Arslanbob is a small village in southern Kyrgyzstan. We stay here for a few days to enjoy some hiking. It is a cosy place and we are just stretching out our stay – one more day, one more day…
The purpose of our stay in Arslanbob was to go hiking. As in other parts of the country, Kyrgyzstan is just so beautiful in nature.
In this post, I will introduce a hike to a large waterfall in Arslanbob.
Arslanbob waterfall
There are two waterfalls in Arslanbob, called ‘Big Waterfall’ and ‘Small Waterfall’ respectively. The waterfalls do not seem to have names, and are only marked on maps as ‘Long Waterfall’ or ‘Small Waterfall’.
The Small Waterfall was a stop on the route of the previous ‘World’s Largest Walnut Forest Hike’. The Big Waterfall is located north of the town centre and is further away than the Small Waterfall. This time we hiked from the town centre to the big waterfall.
Arslanbob town centre to the north
As in the previous Walnut Forest, head north from the CBT office, cross the bridge and head north by the animal market. Follow the river uphill.
The hiking route in Kyrgyzstan is easier to follow on Maps.me than on Google Maps, so we also relied on Maps.me.
The large waterfall is located on the west side of the river, so if you walk along the east bank(where there is less traffic!), you will need to cross a bridge somewhere. The closest point to the waterfall, the bridge was broken and could not be crossed, so you should cross to the west bank at the point before that. We walked along the east bank, crossing a bridge about halfway between the town centre and the big waterfall.
Hitching a ride in a jeep
On the way, a vehicle chartered by another traveller passed by and offered us a ride. We were ready to walk, but there was only the driver and one traveller in the chartered vehicle, and he said it was easier to drive with the weight in the back seat, which made it more stable.
So we decided to get in it, and we were given a lift to the parking lot of the large waterfall.
Walking from the car park to the waterfall basin
No vehicles are allowed to enter after the car park, so you have to walk. A cobblestone-like footpath has been maintained up to the halfway point. But to get close to the waterfall, you have to climb up the riverside, which is strewn with rocks.
The footing was wet and slippery, and our feet got quite wet from all the water! The waterfall itself is not that big, but local travellers believe the water to be holy and also seemed to enjoy the atmosphere.
Back the way we came, to the town of Arslanbob
On the way back, we walked back the same way we came to the town. However, we were taken in the car of a domestic tourist couple we met at the waterfall, so we didn’t walk the whole way.
We left the guesthouse at around 9am in the morning and returned at around 1.30pm.
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