Cholpon-Ata

Cholpon-Ata needs 2 days: the beaches of Lake Issyk-Kul, the world's second-largest alpine lake after Titicaca, on one, and the open-air petroglyph museum, with thousands of rock carvings up to 3,000 years old, on the other. June-September is best. It's mid-priced for the region's standard. It's Kyrgyzstan's most popular summer beach town, with waters that never fully freeze despite the altitude (1,600 meters), which gave it its name: «Issyk-Kul» means «warm lake» in Kyrgyz.