Tash Rabat is the location of a 15th century 'caravanserai', a resting place for caravans on the Silk Road (some scholars think it may be even older, a 10th century Christian monastery). It's in a valley, off the main road, with a number of locals happy to provide B&B in their spare yurts, all part of Kyrgyzstans' flourishing Community-Based Tourism (CBT) network. The Tash Rabat valley is a comfortable day's drive from Kashgar, China, even with Chinese bureaucracy and 2 cars with a combined age of 182 years.
We had worried about how to contact the CBT, but no need to worry as it contacts you (Tursu of Sabyrbeks yurts waved us down on the road), and their tourist information offices are findable among the jumble of street-front labels in most towns.
Sabyrbeks had the added luxury of a
banya, in this case a stone sauna. Just the ticket after a long drive, in the bracing air of a 3000m mountain valley. The photo shows the banya in the background, with Ian eschewing the shelter of the yurt.
We would have no hesitation in recommending Tursu's Sabyrbek yurt-stay, especially the banya.
There were some streams just like this one on South Georgia but no penguins here I see. No bird life mentioned. See any?
ReplyDelete