Fairy Tale Canyon

Known locally as Skazka, meaning fairy tale in Russian, this canyon lies on the southern shore of Lake Issyk-Kul near the village of Tosor, roughly 120 kilometers from Karakol. Over millions of years, wind and water have carved the soft red, orange and yellow sandstone into a maze of ridges, spires and hollows. Visitors and guides have given many of the formations nicknames based on their silhouettes, comparing some ridgelines to a stretch of the Great Wall of China and picking out shapes resembling sleeping giants, dragons and castle turrets in the eroded rock. A short walking trail winds through the canyon's narrow corridors and open bowls, climbing to viewpoints where the lake and the snow-capped Tian Shan appear beyond the colored cliffs. Because the walk is short and mostly flat, it is popular with families as well as photographers, who favor early morning and late afternoon light when the sandstone's colors intensify. A modest entrance fee is charged at the site.