Jeti Ögüz - The valley of the seven bulls

 


Jeti Ögüz is a village near the shore of Issyk Lake, and further up from it in the valley is Jeti Ögüz Resort, the actual area of interest. It is a very small village at the rock formation known by the same name, meaning Seven Bulls. There are also thermal springs in the area and a Soviet-era sanatorium in the village, that's why it is called the Resort. Further up in the valley there is a waterfall, but I didn't visit it, only explored the area around the village. I still managed to get lost a bit and ended up on the highest of the Seven Bulls. 

The easiest but still a spectacular walk is found right inside the village, along an uphill dirt road that runs parallel to the main road in the centre. You'll get beautiful views of the village with its river, mosque, and yurts, and the towering rock heads of Jeti Ögüz with, right next to it, the head known as Broken Heart. From some points off the dirt road, you can also see a canyon from above. Someone suggested to visit it, but approaching it from the main road just outside of the village, the canyon was closed at the entrance with a fence; it seemed it was a private property. Not far from the canyon entrance, across the road, at the base of the Broken Heart, a little bridge can take you across the river to a yurt camp labelled an "ethno-cultural centre". You are now right behind the Jeti Ögüz hills. From here, you could hike back to the left bank of the village via one of the gullies between the seven heads, but somehow I ended up on the top of the furthest. From there, the path to the village didn't seem too safe, so I returned the same way. But the view was fantastic, as from there you could also see Issyk-Köl, and the valley you are in, leading all the way to the lake.
 
















































































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