Kyrgyzstan🇰🇬Getting to a valley completely closed off in the winter

The next two days were dedicated to crossing a mountain range to a village that was cut off from the outside world all winter and where only about one car per hour went in the summer. While I didn’t have much luck on the road to Osh, this day went beyond the point of bad luck. The car I chose as my victim broke down six times, each time with a different part. After a repair with two-component glue and one with duct tape, kicking the exhaust, adding six liters of water each time, replacing a part in the fuel supply, and later removing the entire grille, the last repair proved impossible.

Not helped by the heavy thunderstorm directly above us by now, we called it a night at 2:00 am. So, the driver/mecanic gestured with his hands together that it was bedtime. After an impossible attempt to get some sleep in a cramped position on the backseat, I received help in the morning, and by 5:00 am, I was in Kazarman, a journey that took 15 hours instead of the promised 4 according to Lonely Planet. I had a couple of hours to explore the village with a morning walk before catching a ride at 7:00 am. Although the circumstances didn’t help, this mountain crossing was definitely one of the highlights of my time in Kyrgyzstan, something that photos can better convince you of.

With a final 3-hour ride to the airport, with a goat stuffed in a rice sack in the trunk, I bid farewell to Kyrgyzstan, a truly fantastic country that I barely knew existed half a year ago.


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