A Soviet-era sanitorium and hot-spring complex 80 km east of Bishkek in the Issyk-Ata gorge. Several pools fed by natural mineral springs sit in a long valley below the snowline, with low concrete bath-houses for guests. The complex is busiest in winter when steam rises off the hot water against snowbanks.
Day visits are easy by taxi from Bishkek (about 90 minutes one way). The complex also has overnight rooms for the full Soviet-spa experience. Beside the springs sits a large 11th-century Buddhist rock relief — the Issyk-Ata petroglyph, one of the few visible traces of pre-Islamic Buddhism in the Chüy Valley.