Summer or winter, hiking in Ala Archa National Park offers to the visitor an abundance of extraordinary alpine landscapes and biodiversity to enjoy! Situated ~30 km south of Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, the national park was established in 1976. Today, it still remains a premiere weekend destination for the urban population, albeit mostly for long picnics with shashlik (skewered meat kebabs) and koumiss (fermented mare's milk). For hikers, however, it is the natural environment of Ala Archa, with its scenic vistas and biodiversity, that are most stunning to behold.
Ala Archa Natural Park is located approximately 40 km south of the capital city of Bishkek in the region’s largest gorge also named Ala-Archa. It is here, in the narrow valley of an ordinary small river that you may see a concentration of wonderful landscapes, stunning waterfalls and amazing rock formations.
The alpine park covers an area of 200 km² (20,000 hectares) and stretches for over 35 km of the western Tien Shan (Celestial Mountain) range. The national park’s altitude ranges from about 1,500 meters at the entrance to a maximum of 4,895 meters at Semenova Tian-Shanski, the highest peak in the Kyrgyz Ala-Too range. Located on the north slope of central part of the Kyrgyz Tien Shan ridge, the park has become in many ways the symbol of Ala-Too itself.
Ala Archa National Park
Personally, my family and I have hiked in the national park in all seasons over the past several years, but the alpine meadows are particularly special this time of year – when the coolness of the air is most welcome (especially if coming from Bishkek) and the great profusion of flowers is indisputably at its most spectacular!
Yesterday was one of those memorable days – Father's Day, on June 21, 2020 – when my son Alistair suggested we return to Ala Archa for a mountain hike together. A day well to remember, for sure... but not only for the beauty that was all around us, also for aching muscles today - as we just couldn't resist hiking the entire length of the valley, around 20 km for the return journey. But hiking right to the foot of Mt. Ala Archa and enjoying the grand vistas with alpine meadows and streams and glaciers in all directions is not readily forgotten... Distinctly a highlight of our time in Central Asia!
For those who wish to download a more detailed description of the national park, including its history, trail system and detailed map... see Map of Ala-Archa National Park (Unison, 2008)
The high mountains and glaciers of the Tianshan Mountains beckoned us forward, onward...
Cold mountain streams bouncing and tumbling down the valley.
Walking the length of the valley, a profusion of wild flowers carpeted the landscape, in places hiding the trail... yet also drawing our eyes in every direction.
Flowers of all types, of all shapes and colours. So many species and families. An extraordinary view to behold, contemplate, appreciate.
The diversity of life in Ala Archa offers one of the world's most stunning of natural displays, a masterpiece of beauty.
In the upper portion of the Ala Archa valley, ever more alpine meadows, mountain streams and glaciers beckoned us onward.
Further, deeper, higher into the Tianshan Mountains... Sadly, these will need to wait for another day. Maybe this summer, or perhaps in another season. But someday!
First photo of the snow leopard in the territory “Ala-Archa Park”
Only 41 kilometer from the capital and we are at the height of 3000 metres... This is Kyrgyzstan... the country of mountains! Our group returned to the first point in high spirits, there we had to meet other participants, having seen the faces of other participants, I noticed, that all of them were happy, especially Orozbek - as he saw a live leopard for the first time in the life in the wild nature near our photo trap! And today we were very happy to see photos of a snow leopard... the first photo of the Snow leopard from photo traps in the Ala-Archa park!!! Only 41 kilometers from Bishkek our team managed to photograph the Snow leopard... Many thanks to all participants, especially the administration of “Ala-Archa” Park!
Adapted from Ilbirs News
Who is caught in photo traps in Kyrgyzstan?
Photo traps have been set in Ala-Archa since 2016. Over a period of several months more than one hundred photographs of wild animals were taken; and last summer, the lynx got into the shot. Cameras in other places also caught wild pigs, bears, mountain goats, badgers, snow leopards and other species of Kyrgyzstan's special fauna. It is remarkable that quite often wild animals show peculiar interest in the camera traps: looking in some shots as though "posing"... though of course it’s no more than curiosity in an unfamiliar subject, but the shots often still turn out really unique.
Butterflies of Kyrgyzstan
For those who are particularly interested in butterflies of Ala Archa National Park, the Lapis Guides digital field guide is a "must-have" app that can be downloaded from http://www.lapisguides.org/. The majority of observations in the Butterflies of Kyrgyzstan field guide app were collected within Ala Archa National Park.
In addition to the Butterflies of Kyrgyzstan app, the Lapis Guides framework also includes many other apps that may be of interest for visitors to Kyrgyzstan, such as the Petroglyphs of Kyrgyzstan app.
Visit the website for more information.
How Eurasia’s Tianshan mountains set a stage that changed the world
Nestled deep in Central Asia, the Tianshan is a huge mountain range that stretches from Uzbekistan in the west, all the way through to China and Mongolia in the east. It is more than 2,500km in length and has numerous peaks that soar to over 7,000m in height.
Though you may not know it, the Tianshan mountain range probably changed the lives of your ancestors – and to this day, you.
Through defining and shaping ancient trading routes of the Silk Road and still now China’s Belt and Road initiative, the Tianshan has been key to the development and spread of human society and culture over thousands of years.
Jepson et al. (2018)
© 2026 Plateau Perspectives