Trip to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan

Bishkek

Bishkek formerly Pishpek and Frunze, is the capital and the largest city of Kyrgyzstan. Bishkek is also the administrative centre of Chuy Province which surrounds the city, even though the city itself is not part of the province but rather a province-level unit of Kyrgyzstan. The name is thought to derive from a Kyrgyz word for a churn used to make fermented mare's milk (kumis), the Kyrgyz national drink. Founded in 1825 as the Kyrgyz-Khokand fortress of "Bishkek", then, in 1862, named as the Russian fortress Pishpek in 1926 the city was renamed Frunze, after the Bolshevik military leader Mikhail Frunze. In 1991, the Kyrgyz parliament restored the city's historical name.

Start Your Trip Today

Multi-Stan Adventure - Bishkek to Tashkent

With their reputation for welcoming visitors and their unique cultu...

View details »

The Five Stans of the Silk Road

See all the 'stans (well, most of them) on this comprehensive 26-da...

View details »

Best of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan

Spend two weeks discovering a part of the world well off the typica...

View details »

Highlights of Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan

Discover a part of the world that's getting noticed for its beautif...

View details »