Everything you need to know to visit the Burana Tower - Kyrgyzstan

This blog shall cover everything you need to know about the Burana Tower in Kyrgyzstan

Where?

Burana Tower is about 70 kilometers or 44 miles from Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan. It is one of the beautiful spots to visit by local and foreign tourists for its history, architecture, and mesmerizing natural beauty. It's located in the Chuy Valley of Kyrgyzstan. Burana Tower has survived till today as one of the remains of the city of Balasagun, the capital of the Karakhanid dynasty, which is the first Turkic dynasty officially converted to Islam from Buddhism and Tengrism.

Tokmok
Tokmok is located in the Chüy Valley of northern Kyrgyzstan and east of Bishkek with a population of about 72,000.

Manas Statue - Historical landmark in Tokmok, Kyrgyzstan

How?

If you are wondering how to get there, you can easily visit the Burana Tower on a one-day trip from Bishkek. Firstly, you will have to reach the city of Tokmok.

You can take a public bus 353 called Marshrutka in Russian from the eastern bus station of Bishkek and reach Tokmok. It will take you around an hour and a half to get there and cost around 50 KGS.

The best way to go to the Burana Tower is to hire a taxi for a round trip.

Hired Taxi

You’ll have to negotiate the price with the driver; it should cost around 200-500 KGS, I paid 350 Kyrgyz Soms after a ton of negotiation.

Entry Gate

Fees?

You will have to purchase 2 tickets for one person which will cost 110 KGS. You can visit the site daily from 9 am to 5 pm.

Ticket Counter

The entry fee for the Burana minaret/tower is 60 KGS and the entry fee for the museum is 50 Kyrgyz Soms.

Staircase to reach the entrance of the tower at the height of 5m.

There are two staircases, one on the outside and one on the inside.

It's dark inside the tower, climb cautiously.

Gate at the top of Burana tower.

It allows visitors to climb to the top of the tower and from there, you’ll have a splendid view of the valley and the Ala-Too mountain range.

View of the valley from the top.

Small curved steps.

Entrance to Burana Tower.

The upper part of the minaret collapsed after a major earthquake in the 15th century, reducing its size from 45 m (148 ft) to 25 m (82 ft).

The minaret is decorated with beautiful geometric patterns in the brickwork.

What's the story?

Burana Tower is an ancient remnant of the city of Balasagun in the middle of nowhere. The tower was built in the 10th or 11th century. The legend of Burana tower says that an old man predicted and warned the local king that his newly-born daughter would die once she turns 16. To protect her, he built a tall tower where he placed his daughter in isolation. No one entered the tower, except the daughter's servant who brought her food. The daughter grew up alone and became a beautiful young lady. But, on the day of her 16th birthday, the king went to her room carrying a basket of fresh grapes and he failed to notice a poisonous spider in the basket. The spider bit the girl and she died.

There are also a lot of petroglyphs and balbals (little gravestones) exhibited in the same area.

The entire ground is an open-air museum with dozens of balbals and petroglyphs scattered around the area. Balbal is a grave marker that was used by the Turks when they dominated the Central Asian landmass centuries ago.

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