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| View of the garden at Anna and Sergei's guesthouse, Tamga |
Once a thriving town servicing the famous sanatorium - where cosmonauts and sports people trained and recuperated in the heyday of the Soviet Union- today it is a dusty Kyrgyz village.
And well worth visiting.
On an Uzbek Journeys tour we spend one night there, in Anna and Sergei's charming guesthouse with the loveliest garden I know in Kyrgyzstan.
For many years I have enjoyed Anna's scrumptious meals made with vegetables, fruits and herbs straight from the garden, accompanied by homemade wine. Sergei, handy man extraordinaire, has repaired clients' spectacles, made a walking stick and fixed zippers on suitcases.
Late last summer, I decided to spend a week there - what a treat!
Sergei and Anna are childhood sweethearts - he was Father Frost and she the Snow Maiden at a school New Year's play. Sergei, who trained as a beekeeper in Soviet times, was born in the house: his parents worked at the sanatorium.
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| The tree house - a private spot to sip tea and read |
There is a tree house - complete with wifi! I played table tennis with other guests - many families from Kazakhstan and Bishkek come every year to this special place. There are a couple of bicycles and a sauna - make sure you wear the special Kyrgyz embroidered sauna hat!
Every morning Sergei drove guests to the nearby beach - golden sands lapped by the shimmering, clear water of Issyk Kul lake. He picked us up again for lunch and was happy to take us back to the beach later in the afternoon. There are other nearby excursions which Sergei can arrange:
- the remarkable Fairy Tale Canyon, about 10 kilometres away;
- the Tamga Tash stone decorated with Tibetan inscriptions;
- day hikes;
- waterfalls in the Barksoon gorge.
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| Your hosts Sergei and Anna |
Frequently the owners rushed out to give me plums and apples, saying that there was too much fruit for their families and neighbours. The nearby cemetery - Orthodox and Muslim sections - is testimony to Tamga's former status as a thriving Soviet community.
If this is the sort of break you need, I encourage you to stay with Sergei and Anna. The south side of Issyk Kul is quiet, far from the high rises that dot the more popular north side.
Rates are so reasonable - about US$30 for two people with breakfast and dinner included. There is no menu - rest assured that whatever Anna cooks is delicious. Her zapekanka, a cottage cheese pie, served occasionally at breakfast, is a stand out. During my week there, Anna never prepared the same meal twice.
Sergei can arrange transport from Bishkek (about 4 hours 30 minutes) and Karakol (1 hour 30 minutes). More photos below of the guesthouse and the village.
Contact details:
Email: sergei-hutor@mail.ru
Tel: +996 770 567 508/ +996 770 436 734
Address: 8 Podgornaya street, Tamga
Related posts:
Kyrgyzstan: Monumental Art in the Provinces (Images of mosaics in Tamga sanatorium)
Kyrgyzstan's Bus Stops
Kyrgyz Blues
Holidays in Soviet Sanatoriums
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| The beach at Tamga |
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| Huge tray of apricots drying in Anna's garden |
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| Tamga's main street |
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| Another sweet nook in Anna and Sergei's garden |
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| A grave in Tamga's Muslim cemetery |
