The colourful red rock formations of the Skazka Canyon are a completely different world from the green alpine meadows and the snow capped peaks that Kyrgyzstan is famous for.
The Skazka canyon is a world on its own and one of the most beautiful attractions on the southern shore of lake Issyk kul. It is small compared to the Charyn Canyon in Kazakhstan, but equally impressive with its colourful red rocks and the deep blue lake behind it. It is not for nothing that the Skazka canyon is also known among travellers as the fairytale canyon
Years of erosion resulted in amazing sculptures. Some of them have names such as the “Chinese wall”, others resemble animals and even dragons. For locals, the Skazka Canyon holds many traditional legends and tales.
One is about the time that the Issyk kul lake basin wasn’t a lake yet. It was a nice valley with several rich and powerful cities. In one of these cities lived a very beautiful girl. One day a dragon fell in love with her and asked her to marry him. She declined and the angry dragon cursed the Issyk kul valley.
The dragon said that every full moon he would cause the waters in the wells to rise untill the girl changed her mind. The citizens decided to cover the wells with golden lids and everything went well. However, when it was the girls turn, she forgot and the valley flooded. As the dragon saw the lake he was so shocked that he turned into stone.
Obviously there never was a dragon, but underwater archeological expeditions did find traces of ancient Saka settlements in the basin of lake Issyk kul.
15 сен 2024
