Chon Kemin: from small lake Jashyl-Kol (Жашыл-Көл) to plateau

This is a rather unknown hike in Chon Kemin. When people come to Chon Kemin, they usually go either to the lake Kol'-Kogur (Көл-Когур) on the other side of the valley or all the way to the end of the valley to lake Dshasikkol (Джасыккель). Or they do a traverse from Chon Kemin to Issyk Kul.

The small lake from where the hike starts is fairly popular among locals. Some of them come all the way from Bishkek, have a BBQ and stay there during the day (the Kyrgyz way of "savoir vivre"). When we went there a second time we were invited to join the feast. The small lake is also a drinking point for the herders. If you stay at the small lake for the night, you will probably wake up to the sound of sheep, horses and cows. The second time we camped down at the lake.

The path from the lake to the plateau is easy to see. It is used by herders who bring their animals to the plateau which is used as a jailoo (summer pasture). In the small valley on the way to the plateau are very many marmots. We went there in March. Therefore we did not see any yurts on the plateau. However, I saw on several satellite images that in summer there usually is at least one yurt on the plateau near the lake/wetland. We camped on the plateau. The view is very nice from up there.

We also hiked further up and actually wanted to reach the peak. However, the weather turned bad and we had to turn around before reaching the peak.

If you dont already know it: When you use water from lakes or streams in Kyrgyzstan, make sure to filter or boil it before drinking it because of all the animals around. There might be harmful bacteria or parasites in the water. Even worse: A dead animal somewhere lying in the water upstream...

Basics to plan your hiking trip in Kyrgyzstan: https://youtu.be/NlPTsrY9l8g