Cholpon-Ata is the center of spa life in Issyk-Kul, located between the cities of Balykchi and Karakol, it attracts thousands of tourists from different countries every summer. It is located 250 kilometers from Bishkek. From the Kyrgyz language, “Cholpon-Ata” is translated as “Father of the Stars”.
The Cholpon-Ata resort was far from always. Russian settlers were the first to come here at the beginning of the last century. The village was small at the time and had about 15 families. New Year 1926, when Leonid Lwowitsch Rapport - Kavallerist-Budennovets, who organized a large equestrian factory in Cholpon-Ata, arrived here, life in the city changed dramatically. In 5 years the factory had about ten thousand horses. In the years that followed, the Cholpon-Ata horse factory became known far beyond Kyrgyzstan, and the Kyrgyz horses are among the best in the world.
The first health resort in the city was established in the 1930s thanks to a horse farm. It was used to treat children with tuberculosis. After the Second World War, the sanatorium received a broader status and was called “Cholpon-Ata”. Currently the city has 2 well-known health resorts: “Blue Issyk-Kul” and “Cholpon-Ata”, which treat diseases such as: diseases of the nervous and cardiovascular system, skin, intestinal infections, non-tuberculosis respiratory diseases, etc. .
In the summer months, the city also turns into an entertainment center. There are shops, restaurants, museums, banks and exchange offices. However, the most amazing place in the city is undoubtedly the “Ruh Ordo” cultural center. Five world religions are united in this place: Catholicism, Orthodoxy, Judaism, Buddhism and Islam. There are five chapels of the same type on the territory of the center, each of which is dedicated to the same religion. On the beach there is a unique pier with four arbors, which symbolize 4 sides of the world and 4 seasons.
The city is not only famous for its modern entertainment. Not far from the city are ancient petroglyphs with various drawings of ancient people and animals that are several thousand years old.
