It's a relaxed city of wide streets and handsome houses.
Residents like to boast that it has more trees per person than any other Central Asian country.
Bishkek is an excellent starting point for the Tian Shan mountains and Lake Issyk-Kul, and for the overland crossing into China via the Torugart Pass. Many travelers find Kyrgyzstan the most appealing, accessible and welcoming of the Central Asian republics, particularly as it contains the central Tian Shan and Pamir Alay ranges, Central Asia's finest mountains.