Through a wide valley there is a path which was unkown for long. May be it was part of the ancient Silk Road?
It is the path from Tash Rabat to Chatyr Kol.
From Tash Rabat you may hike to the Panda Pass, crossing the height of the At Bashy mountain range and then follow the steep path down to the Chatyr Kol lake. It's a one day hike if you get a pick up by car close to the lake.
The hike starts at Sabyrbeks yurt camp or directly at the Tash Rabat building. Here is another yurt camp and the street is fairly good. Our starting point is at 2,985 m height. We will follow the creek flowing in the wide valley bottom. It gives the landscape a refreshing grace. Trees no longer grow at this altitude. The green valley slopes are used as pasture for the semi-wild herds of horses, yaks and cattle.
Our way is flat and the hike is not too tough. Sometimes the path is a little bit elevated on the side of the valley, other times you will share your step with the water. Walking for about 2:15 hours (or seven kilometers) let us gain around 300 m and we reach an altitude of 3,315 m. The valley is forking and we take the right way. Another three kilometers take us 1:15 hours to walk and we see a second fork of the valley. This time we turn left. We are at 3,479 m and have taken ten kilometers so far. Isn't it time to take a rest and get some food and drinking?
At our restplace we were happy to see a herd of horses passing by. Also for us it's time to move on. For the next two kilometers the valley remains not to steep but most of the green vanished and left place for stony ground. After a total hiking time of 4 hours, we reach a triple fork at the end of the valley and the trail begins to lead steeply uphill on a scree slope. In parts you can still find patches of snow to cross.