Fairytale Canyon: Kyrgyzstan's Grand Canyon

Kyrgyzstan is full of stunningly beautiful natural attractions: lakes, valleys and forests, everything is there, waiting for us to experience it. The place the admin wants to share with you today is the "Fairytale Canyon, with its pink sandy soil."

Fairytale Canyon lies on the way to the Teskey Ala-Too mountains in Kyrgyzstan, a range whose highest peak is Karakol Peak. After passing those mountains, only 4 kilometers further on, the scenery changes completely... the mountains begin to part, as if we were riding a magic carpet into the fairytale canyon that is opening a path to welcome us.

When we reach the front of Fairytale Canyon, we feel spellbound by the vivid, spectacular pink sandstone, along with many naturally formed rocks that invite us to imagine what shapes they are. The famous rocks here include a long ridge that looks like the Great Wall of China, and a dragon-shaped rock.

Some of the rocks here are no ordinary ones, because they often come with legends woven in, making the imagination even more fun. Today the admin has picked the origin story of the "dragon rock" to share.

The legend says that in the past, a seven-headed dragon lived around this fairytale canyon. It fell in love with a beautiful girl and kept pestering her. It liked her so much that it asked her to marry it, but the girl turned it down, because she already had someone she loved. The dragon was heartbroken but could do nothing, so it cursed the valley instead, saying: "On every night of the full moon, may the water in the well gush out and flood this valley. But the moment you change your mind and love me, this curse will vanish at once."

Then came the villagers' bad luck: they had to keep covering the well with a lid so the water would not overflow. But one day it was the girl's turn... she forgot to put the lid on the well, so the water overflowed and flooded the valley, and the town began to sink. The dragon, standing watching in the valley, was horrified at what it had done, and in its extreme shock, it turned to stone. That is the origin of the dragon rock.

Just hearing the story of this place sounds fun, doesn't it? But let us tell you that it is not only the fairytale quality that stands out here. The canyon also resembles the Grand Canyon in Arizona, in the United States, a rock mountain eroded by sun, wind and rain until it became the canyon we see today, which is why it has another name, "the Kyrgyzstan Grand Canyon." If you are a nature lover who enjoys adventure, the "Fairytale Canyon, Kyrgyzstan" is still waiting for you to experience it.