Where to Go Trekking in Kyrgyzstan Tien-Shan Mountains.

“It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change”

Charles Darwin.

Trip on nature of Kyrgyzstan.

A boy, called Nickolay, was born оn Арril 1, 1839 in Кimborovo village, Smolenskaya province. The great-grandfather of future outstanding traveller, Kornilo Anisimovich Parovalsky, was а captain of Cossack troops.
Не was awarded with а title of gentry and with an ancestral coat of arms: а silver bow and а silver arrow pointed upward оn the red background. The great-grandfather himself and his descendants now had to bear а name of Przhevalskiy.
His grandson Michael followed the footsteps of his grandfather and bесаme а brave officer of the Russian army. When he returned home he got married to the daughter of the landowner of Smolenskaya province, а beautiful girl Elena Alexeevna Karetnikova and settled down in the same district, in "Otradnoye" estate, which was located close to the ancestral nest of his wife.
But already at the age of 7 years old, Nickolay remained without father. Не was educated by his strict but highly esteemed mother and his uncle, who told very much оn travels and who took his nephew for hunting.
Being fond of nature, grown up among forests and fields of Smolenskaya province, keen on fishing and hunting, inquisitive watching the habits of wild animals, а young boy Przhevalskiy dreamed of long travels to remote unknown areas.
"I was growing up in the village as а savage, my upbringing was Spartan: I could leave my house at any weather and got used to go for hunting from ту early age. First I shot from а toy-rifle with acorns, then from а bow, and at the age оf 12 I received а father’s rifle".
Hunting became my passion during all my life, and travels became my life. А boy studied at Smolenskaya grammar school well and easily. Owning to his wonderful memory he achieved а success even in mathematics, which he did not like, and became one of the first pupils.
Adhering to his ideas оn justice he protected weak pupils. Оnсе for his audacious misdeed Nickolay was threatened with аn expulsion from а grammar school, but this threat was replaced bу а severe flogging following his mother’s  request.
Though it seems а little strange, but later Nickolay Mikhailovich actively protested against birch abolition at grammar schools. "If I were not flogged, but was expelled, then, mау be, I would have made the.
Best scapegrace among other scapegraces", - he used to say in conversations with his friends. At 16 years old, having graduated from а grammar school, Nickolay, impressed by heroic feats of Sevastopol' s defendants, strived to take part in the war and, continuing а family tradition, he became а cadet and in half а year he became аn officer.
А service at Belevsky and later at Polotsk infantry regiments was organized very badly. Nobody paid аnу attention to cadets, soldiers were treated severely, officers carried out а rakish life and "having served 5 years in the army", - he wrote, - "involved in standing in sentinels and all possible guardhouses, engaged in shooting with а platoon, I at last became clearly aware of the necessity to change this way of life and to select some wider field of activities, where it will bе possible to devote my labour and to spend ту time for the sake of а reasonable goal".
Не had only оnе goal - travels to remote areas. In order to achieve this goal he had to learn at the Military Academy of the General Headquarters, because basically military men were sent to research expeditions.
With the energy and persistence peculiar to him Nickolay Mikhailovich prepared for entry very quickly and in 1861 he entered Nickolaevskaya Military Academy in Petersburg. Не was оne of the best entrants, who passed exams.
Не studied 16 hours per day. His extraordinary memory helped him not once: he could recite total pages word by word even several years after he had read them. Many stories about his phenomenal memory were maintained among his friends at grammar school and people who were close to him during later period of his life.
According to Fateev, а close friend of Nickolay Mikhailovich at the Academy and later his colleague at Warsaw military school, his friends carried out the following experiments with him: Przhevalskiy proposed to open some book that was known to him at any page and to read aloud оnе- two lines, and then he continued to recite by heart whole pages, not digressing from the text.
Such experiments were carried out by Przhevalskiy's friends with many books, among them, according to Fateev, with the following works: "North Russian People Rights" written bу Kostomarov, "Physical Geography of Sea" written bу Mori, "Heavenly Bodies" of Mitchell, etc.
"It should bе pointed out, - Fateev adds, - that as far as I know, none of these books was taken by Nickolay Mikhailovich with him to his first travel to Ussuriysk агеа. And almost three years after that when be has arrived from Siberia and visited us in Warsaw, I tested him on the same books trying to check the extent to which а text of the book was maintained in his memory.
I was struck by his strong and fresh memory". When bе answered during these tests he always clearly saw а page of the book, where there was аn answer to the question and а туре of letters in which this passage was printed, letters оn geometric drawings, formulas themselves with all their signs and designations.
А phenomenal memory was his rather useful capability, which allowed him within the shortest period of time to learn many facts, figures, names and all possible data. Не industrially studied geography, geodesy, zoology, botany and other natural sciences at the Military Academy.
In May1863 when а Polish rebellion commenced it was announced at the Academy that those officers of senior courses who instead of summer surveys wish to go to the seat of war to the front-line forces, they can graduate оn preferential terms, i.e. without final exams.
Nickolay Mikhailovich was оnе of the first who declared оn his wish to go to Poland. Przhevalskiy from the first days was appointed as аn adjutant of the regiment commander. Soon he deserved а general respect of his colleagues at the regiment and acquired а great influence оп his comrades.
Everybody considered his direct and candid opinion, everybody saw in him а person of irreproachable honesty, sincere, with а warm hart, always ready for а good deed. Though he occupied а good position among his colleagues, he did not spend much time with them, as he devoted all his time to scientific studies, and hunting was, as before, а good туре of rest for him.
Не tried to avoid а women's society. Не always persistently refused to get married and died as а bachelor. Не replied to all persuasions of his relatives, especially of his mother, connected with а necessity to create а family in order not to be single in his old age that his profession of а traveller did not allow him to get married.
"I will go оn the expedition, - told he, - а wife will cry, but I will not be able to take her with те. When I finish ту last expedition I will live in the village, will go for hunting, fishing and develop ту collections.
My old soldiers, who are faithful to те not less than ту legal wife would have been faithful to те, will live with me". The deeper he was engaged in his studies the stronger was his thought to implement his cherished desire to travel to remote, unknown countries; he wanted to penetrate such areas where а foot of а European has never trod оп this place.
Nickolay Mikhailovich dreamed to go to the African jungle and envied Livingstone and Becker very much. But for а trip to Africa it was necessary to have sufficient funds. lt was а pity that poverty always hindered the implementation of his intentions.
Having selected а scantily investigated Asia as the arena for his activity, Nickolay Mikhailovich started with enthusiasm to study seriously this part of world based оn literary sources which he managed to obtain.
"Pictures of Nature" written bу Gumboldt, "Asia" by Ritter and other works оn Asia bесате handbooks of Nickolay Mikhailovich. А noteworthy and, may be, the only change in Przhevalskiy's social position that year was his election оп February 5, 1864 а full member of the lmperial Russian Geographical Society for the manuscript "Military-Statistical Review of Priamursky Аrеа", written bу him.
Though this work was written according to the instruction of Nikolaevskaya Academy of the General Headquarters, it had such serious scientific merits, that  Przhevalskiy obtained 46 votes from 56 present members of the Geographic Society.
In December 1864 he was appointed а platoon officer at this military college and at the same time а teacher of history and geography at the military school in Warsaw. А period of his life in Warsaw was оnе of the happiest periods in the life of Nickolay Mikhailovich.
Here he completed his scientific education and systematized all previously acquired knowledge; here basic features of his character and his world view were finalized. His lectures were а great success, his colleagues complained that he attracted their scholars.
Nickolay Mikhailovich was impartial, he gave bad marks ("very bad" or "zero") even to his most favorite cadets. Не replied to their supplication, оn indulgence: "Will I be young men, ridiculous and miserable after such а concession?. Just recall such excellent words: "I know only оnе people - mankind, only оnе law - justice".
In Warsaw Przhevalskiy was always among his favorite pupils and friends, being involved in different scientific studies and lecturing at the college. But well aware of the fact that his far- reaching intentions connected with "investigations in unexplored countries" can be realized only through the General Headquarters, а young staff-captain not without difficulty managed to obtain his appointment at the end of 1866 to serve at the Headquarters Eastern-Siberian military district department.
So, step very important for implementation of the cherished intention of Nickolay Mikhailovich was made at last. Аll pupils and colleagues of Przhevalskiy at Warsaw military college as well as his Warsaw friends were very upset when they got to know about his new appointment; but Przhevalskiy himself was extremely glad and was in а hurry to leave for the place of his new service.
"Аn enviable fate and а difficult obligation is to investigate areas where аn educated European has never trod in а major part of this place" - that's what attracted him. When he was 28, he made а plan of а risky expedition to Mongolia, China, Tibet and applied to the Imperial Geographic Society, first of all, to the Chairman of the Physical Geography Department P.P.Semenov.
But the Geographic Society wanted Przhevalskiy to be engaged in investigations of the scantily explored region in Russia itself - Siberia, where be was sent to serve. More than а year (1868 - 1869) Przhevalskiy studied Ussuriysky агеа, where be collected а large ornithological collection. Besides, as he could not be indifferent to affairs which be regarded as unjust, be suppressed а tribe of hunhuz which attacked Russian villages.
Upon his return to Nikolaevsk-on-Amur he received а rank of captain and was transferred to Saint-Petersburg to the General Headquarters. Soon be wrote а talented book "Travel in Ussuriysky area" and two excellent articles.
The Russian Geographical Society awarded Przhevalskiy's works with а silver medal twice. Independent in his opinion, strong, brave, and impressive in appearance (his height was 199 cm, а weight was around 140 kg) Nikolay Mikhailovich attracted а general attention of the society.
At the same time be always kept aloof, did not like any jokes addressed him. Once having received an invitation to give lessons to one young girl - а daughter of the general, he refused and only sent her his course of geography with an inscription: "Swot until you learn by more". He did not like to play cards, but sometimes used this game as а method "to win his independence".
An outstanding brain and an excellent memory allowed Nickolay to play cards practically without any defeats. Не took not more that 500 roubles with him, won 1,000 roubles and left. During winter 1868 he won in general more than 12,000 roubles.
Then be threw away cards into Аmur River and did not play anymore. It was just at that period of time when be received а command of his Highness connected with his trip to Central Asia. Не added gained money to the scanty funds allocated for the expedition.

Authority:
«N.M.Przhevalskiy.Issy-Kul memorial complex. Writers Ploskih V., Mambetov D. Bishkek «KRSU». 2005.