Arslanbob is a beautiful village nestled below the Baba-Ata Mountains. It is situated 1,600 meters above sea level and is famous for having the world’s largest walnut forest! The walnut tree lives up to 1,000 years, reaches enormous size and fructifies abundantly.
Buses from Bazar-Korgon (50 som/pax) ends at Arslanbob village. Once there, we were not sure of where to go or whom to meet as we have not made any prior contacts. But we didn’t have to wait long before we were approached by Rahmat who might have heard of 2 ‘outsiders’ that were probably lost. He told us that he worked with CBT (Community Based Tourism) and he would take us to the office.
It is a short walk to the CBT office and we were introduced to Hayat, a friendly and knowledgeable guy. He told us about all the things you can do in Arslanbob which whet our appetite for a 2 days trek. We told him we wanted the easiest overnight trek available as we were still tired from the travelling and the trip at Sary Chelek.
Homestay No. 12 or is it 16?
Once agreed with the trekking trip for the next day, we were asked to choose our homestay. There are about 16 homestays you could stay in Arslanbob and all of them are managed by CBT. Couldn’t really remember if we chose house no. 12 or no. 16 but it was a beautiful place with a large room. The gem of this house is that it has an outdoor dining area resting on the hillside with an amazing view of the mountains behind it. If I remember correctly, we paid 550 som per night.
Arslanbob is a very small village. Besides the bus or transportation depot, you’ll find a mosque, shops and a small bazaar.
This is one place that you should not give a miss when visiting Kyrgyzstan. The surroundings and the people here are such a gem that you should stretch an additional day or two in your itinerary just to be in Arslanbob.