Ai-Gul Tash

Ai-Gul Tash is a mountain located 20 kilometers southeast of the city of Batken, famous for the Aigul flower. It seems absolutely incredible, but on the shady slope of this seemingly unremarkable mountain, a flower grows that does not grow anywhere else in the world. The name of this flower is Aigul, which in Kyrgyz means “moon flower”. The flower has nothing to do with the moon, but this name was given to it for a reason: the flower grows only on the shady side of the mountain, hiding from the sun.

Aigul flowers are very beautiful. They are highlighted by the bright orange color of the petals and a rather large size, very atypical for mountain plants. A stranger can easily confuse it with a tulip. The flower blooms only once a year, in April and only for two weeks, and therefore it is very difficult to see the blooming Aigul. In height, the average flower reaches 80-90 centimeters, but there are also larger specimens.

The flower is almost impossible to plant elsewhere. For a long time, the residents of the surrounding villages tried to transplant Aigul flowers into their gardens, but all these attempts were unsuccessful.

The Aigul flower became a symbol of the Batken Region. In the days leading up to and of its flowering holidays and festivals are organized. The flower itself is listed on the Red List, and in the area where it grows grazing of livestock is prohibited. It is illegal to pick the flowers and violators will receive large fines.

How to get to Aigul-Tash

Mount Aigul-Tash is located in the Batken Region, south of the town of Batken, near the village of Kara-Bulak.

Aigul-Tash on the map

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