Overview
Osh is Kyrgyzstan's second city, an old Silk Road town at the edge of the Fergana Valley, gathered around the sacred mountain of Sulaiman-Too.
Travel
Osh lies in the south of Kyrgyzstan at the eastern edge of the Fergana Valley, one of the oldest towns of the region and long a stop on the Silk Road. Its heart is Sulaiman-Too, a rocky mountain of pilgrimage rising from the middle of the city, with the long Jayma Bazaar beside the river below it. A day covers the city, and Osh is also the gateway to the Alay valley, Lenin Peak and the road to the Pamirs.
The Jayma Bazaar
The Jayma Bazaar stretches for a long way along the Ak-Buura river, a market of stalls and covered halls where the produce and crafts of the south are sold: dried apricots, nuts and spices, bread from the tandoor, knives and hats, cloth and household goods, and plov cooked in great cauldrons. It is busiest in the morning and crowded, so belongings are kept close.
Teahouses and the cooking of the south
The city's teahouses serve the cooking of the Fergana Valley, closer to that of Uzbekistan than of the north: plov, rice cooked with mutton and carrots in a great cauldron, lagman noodles, samsa from the tandoor and the bread and tea of every Kyrgyz table. At mosques and the sacred places, visitors dress modestly, with shoulders and knees covered.
Uzgen
About an hour north-east of Osh, the town of Uzgen keeps a brick minaret and a row of richly carved brick mausoleums from the time of the Karakhanid rulers, nearly a thousand years old, and makes a half-day trip from the city.
The road south to the Alay and the Pamirs
South of Osh the road climbs over the passes to Sary-Tash and the wide Alay valley, under the wall of the Pamir range and Lenin Peak, where yurt camps and base camps stand in summer. From Sary-Tash, the Pamir Highway continues south to the border and Tajikistan's Pamirs, which have their own entry rules and permit, checked before the journey.
Frequently asked questions
How many days do I need in Osh?
Can I start the Pamir Highway from Osh?
This overview comes from Visaja's worldwide missions database (visaja.com), checked against official government sources; for binding answers, the mission itself always has the final word.