Canyon Skazka (Fairytale) is a small canyon on the southern coast of Issyk-Kul, famous for its red clay rocks. The canyon is located near the village of Tosor, about 120 km from Fisher.
Fairytale Canyon is a very popular place for tourists. This is due to the canyon’s accessibility and stunning scenery. Over thousands of years, soil erosion has created the beautiful contrasts of the Fairytale Canyon. The canyon offers a variety of strange forms made of stone and clay. Made of colorful clays, minerals and rocks, these shapes add to the natural beauty of the area.
Some of the natural sculptures in the canyon have names. The best known is the ‘Chinese Wall’, reminiscent of famous Chinese structures. It should be added that the gorge can be visited at any time of the year as there is almost no snow in winter. The gorge is very close to the road and the lakeshore, making it an ideal place to relax or have a picnic.
Turning after Tosor village towards Terskey Ala-Too mountains and after passing about 4 km, we will notice how mountains part, and immediately, as if by the wave of a magic stick we will find ourselves in this valley of fairytales. In Russian, the word Skazka means “Fairy Tale” and the place is certainly a magical place, full of mystery and mysticism, sufficuent to stimulate the imagination of those with the inclination to stand, and stare, and wonder.
Creations carved out of the rock by the effect of the weather, ice, wind and water. It’s a dry valley, there is no stream flowing through it down to the lake. The rocks vary in colour from a sandy yellow to red and orange, and there are also colourful striations visible in places which show the different chemical composition of the rocks. With sand underfoot, there is little plant cover, just the occasional tree, and mainly gorse and alpine ferns.
