How To Get To Burana Tower & The Tokmok Animal Market

A great day trip if you’re in Bishkek on a Sunday is to visit the Sunday Animal Market in Tokmok and combine it with a visit to Burana Tower.

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Sheep at the Tokmok Animal Market

Tokmok Animal Market

Each Sunday in the early morning shepherds from all over Chuy Valley come together to buy, sell and trade livestock at the lively Sunday Animal Market in Tokmok. Make sure and get there early as most the trading is done by 10am.

Tokmok is conveniently located near to one of Kyrgyzstan’s most famous attractions, Burana Tower.

Once you arrive to Tokmok, head north on Sultan Ibraimova Ulitsa if you’ll be coming from the bus station. If you get dropped off along the M07 you’ll be able to enter from the gates along the highway.

Burana Tower

Burana Tower is the last remaining structure of Balasagun, the capital of the Karakhanid Khanate which ruled the area from the 9th to 11th centuries. Ancient Balasagun was destroyed by the Mongol Horde in 1218, shortly after the Mongols ransacked both Shahr e Gholghola and Shahr e Zohak in Central Afghanistan. By the 1300’s Balasagun was almost completely destroyed, the only piece remaining was Burana Tower. In the early 1900’s Russians began taking bricks from the remains of Burana Tower to use on other building projects and by the 1970’s reconstruction efforts began in an effort to rebuild the destroyed minaret. At its zenith Burana Tower stood at 44 meters, it now measures in at 25 meters in height.

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Balbals at Burana

But Wait There’s More…

In the field surrounding Burana Tower with its sweeping views over the snowcapped Tien Shan Mountains in the distance are a scattering of stone figures dotting the golden grasses abound. These stone artifacts are called Balbals. Balbals are ancient grave markers left behind by those that wandered these lands hundreds of years ago. In this field you’ll also find collections of petroglyphs on rocks laid along the path that have been brought from around Kyrgyzstan.

There is also a little museum worth visiting on your trip to Burana Tower with a small collection of artifacts found around the Burana Complex.

View from atop Burana Tower (photo credit: Valerie & Valise)

How To Get To Burana & Tokmok Animal Market

How To Get To Tokmok

Take Marshrutka #353 from East bus station in Bishkek to Tokmok for 300KGS. As mentioned above the Animal Market is just a short walk up Sultan Ibraimova Ulitsa.

How To Get To Burana From Tokmok

Take a taxi from Tokmok to Burana Tower. Expect to pay 200-300 KGS for a return trip including wait time at Burana. Once back to Tokmok head back to the bus station and take Marshrutka #353 back to Bishkek East Station.

How To Do It By Taxi

Don’t want to deal with the logistics of public transport? No problem! It’s super easy to set up a taxi to take you to Tokmok and Burana, and back to Bishkek. Download the Yandex App on your phone where you can enter in your planned stops on the trip. You can expect to pay about 4000 KGS for the return trip, however your cost will increase depending on your wait time for your driver at each site.

Entrance for Burana

Don’t forget that there is an entrance fee to be paid at the gate when arriving to the tower. The cost is 15o KGS per person. Note that the tower is open from 9am-5pm.