Tours to Karavshin gorge.

“To turn in a situation where it would seem that there is nothing particularly dangerous is sometimes a heroic act. Such feats are only for you. Do them. Turn back, but get the opportunity to come back here again. Not a single mountain is worth not a single nail on a little finger!"

Nikolay Totmyanin.

Hiking to Karavshin gorge in Turkestan ridge.

Its administrative location area is Batken district in Batken province of Kyrgyzstan. Turkestan Ridge region (Pamir-Alai Mountains) is very similar to Patagonia in South America. There are the same windy wilderness with crystal water springs and rivers, alpine meadows and glaciers, surrounded by 5000 m peaks, and no signs of civilization there.
Here there is a great variety of any routes from simple to difficult ones for technical rock climbing and mountaineering fans! Thus, Karavshin gorge is quite popular spot among mountaineers, rock climbers and just mountain tourists.
The most famous peaks in the area are Asan Peak 4230 Meters above sea level, Usan Peak, 4810 Meters above sea level, Peak, Pyramid Peak 5509 мeters a bove sea level, Kotin Peak, Yellow Wall etc.
Numerous interesting routes and absence of crowds of people make it area the unique one!
Karavshin is the training area for the real expert mountaineers! Most of the guys who come here want either prove their climbing style or make new trails. They do it participating in some contests which are often held here. It is possible to get there by helicopter or on foot. Usually they jump off from Batken and get Vorukh village in Tajikistan.
From here you trek up along the banks of Karavshin river. For the loads transporting you may hire donkeys or horses. From Vorukh to the base camp it is 50 km or one and half days of trekking. Most part of the way goes through the torrid Karavshin canyon.
Than along Jayupaya river passing apricot orchards and abandoned stone hut you find yourself in verdant Kara Suu or Ak Suu gorges depending on which summit you plan to ascent. The Karavshin gorge is located on the northern slopes of the Turkestan ridge, west of the mountain Knot Matcha.
The upper reaches of the gorges, which alternate from west to east, are the gorges of the Kara-Suu, Ak-Suu and Dzhaupaya rivers, merging to form the Karavshin River, which in its lower course receives a group of tributaries on the right - the Kindyk River and the eastern tributary of the Rtachashma River.
Approximately from the former settlement of Karavshin, the river has a name - Karavshin. The main source of the Kara-Suu river is the Asan-Usan glacier, the Ak-Suu river, the Ak-Suu glacier and the Dzhaupaya river, the Dzhaupaya glacier, located in the upper reaches of the Turkestan ridge on the border with Tajikistan.
The Karavshin gorge is located in the Batken region, Batken region of Kyrgyzstan. The regions of the Turkestan ridge (Pamir-Alai system) resemble South American Patagonia - the same wild, windswept terrain, streams with clear water, alpine meadows, glaciers surrounded by five thousand peaks.
There are many interesting routes for those who love technically challenging ascents, from relatively simple to super difficult. The Karavshin gorge is quite a famous place among climbers and mountain tourists. Here are the peaks of the Yellow Wall 3800 meters above sea level, Kotina (5 b category of difficulty) 4521 meters above sea level, 1000 years of the baptism of Russia (6 a - 6 b complexity category) 4507 meters above sea level, Asan (6 a - 6 b category of difficulty) 4230 meters above sea level, Usen 4378 meters above sea level, Slesova (6 a category of complexity) 4240 meters above sea level, Karasu 5309 meters above sea level, Pyramidal (5 b category of complexity) 5509 meters above sea level.
To the east of the Karavshin valley, canyons stretch for tens of kilometers. Dzhaupai, Tamingen, Min-Teke, Dzhiptyk and Kshemysh. All of these rarely visited places are a real paradise for tourists and climbers, where there are significant resources for first ascents and first ascents.
The settlement of Karavshin, marked on almost all maps, was 2 hours away from the pedestrian crossing at the confluence of the Karavshin and Dzhaupaya rivers. In 1948 - 1950 residents were evicted from these places down "in order to improve living conditions."
Today, there are several dozen destroyed houses or their skeletons. At the confluence of the Ak-Suu and Kara-Suu rivers, just above the former village, two or three families have settled in kosha, a kilometer apart, there are livestock, and small tracts of cultivated land are visible. Even higher, in Kara-su, shepherds live with their families in summer.
During the war in 1941 -1945. in the area of ​​the Yellow Wall, lead was mined, and the workers who worked at the mine lived in this village. Old adits remained from the mine, and the remains of a processing plant are visible on the banks of the Kara-Su River.
Local residents tell about it. To the east of the Karavshin valley for thirty kilometers there is a series of subparallel canyons elongated in the meridional direction: Dzhaupai, Tamyngen, Min-Teke, Dzhiptik, Kshemysh. These rarely visited places are a paradise for hikers and climbers.
The walls here are up to 2000 meters in height, as, for example, the northern wall of Ak-Suu peak. The rocks are represented by hard, monolithic granites, limestones and sandstones. This area is called "Asian Patagonia" because the mountains and landscapes of the area are reminiscent of South American Patagonia.
But the climate is milder and the valleys are more beautiful. There are excellent opportunities for technical ascents. All these gorges can be reached by car from the Fergana Valley, that is, from Tajikistan. Approaches to the walls are 1 - 2 days using a pack transport.
Karavshin is a district of craftsmen, and for the most part those who either want to show their style or pave a new route come here. As a rule, speaking in the framework of any championships. There are many interesting routes in the area, the small number of people makes this area unique at the moment.
You can get to the area either by helicopter or on foot. Usually they start from Batken, reaching the village of Vorukh (Tajikistan). From here up the gorge of the Karavshin River. Here you can rent horse-drawn vehicles to carry cargo.
From Vorukh to the place of the base camp 50 km or a day and a half. Most of the way is the Karavshin gorge, scorched by the sun. Then, along the Dzhaupaya river, bypassing the apricot garden and the abandoned stone home, you find yourself in the Karasu or Aksu gorges immersed in greenery, depending on the peak you have chosen.

Authority:
Alexander Petrov, Anatoly Khalepov, Aksai Travel.

Photos by
Alexander Petrov.