Zentralbasar Karakol

What makes this different

A seven-minute walk from the hostel. Sunday is the busiest day: the animal market runs from late Saturday night through Sunday morning, and the dried fruit, smoked meat, honey and cheese sellers are at their fullest before midday. This is a working market rather than a row of souvenir stalls, with Kyrgyz, Uzbek, Dungan and Uighur traders side by side, and produce costs roughly half what it does in a supermarket. It closes by early afternoon, so go before eleven. From Bishkek the shared taxi is 1000 to 1500 som for a five to six hour drive and the price is worth settling before you get in; the marshrutka is 400 som a seat.