Road A-364
Located in the Issyk-Kul Region, in the northeastern corner of Kyrgyzstan, the Road A-364 is a very exciting journey in the heart of the Tian Shan mountains.
Located within the Terskey Alatau mountain range of the country, it’s a high mountain road topping out at 4.024m (13,202ft) above the sea level. The road runs north-south from the village of Barskoon towards Kara-Say and then east to Ak-Shyrak. There is a border police post located at Kara-Say, and a border area permit is needed for onward travel. The through road beyond Ak-Shyrak is currently not passable.
The unpaved road is 85.6 km long. Portions of the road may be temporarily closed due to road work or inclement weather. There is a reasonable amount of traffic.There are several interesting sights along the road - including a Soviet truck mounted on a pedestal and a bust of Yuri Gagarin, who holidayed on the South shore of Issyk Kul after his historic first manned space flight.
The road was part of the Silk Road, the trade route between China and Central Asia. In the Spring of 2000 - a lorry carrying cyanide used in the gold refining process was involved in an accident - leaving the road and crashing into a stream - polluting the waters and decimating the tourist industry around Lake Issyk Kul as many CIS travelers cancelled their planned holidays. It is now more widely used as the main road to the Kumtor Gold Mine. There are daily some heavy transports on the road for the fleet of machines.
The road climbs up several mountain passes, including Pereval Suyek (4.024m-13,202ft), Pereval Barskaun (3.760m-12,335ft) and Pereval Sarymoynak (3.133m-10,278ft). It is a neat, wild, barren, rock road. Depending on snow conditions short-term winter locks are possible. The road is to ride without any major problems and with any vehicle.
Pic: Ден X341