Alright, it’s time to head to Cholpon Ata and the 2026 World Nomad Games!
Cholpon Ata is a little resort town on the northern tip of Issyk-kul Lake here in Kyrgzystan about 180km west from Karakol.
At 9:30 we had everything packed up and were on our way to the bus station.
Karakol to Cholpon Ata
We reached the north bus station 10 minutes later and easily found which marshrutka was heading to Cholpon Ata.
It’s number 300 by the way.
As we approached the bus we saw others with tickets in their hand which was something I wasn’t used to.
Usually you just pay the driver in cash.
Luckily a group of them were Aussie so I asked them what the deal with the ticket was.
Apparently you have to go inside the station, buy a ticket for 300som ($5) at the counter and then give that ticket to the driver.
Oh, and if you have a bag to put in the back you pay the driver 200som ($3) directly.
A couple of extra steps but, all in all, it was pretty easy.
We hopped in the bus and waited for it to load up which took about a half hour.
And then, at just after 10am, we were on our way to Cholpon Ata.
I picked the solo seat right in the front thinking I was so smart getting all that extra leg room.
What I didn’t take into account was the multiple stops along the way where people would get on and off standing right in front of me.
Lesson learned. Don’t sit in the very front.
Cholpon Ata
Two and a half hours later we had arrived at Cholpon Ata.
The town was bustling with visitors and the traffic was a bit chaotic in stretches.
Since we hadn’t eaten anything yet today, we stopped in a little food stall across the street from the bus station.
After munching down on some plov, we made the short trek to our accommodation for the next 4 days.
We had a triple room booked which is basically a single and double bed.
I paid 2/3rd of the cost and claimed the double bed.
Ah, comfort!
Intellectual Games
Most of the games are taking place an hour away up in Kyrchyn Gorge but, here in town, there are also a handful of events to take in.
One of them were the intellectual games taking place in Hotel Eurasia.
Different people from a host of countries playing 1 on 1 at board games indigenous to this part of the world.
Not as exciting as horse racing or wrestling but still something unique to see.
We entered the gaming hall, took off our shoes, and saw dozens of tables next to each other with games in progress.
Not many spectators though.
In fact, when we walked close by the tables to see what was going on, we were told we had to stand away behind a line.
So, yeah, not a spectator sport.
And, with that, we were in and out in about 10 minutes.
Oh well, at least we experienced it, right?
International Traditional Music Festival
Another taxi ride over to the Rukh Ordo complex to see some traditional music.
The area is a nice green park overlooking the water.
We saw a couple of musicians playing on a couple different stages and then saw what I assume was a rehearsal for a show later tonight.
There were also some cool sculptures in the park along with a bunch of stalls selling crappy products.
Still, amazingly, in search of some souvenirs.
Seriously, they’ve been hard to find and you’d think with the Nomad Games taking places that there’d be an abundance of things for sell for us sappy tourists to take home.
Oh well, the search continues…
Wrestling
By now it was edging on 4:30 and we still had a few stops to make.
Next we took yet another taxi to the next complex on our list – the Gazprom center.
This is where all the wrestling will be taking place this week and, well, it was finally time to see an actual sporting event.
The place wasn’t huge and it was packed with people standing in the aisleways.
Opposite the stands were three wrestling mats bringing back vague memories of high school gym class.
The venue itself was musky which I guess shouldn’t be surprising since it was, after all, home to a bunch of wrestlers.
Nathan and I found a spot in the aisleway and cheered on the wrestlers and they tried to pin each other or run a score to five.
Naturally the loudest cheers for the hometown champion as each time he appeared chants of “kyr-gah-stan, kyr-gah-stan” echoed through the arena.
We watched a handful of matches and then decided to head out to get some food.
Dinner at the Food Zone
Right next door to the Gazprom center was big sign labeled “Food Zone”.
Sounds good to me!
I was expecting culinary delights from around the globe but sadly it was just a bunch of stalls over Kyrgyz food and ice cream.
Oh yeah, there was a pizza place and a Nathan’s hot dog place as well which seemed very out of place.
I reluctantly ended up eating yet another dish of beef and potatoes which I’ve now had several times on this trip.
Sure, it’s good and all but after awhile you kind of want variety, ya know?
A series of mishaps
After dinner began what I can only describe as a series of mishaps.
First, we walked over to the Hippodrome next door.
There was an Echo of Nomads taking place from 6pm til 11pm so the plan was to buy a ticket (500som, $8) and listen to some music for awhile before heading to our final stop of the day.
We bought the tickets and headed to the entrance only to be told that the concert wouldn’t be starting for a couple of hours as there was only a DJ playing music right now.
It was just after 6pm and we quickly had to course correct.
A new plan was hatched.
First, we’d scrap these tickets we had literally just bought.
Goodbye $8.
Next, we’d head to what was originally going to be our next and final stop, Nomad Fest, taking place at the Dordoi Center about a half hour out of the town center.
I went on the Yandex app to book us a taxi to get us there and inadvertently set the destination to some place in the middle of nowhere down some alleyway in a residential neighbourhood.
I have no idea how it happened as I punched in the correct venue name but here we were in the middle of nowhere.
Well, at least it’s a good story to tell as we kind of laughed at the situation.
I eventually just dropped a pin on the map to where the center should be and was able to book another taxi to take us to where we needed to be.
Nomad Fest
Finally at 7:30 we arrived at Nomad Fest.
The volunteer at the entrance checking tickets asked if we brought jackets as it would get quite cold by the waterfront.
Of course here I was in just my shorts and tshirt.
Well, shit.
It then became a mission to go stall to stall looking for something, anything, to wrap around me to keep me warm.
I was looking for a big flag or shawl or anything.
And then we found a stall at the very end of the lane selling jackets done in a nomadic style.
Perfect!
And, tada, I’m now the proud owner of a new jacket!
Only $60. Was it a steal or did I get ripped off?
Who knows. All I know is I wouldn’t be freezing tonight.
We made our way to the main stage just as a musical show was beginning.
All right! Now this is some culture here!
No sooner had we relaxed into our seats that the show ended and thus began the longest introduction of people ever.
I kid you not – over the next half hour 3 there must have been over 50 people announced and marched onto the stage.
From what I understood they were choreographers, designers, and judges.
I wanted to leave but I also wanted to see if there was a payoff to all these introductions.
Surely the judges would be judging something, right?
Finally, after a half hour of that insanity, the show began.
It alternated between musical, dancing, and fashion performances.
Was the payoff worth it?
Well, not really but at least we got another hit of culture so that’s good, right?
At 9:30 we headed out just as it started to rain.
And when I say rain – I mean full on thunder and lightening.
It was awesome!
Overall, the day was a bit underwhelming but maybe we just set too high expectations for what we’d find here in town.
Tomorrow we’ll be heading to Kyrchyn Gorge about 60km northeast of the city to take in a bunch of games and experience even more culture.
I can’t wait!
The 2026 World Nomad Games is in full swing!
