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The Kochkor Valley includes many different kinds of landscape.
Broad steppes sweep to the base of the Tien Shan Mountains. Extending
above the steppes are high mountain forests and broad still swathes
of jailoo - high altitude summer pastures where sheep graze on fields
covered with edelweiss, and shepherds keep Kyrgyzstan's nomadic
past alive. Higher still, the peaks soar to more than 4,500 meters.
Mountain lakes dot the region, including internationally renowned
Son Köl. The hub of the valley is the village of Kochkor. More
than 95% ethnically Kyrgyz, Kochkor's hospitable people engage in
agriculture and traditional Kyrgyz crafts. |