Most travelers just use Osh as a base to either explore the surrounding areas of Kyrgyzstan or as a starting/ending point to the Pamir Highway. As such it doesn’t really offer that many sights for tourists except a “holy mountain”, the Sulayman Mountain (which also happened to be Kyrgyzstan’s only World Heritage Site).

But I was there on a Sunday when a) the regular bazaar is busiest and b) the weekly animal bazaar takes place. So I drove out of town a few kilometers to first check out the animal bazaar. The road leading to the site was already jam-packed with pick-up trucks hauling away animals. The bazaar was divided into sections selling sheep, cows and horses with the sheep section being by far the largest. I was told that a regular-sized sheep costs about US$50. Horses apparently start at US$1’000 but can be significantly more expensive.

Overview of the Osh’s Sunday animal bazaar

Sheep

More sheep

Locals selling sheep

Local boy and his sheep

Sheep

Woman with her newly acquired sheep…

…who is not so keen on its new owner…

But resistance is futile…

… no choice lah…

…you’re coming with me…

… like it or not.

Local with his sheep

Some more sheep

Local with her sheep

Good morning, Sir. How are you today?

Ok, enough sheep.

Blacksmith

A lonely yak

Cow-section

Cow

Cow

Almost fully loaded…

… let’s get out of here.

Adding a cow to the horses.

Ready to go.

I doubt they know what is happening to them.

But you don’t need a pick-up truck to take home your sheep!

Supply trucks

It was a really interesting experience. If you happen to be in Osh on a Sunday, you should check it out. I wouldn’t go out of my way for it though as probably most towns have a similar animal bazaar.

From there I took a marshrutka to the Kelechek Bazaar in town. It is essentially dozens of old shipping containers lined up selling clothing and not really that exciting.

Kelechek Bazaar

Not too far away is Osh’s central market and one of the biggest of the region. It stretches along several kilometers along the river and is busiest on Sunday.

Osh central bazaar

Osh central bazaar

Osh central bazaar

Osh central bazaar

My final stop would be climbing Sulayman Mountain for the views of Osh.

Kyrgyzstan might not have McDonald’s, but at least they have MacBurger.

A Yak-40 near the university

View of Osh from Sulayman Mountain

After the Pamir’s colder climate, it was nice to be back in a warmer place once again. But after walking around in the hear for several hours, I was also looking forward to a relaxed afternoon/evening in the hostel and sharing travel stories. I am still going in parallel to some of the Mongol Rallye teams and their stories are always worthwhile listening to.

The route would take us along the Tajikistan-China border, through a pass and then beyond into Kyrgzystan towards the country’s second-largest city, Osh.

We started the day early at 6am (Murghab is on Kyrgyzstan time, one hour ahead of Khorog and the rest of Tajikistan).

We first passed the Ak-Baital Pass (4655m), followed by the Kyzyl-Art Pass (4282m) where the Tajikistan-Kyrgyzstan border post is located.

Back on the road in no-man’s land

Driving up the Ak-Baital Pass

It got colder and colder

And it was snowing on the Ak-Baital Pass…

…no surprise at that altitude.

Back at (slightly) lower altitude

A yurt offering homestay somewhere in the middle of nowhere between Murghab and Karakul. Probably popular with the many cyclists on the road.

Shortly before Karakul

Driving towards Karakul

On the way from Murghab to Karakul in Tajikistan

Not too much traffic on that day

At one point we were just 8km away from the Chinese border. On the Tajikistan side it was secured with barbed wire.

Barbed wire securing the border between Tajikistan and China

We then drove past Karakul, a lake situated at 3’960m above sea level, slightly higher than Lake Titicaca (3’812m).

Karakul

Karakul

View from Karakul back towards the mountains

Next stop: Tajikistan-Kyrgyzstan border

The Tajikistan border was located at the top of the mountain at over 4’000 meters. I could not the most popular spot for a Tajikistan border guard. I was waiting to get stamped out while a Swiss cyclist who has been on the road for a year was waiting to enter the country.

The road then continued for 20km in no-man’s land until we reached the Kyrgyzstan border. I’d like to congratulate Kyrgyzstan for being a role model when it comes to immigration:

• No visa needed at all
• No useless immigration form/card to be filled out
• No stupid questions asked

Just a quick scan of the passport, a stamp and I was in.

Mongol rallye car with four Australians inside, driving on a spare tire with a broken suspension.

Meanwhile other cars were a bit more suitable for the road…

…which wasn’t always in great shape.

Kyrgyzstan border

After a quick lunch in Sary-Tash, we buckled up for the remaining 3-4 hours to Osh.

The scenery changed as we descended into lower pastures

And changed again

Passing truck

We were slowed down by a few road blocks

Can you spot the horse hiding?

We finally made it to Osh at around 4.30pm and I was certainly looking forward to a day without driving. The Pamir Highway was absolutely worth it and I found the people and nature fascinating!