Press Releases

On January 5-6-7, the second winter tourism fair «Karakol Fair 2023» was held in the city of Karakol, which was timed to coincide with the New Year holidays and the peak of the winter tourist season.

The place for the fair was not chosen by chance. Karakol is one of the oldest cities in Kyrgyzstan with a rich culture, which has absorbed the traditions of different ethnic groups, is the center of skiing, natural and cultural tourism.

The fair presented a rich cultural and entertainment program, a unique exhibition of artisans, educational workshops, ice skating, a rich variety of national dishes and a number of spectacular concert and dance performances.

Craftsmen from all over Kyrgyzstan presented their unique works at the fair, artists and museums presented historical and cultural expositions telling about the history of the Kyrgyz people, the development of winter tourism in Karakol, unique photographs of the first travelers were presented.

The participants of the festival were pleased with the artists and dance groups, and such famous dishes as Karakol ashlyanfu and Osh pilaf delighted the visitors of the Ethno Vkusno food court. The gastronomic part of the festival included a grand pilaf show, where a delicious dish was prepared from the best rice grown in the Kyrgyz Republic. As part of the presentation and master class, the cultural heritage expert told the story of rice and the characteristics of its individual varieties.

Ice skating lovers could spend time with children and friends on the open ice rink. Tourists were also offered historical and cultural tours around the city, which were led by experienced guides with international certification.

A special place within the Karakol Fair 2023 was occupied by a photo exhibition organized for the first time from the collection of photographs and diaries of the first travelers of the Tien Shan, which opened new pages in ethnography and anthropology. The exhibition was prepared by the Center for Nomadic Civilization named after Kurmanjan Datka.

The fair lasted for three days (January 5-6-7, 2023 from 11.00 to 21.00), and more than 7,000 people took part in it, of which 16% were foreign citizens from abroad.

The winter «Karakol Fair 2023» will be remembered by the participants for its diversity, delicious food, sunny weather and bright emotions.

This event vividly demonstrated the infinitely diverse winter tourism potential of the city. Thanks to the fair, the townspeople saw the city from a new perspective, and tourists got a great chance to discover winter Karakol and new good reasons to come back here in the future.

The organizers of the winter fair «Karakol Fair 2023»: the mayor's office of the city of Karakol and the NGO «Destination Karakol». The event was supported by the Department of Tourism of the Kyrgyz Republic, Helvetas Kyrgyzstan, the Swiss project «Sustainable development of winter tourism in the Kyrgyz Republic», EU SWITCH-Asia Greentour project, the Representative Office of Rossotrudnichestvo in Kyrgyzstan, GIZ Program «Green Economy and Sustainable Development of the Private Sector in the Kyrgyz Republic».

The main partner was the «Tourism Development Support Fund of the Kyrgyz Republic».

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