Osh

Osh is a city in the Ferghana Valley of Kyrgyzstan. Osh is a lively place, with the largest and most crowded outdoor market in all of Central Asia, now called the Great Silk Road Bazar. The city is at least 3,000 years old.

Understand
Osh (Kyrgyz: Ош) is the second largest city in Kyrgyzstan. It's in the south of the country and often referred to as the "capital of the south". It has served as the administrative center of Osh Province since 1939. The city has an ethnically mixed population of about 322,000 (2021), about 46% Uzbek, 43% Kyrgyz and several smaller ethnic groups. On the whole it is much more Islamic than other parts of Kyrgyzstan

By plane


Getting there/away: A taxi to the city centre costs around 250-400 som. A Yandex.Taxi is about 170 som. Marshrutka 107 takes 25 min to Jayma Bazaar, it then continues towards the centre parallel to Prospektesi Lenina.

The following airlines operate at the airport:
 * Aeroflot - St Petersburg
 * Turkish Airlines - Istanbul
 * Pegasus - Istanbul, Bishkek (from €20)
 * China Southern Airlines - Ürümqi
 * Kyrgyzstan Airlines - Bishkek, Moscow-Domodedovo, Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg
 * S7 Airlines - Moscow
 * Uzbekistan Airways - Tashkent
 * Avia Trafik - Bishkek (around 40€)
 * SCAT Airlines - Bishkek (around 40€)

By bus or marshrutka

 * Bishkek – Marshrutkas are 500-700 som per person. They are actually much more comfortable than a shared taxi, because they have sleeping bunks. It takes some time to get to the centre&mdash;in Osh marshrutkas start from KaraSu market (30 som from the center); in Bishkek from DorDoi market (12 som from the center). These vans take just 2-3 hr more than shared taxis and always run overnight, starting at 15:00-18:00. Unfortunately, you will miss the great view on the Bishkek-Osh road because of this.


 * Arslanbob – One or two buses go direct between the new bus station in Osh and Arslanbob for 200 som. If you miss them, go via Jalalabad and Bazar Korgon.


 * Sary-Tash – Reportedly, marshrutkas go between Osh and Sary-Tash, 300 som (August 2019). From Osh at 14:00 from Dostole bridge.

From Uzbekistan
From Andijan you can take a bus to the border and then a taxi or a mashrukta or direct to the Osh bus station from the Andijan Bus Station. The bus to the border is about 1000 Uzbek som.

From China
There are two weekly sleeper buses (Monday and Friday) from Kashgar in China leaving at 10:00 (Beijing time) and the trip takes about 18 hr. The price is &yen;470 and the buses depart from Kashgar international bus station. As the road through Irkeshtam is at high altitude, remember to take warm clothes to the bus even during summer. Sit on the left for better views.

By shared taxi

 * Bishkek – Prices of shared taxis from Bishkek vary quite a lot. In spring, when seasonal workers are travelling from Osh to the capital and then to Kazakhstan or Russia, it will cost less, and vice versa in autumn. The price of a shared taxi Bishkek-Osh was 1,000-1,500 som per person as of May 2012. Taxis to Bishkek park on Zainabetdinova street.


 * Jalal-Abad – Shared taxis between Osh and Jalal-Abad to/from the New Bus Station (Novy Avtovokzal) in Osh, somewhat out of town. A taxi from the bazaar to this station is 150 som (Jun 2017). The price for the ride between Osh and Jalal-Abad is 250 som (Jun 2017).


 * Sary-Tash – A shared taxi costs 400-500 som (May 2012). They park somewhere on Zainabetdinova street, like the Bishkek ones. Leaving Osh, they could wait for passengers quite a long time, so a better option is to just head to the highway (for example take a marshrutka to Karatai or Gulcha from the old bus station), and hitch a ride from a marshrutka or private car passing by. Trucks can be very cheap (free or just up to 200 som), but are quite slow. Cars make it in 3 hr, but a truck could take 5-6 hr or more. (In Sary-Tash, usually there are a lot of trucks to Irkeshtam pass&mdash;daytime on workdays, 100 soms should be enough. But there is very very few extra transport on Pamir highway, and direct transport from Osh to Murghab could be full.)

From Tajikistan
The Pamir Highway runs from Dushanbe to Osh via Khorog and Murghab. Taking this route requires not only a visa for the country but also a permit for the region; see Pamirs.


 * Murghab – A place in a shared taxi to Murghab is 1,500 som (May 2012), in Russian jeep or normal jeep, though the last one is much more comfortable. Drivers like to overcharge tourists, but remember, they badly need passengers, and finally will agree to the regular price. You don't have to pay extra for a reasonable-sized backpack or for a good seat (just be the first passenger to reserve one). But the driver might ask you extra money if you would like to stop on the way to take photos. Anyway, don't pay over 2,000 som. Jeeps to Murghab park inside the car stand to Bishkek; ask around. There are very few jeeps every day, and some days there are none. No fixed schedule, all depends on demand. When they get enough passengers, they leave. You could come to the stand in the afternoon, exchange phone numbers with a few drivers and later join one, who will be leaving first. There is no public transportation directly to Khorog; you have to change in Murghab. Note, you will pay the full fare to Murghab even if you want an intermediate destination.

Get around
Taxis are cheap, a ride from the city to the airport is about 300 som.

See
The city has several monuments, including one to the and one of the few remaining statues of Vladimir Lenin, and the largest mosque in the country (beside the bazaar).


 * North of the bazaar there is a park with carnival games and amusements for children
 * North of the bazaar there is a park with carnival games and amusements for children

Eat

 * The bazaar has a range of cheap local food
 * The bazaar has a range of cheap local food

Drink
Alcohol is perhaps more elusive in Osh than in the capital, but there are nonetheless a few good bars in the city. The national beer is "Arpa", and really quite good, even by international standards. 80 som for a pint is fairly standard.



Go next

 * Arslanbob – An Islamic village popular with local tourists and famous for its picturesque walnut tree forest.
 * Chon-Alai – Chon-Alai is a region Southwest of Osh containing the Lenina peak, the highest mountain in Kyrgyzstan.