lines right beside it.

Hot Springs Near Karakol

Ak Suu hot springs near Karakol offer a nice relaxing way to finish off a day of skiing or snowboarding. There are a couple of pools of differing temperatures. Unlike a Japanese onsen, you wear bathers when you have a soak in the hot springs.

There are also options for hot springs in Karakol Valley and the region also has Russian banyas, which involves a steam sauna alternated with a dip in a cold pool or stream.

Shopping

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and you may find that shopping opportunities for quality souvenirs in Karakol are somewhat limited. Nevertheless, the people watching and cultural immersion is worthwhile.

Big Bazaar is a good place to watch the locals in action as they buy clothing, spices, dried fruits and nuts.

Bugu Bazaar is smaller and good for buying street food. It also has household items, tacky souvenirs and some handicrafts but nothing too impressive.

Whilst you’re probably not in the market to buy a whole animal, just watching the spectacle of the animal market is mesmerising. See locals trading or pushing a goat in the back of the car or unloading sheep from the hatchback. You probably don’t see that back home! It’s held on the outskirts of town on Sunday mornings (and Saturday nights).