Ala Archa

Declared in 1976, it is the most accessible national park in Kyrgyzstan, barely 40 minutes by car from the capital, Bishkek, which makes it the usual gateway to the Tian Shan for day walkers. For all that it is close to the city, its high glacial valleys — with peaks up to 4,895 metres — still hold snow leopard and Siberian ibex, and its mountain huts, built in the Soviet era to train elite climbers, remain in active use as a base for technical ascents.