Back to the Source - Breaking the Cycle

Blog 23

17th – 20th July

Arabel Suu Plateau to Naryn (Kyrgyzstan)

Distance: 201km

Total Distance: 7276km

As those who are following my blog will know, this is an expedition from the SOURCE (of the Syr Darya) to the (Aral) SEA to the SOURCE (of the Amu Darya). There are just two stages to go. One starts in Kyrgyzstan from the source of the Naryn River, the primary tributary of the Syr Darya and the other finishes at the true source of the Amu Darya in the Wakhan Corridor, Afghanistan. Given my expedition had to start in March to fit with the seasons, it wasn’t possible to start the expedition at the source of the Naryn River because all passes would be blocked by snow at that time of year.

From Dushanbe, I flew to Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, collected my team – Sasha is back as the driver and Anna has returned to film this section. From Bishkek we drove to Lake Issyk-Kul – the second largest saline lake in the world, lined with extremely high mountains of the Tien Shan. The aim was to stay in Kyzyl Suu village at the eastern end of the lake to meet scientists at the Tien Shan High Mountain Research Centre. As 2025 is the International Year of Glacier Preservation and glaciers account for 80 percent of all water flowing through the Aral Sea Basin (including the Syr Darya and Amu Darya), I wanted to find out more about how the glaciers are fairing in the Naryn River catchment area.

We were fortunate to meet Salamat who is head of water geography and science for the Naryn River catchment.

Determining where the source of the Naryn River is.

His team has been making a longitudinal study measuring the thickness and size of different glaciers throughout their annual cycle, as well as temperatures. Salamat said, over the last decade, the mean temperature had increased by 0.8C!

With the team at the Tien Shan High Mountain Research Centre, Kyzyl Suu. Salamat is on the far left.

I knew roughly where the source of the Naryn River was on the Arabel Suu plateau, but Salamat pinpointed the source as a particular lake, “Green Lake”. From the research centre we headed into the mountains via Barskoon Pass, over 3800m.

As the source of the Naryn/Syr Darya is the real start point of my expedition, we spent two and a half hours filming in the windy, chilly conditions on the Arabel Su plateau.

At Green Lake on the Arabel Suu Plateau, the source of the Naryn River. I began cycling from this point, however we were unable to follow the main Naryn River as it enters a very mountainous region that cars and bikes can’t pass through. Instead I followed what Salamat called the “Little Naryn River” that joins the main river later on my journey. The watershed between the two rivers is on the western side of Arabel Su plateau.

By the time we had finished filming “the start” of the expedition, there was only time to do 11km across the plateau – just far enough away from the main road and Kyrgyz graziers. It was great to make a start.

Day 118: Arabel Su plateau to camp, west side of the river -71km

Sunrise over the beautiful lake we camped beside at 3800m the next morning

There were many glaciers visible at this altitude – the track before it drops to the river valley.

There was a very steep descent to the river valley that I approached cautiously, and then the track followed closely the course of the river.

There were many horses, cows and sheep grazing in the vast valley

Kyrgyz yurts were a common site along the valley

The Tien Shan are quite different to the stark, dry Pamirs. The geology is different and the green grassy high plains and cover on the mountains feel like Switzerland in some ways (but higher).

A feature of taking this route was the amount of water crossings. None of them were very deep, but many required me to slip on my sandals and wade across carrying my bike. I did about 25 crossings (that required me to stop, change footwear and carry my bike.) Many others were shallow enough for me to cycle through.

There were often a lot of different tracks to follow through the grass. The grass was “mown” by all the animals – horses, cows, sheep and occasionally, yaks.

The forecast was for heavy rain at around 6pm. I really wanted to finish this 64km section before the rain muddied the track and filled the rivers that would make crossing them more hazardous.

Being chased by a rain storm. Somehow, through pure luck, we managed to stay ahead of the rain although I had to deal with the short few showers.

The main road! Off the track and onto the main road in the area, I was expecting something a little better quality but often had to ride on the grass bedside the road to avoid mud and stones.

Day 119 Camp – Naryn town 119km

It rained heavily overnight, but fortunately we were warm and dry in our tents. However, the road had been turned into a muddy quagmire in places. The first 30km of the day had a lot of mud but I was able to get through it, albeit myself and the bike were plastered The road followed the river valley with a couple of passes to do on the way. Kyrgyz farmers were working in the grasslands, moving their animals around – cattle, horses, yaks and sheep. In the mid section of the day the road traversed several gorges.

It was pretty tough work following the hilly roads – here another stream enters the small Naryn.

The tree-line returned at around 2500m. The small Naryn didn’t seem so small anymore as it cut through some spectacular gorges. The roads were incredibly steep making cycling exhausting.

Finally the gorges opened out into a wide valley. Here, the main Naryn River is being met by the small Naryn River, about 45km from Naryn town.

I was pleased to get through this brilliant, but challenging section and took a rest day in Naryn. I have been struggling with digestive tract issues for over a week and wanted to give myself a chance to get over it.

FOLLOW THE JOURNEY

Thanks to ZeroSixZero, you can open this URL on your phone and select “add to home screen” and the map will become and app. You can then keep updated in real time: https://z6z.co/breakingthecycle/central-asia

TAKE ACTION

Support my Water.org fundraiser to help bring safe drinking water and sanitation to the world: Just $5 (USD) provides someone with safe drinking water or access to sanitation, and every $5 donated to my fundraiser will enter the donor into the Breaking the Cycle Prize Draw. https://give.water.org/f/breakingthecycle/#

EDUCATION

An education programme in partnership with Exploring by the Seat of Your Pants, with contributions from The Royal Geographical Society and The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award Australia. We have created a Story Map resource to anchor the programme where presentations and updates will be added as we go.

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