Discover Kyrgyzstan’s valleys beyond Bishkek

Gloomy Soviet architecture" dominates Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan. But leave its grim confines behind and you'll discover a land of awesome mountains and ravishingly beautiful valleys where an ancient nomadic culture still thrives, says Kate Megeary in the Independent on Sunday.

The Tien Shan range, an offshoot of the Himalayan massif, extends across the whole country, but its highest peaks are in the east, near the town of Karakol. The main attraction in the town itself is a splendid wooden mosque built by Chinese refugees a century ago; but most visitors soon leave for the "beautiful" valleys to the south, littered with the yurts of nomads, where you can bathe in "hot, sulphurous rock pools" beneath snowy mountain peaks.

Regent Holidays (0845 277 3317) offers a nine-day tour from £1,595pp, incl. flights.