Cholpon-Ata in Kyrgyzstan

Cholpon-Ata lies on the shores of Lake Issyk-Kul in the foothills of the Kyungei Ala-Too ridge in Kyrgyzstan. Once a stop on the famous Great Silk Road, today Cholpon-Ata is a thriving resort town, offering clean sandy beaches and plenty of adventure sports. Choose from diving, water skiing, fishing, or horseback riding, or try them all. The town is also known for holding traditional falconry demonstrations. Ruh Ordo Cultural Center is a sprawling open-air museum that contains five chapels, each belonging to a different religion, a reconstructed Kyrgyz village, and a museum dedicated to the writer Chingiz Aitmatov. The Museum of Petroglyphs is spread across 42 hectares and features hundreds of stones with rock carvings depicting hunting and everyday scenes.