Kyrgyzstan has one of the highest mountain systems in the world—the Tien Shan. Also called the Mountains of Heaven, this mountain system separates Kyrgyzstan from China like a wall, stretching eastward for 2,800 kilometers from Tashkent in Uzbekistan, ending in North China. The Tien Shan form the border between Central and Eastern Asia. To the north are the native and green lands of Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan. To the south lies the vast Takla Makan Desert. Though all the rivers of the southern part of the Tien Shan flow out of the mountains, none reach the sea, dissolving instead into the desert’s endless sands. Over the millennia, these powerful streams have carved many deep gorges, but not all of them are accessible for kayaking. Rivers that flow south can bring kayakers to the Xinjiang-Uygur Autonomous Region in China. This area covers almost the entire southern part of the Tien Shan and is closed to the public.
Our goals for our time in Kyrgyzstan were autonomous kayaking on one of the rivers in the central part of the Tien Shan, making sure we did not cross the China border, and interacting with as much culture and nature of this legendary region as possible. And of course—paddling good whitewater! Two Blade Adventures directed us to the Great Naryn River. With its deep but passable gorges, this wild river is a classic; an underestimated kayaking destination. The river originates in the central part of the Tien Shan and flows west toward the Kyrgyzstani plains. After its confluence with the Small Naryn, the Great Naryn carries its waters through the whole of Kyrgyzstan for hundreds of kilometers.
"In many places, nature seemed preserved in its original form, unchanged by
