Hemmed in by the brown-paper peaks of the Tian Shan Mountains, Naryn is spread along a valley bottom before the high-altitude passes that lead the way to China's Kashgar and Almaty on the edge of the Kazakh steppes. It's at the veritable crossroads of Central Asia, with histories that tell of Silk Road traders and epic Kyrgyz kings and their fortresses. 

The most important historical sites in Naryn are to be found with the rising peaks to the south. Many an intrepid traveller has biked, hiked or taken a horse ride through the adobe-shack town of Kazybek, along riverways to where the ancient Torugart Pass slices through the snow-capped massifs. The main stop along the way is Tash Rabat – a five century-old caravanserai that stands proud against a phalanx of windblown mountains. 

Naryn tour guides also tout the shimmering alpine lakes of Song Kul and Chatyr-Kul, which sit in deep basins of the Tian Shan nearby, both ringed by serrated ranges and Mars-like landscapes. And then there's the Koshoi Korgon citadel, now blasted by the ages but still oozing tales of the legendary Kyrgyzstani horseman-hero Manas and his generals.