A tour of this congenial capital makes for an interesting and relaxing day. The city can offer a poignant National History Museum, with exhibits on Kyrgyz victims of Stalin, as well as some interesting displays on Kyrgyz applied arts.
Towering over the park are the highest peaks of the Kyrgyz Alatau Range, including Peak Korona (4860m) and Semenov Tianshanskii (4895m), both higher than anything Europe has to offer.
From Karakol a short 30 min drive west along the lake brings you to the head of the Jeti Oghuz valley, where you head north toward Jeti Oghuz village. A few minutes up the road you reach Broken Heart Rock, the reverse side of the famous Seven Bulls, a tremendous red limestone formation towering above the village.