8 Incredible (& Tasty) Things to Do in Osh: Kyrgyzstan’s Oldest City
Osh is a city that got me saying ‘I could totally live here’.
Locals are friendly; I can’t even begin to count the number of times that strangers in the street or markets welcomed us to Kyrgyzstan!
The city is quiet, but busy enough not to feel too remote. There is a great selection of restaurants and cafes, accommodation is affordable and really nice.
We both really loved it here, and have returned to Osh twice in the last two years.
But you’ll also find people saying that they find the city boring. A lot of travellers don’t even make it all the way to Osh because it’s a good 12-hour journey from the capital, Bishkek, and is relatively far from the other main attractions in Kyrgyzstan.
And I honestly think it’s a shame.
Yes, there aren’t tons of must-see attractions here, but what is here is great. The feel of city is warm and welcoming. The people are friendly. And the word ‘Osh’ literally means ‘food’, so of course we were going to love it here!
This guide will show you all the best things to do in Osh; from bazaars, to the best city viewpoints, to a UNESCO site, to where to find the tastiest vegetarian food.
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1. Sulaiman Too UNESCO Site
Osh is Kyrgyzstan’s oldest city estimated to be over 3,000 years old, and Sulaiman Too has long been a sacred place.
The spot is Kyrgyzstan’s one and only UNESCO site and is definitely the main attraction when visiting Osh. In amongst the endless flat plains of the Fergana Valley, juts a huge rock formation seemingly out of nowhere.
Pay a small fee of 70 KGS to enter and then walk up the set of stairs to the top. Even after walking for just a few minutes, the city views begin to open up, but to get to the top won’t take too long – maybe 15 minutes.
There are a few viewing platforms to get some beautiful city views, and a small mosque on top which is a pilgrimage site. The city views are great from here, but this isn’t actually where you’ll get the best views of Osh.
2. Get Off the Beaten Path on Sulaiman Too
Make sure you wear some proper shoes up Sulaiman Too, because even though the regular path is relatively straight-forward to climb, you’ll want to venture off piste.
There is a paved path that runs from the mosque to the other end near a museum, and about half way along is a spot where you can see a couple of caves higher up in the rock face and a trodden dirt path.
This is the place to venture off piste. It’s steep, but it won’t take long to get to the ridge and then the views open up on both sides over the city. Carry on up and over to the left and you’ll find two peaks, both of which are accessible and provide amazing views over the side of the city.
These views are not visible from the main viewing platforms with the mosque, and trust me, the views are SO much better from here, and worth a little extra climbing.
3. Hunt for Soviet Mosaics
Osh has some of Kyrgyzstan’s best preserved Soviet-style mosaics. The majority are huge murals that take up an entire wall, and they’re impressive! There’s a mosaic for an old Aeroflot ad, the mascot of the 1980s Russian Olympics: Misha the Bear, theatre productions, etc.
They are all unique, and fascinating to me that they are still in such good condition. Dotted around the city, you’ll undoubtedly stumble across several just while you’re exploring the city.
Savvy Traveller Pro Tips 🇰🇬
After exploring Kyrgyzstan for six weeks, these are our favourite booking tools that we couldn’t travel without!
4. Get Lost in Osh Bazaar
Osh used to have two bazaars (Osh and Jayma) next to each other on either side of the river. Now, Jayma Bazaar is closed, but Osh Bazaar by itself is still an experience!
We spent hours here in July 2025 wandering the stalls full of fruit, nuts, biscuits, clothes, shoes. If you only try one thing at this market, make it qurut! This is a classic Kyrgyz snack that is an acquired taste of punchy, salty, sour cheese. It is made from fermenting and drying yoghurt until they go almost rock hard.
I asked a woman running a qurut stand if I could take a photo of her stand, and she ushered me round the back to have a photo with her and the stand. So sweet!
While we were taking other photos, a woman came over to me, put her arm around me and posed for a photo of us in the market. People were asking where we were from, and welcoming us to Kyrgyzstan. It was such a beautiful and wholesome experience.
5. Grab a Freshly-Made Somsa
Around here, there are several stands selling freshly-made somsa with various fillings that include veg options! You’ll usually be able to find an option for potato, pumpkin, and some kind of greens. Affordable, tasty, and very local!
6. Try the Streetside Drinks
All throughout Kyrgyzstan’s big cities, you’ll see stands on the streets with people selling drinks from huge containers. But again, these are very Kyrgyz drinks that have a very Kyrgyz taste of sour and fermented.
The first you have to try is chalap (or you might see it marketed as tan). It is a fermented milk that is sour and fizzy: two things that my Western mind does not associate with dairy products!
The second container will likely have maksym in it. This is another Kyrgyz classic made from roasted and fermented grains such as wheat and barley. It again has a sour taste and a thickness to it that resembles more of a soup.
Both drinks are very classic Kyrgyz and not personally our favourite taste, but are an absolute must-try if you really want to get a feel (or taste) of Kyrgyzstan.
7. Taste Traditional Kyrgyz Dishes at Navat
The best restaurant in Osh is without doubt, Navat. There is also a branch in Bishkek, Almaty, and Astana too.
The restaurant serves traditional Kyrgyz food and has several vegetarian options. Try the cucumber salad with a soy sauce and garlic dressing, salat Shirin (lightly battered and fried aubergine with fresh tomato and covered in a sweet chilli sauce), kattama (a hybrid of Taiwanese scallion pancakes and Keralan paratha), steamed and fried manti (dumplings stuffed with pumpkin).
When we visited in July 2025, their card machine did not accept our cards – we tried Chase mastercard, Starling mastercard and Revolut visa. And so we ended up having to run down to the ATM to get cash! Optima Bank is your best option without withdrawal fees, FYI.
Check out our post on all the best Kyrgyz vegetarian dishes.
8. Grab Coffee and Cheesecake at Brio
Ok, I know this is not a very Kyrgyz thing to do, but Osh has a great café culture! And Brio is one of the best. The coffees are good, the cheesecake is beautifully creamy, and the café itself is a great place to relax.
FYI – The Lenin Statue Has Been Temporarily Misplaced
On older blog posts about Osh, you’ll see that many tell you to go and see Central Asia’s tallest Lenin statue. However, it was removed in June 2025 and said to be being moved to a local park. But we didn’t see it anywhere in Osh when we visited in July, so who knows?
Where to Stay in Osh
ABS Guesthouse (£)
We loved this place so much that we extended our stay from two days to four! ABS Guesthouse has hostel dorms and an area with private rooms that is completely separate. Double rooms are affordable, large and comfy, have aircon, a private bathroom, TV, and wifi.
There is a table tennis table too! And the shared kitchen is great and spacious and has free tea, coffee and water. The guys that run the place are super friendly and you can pay by card.
🛏️ Plan your Stay 🛏️
How to Get to Osh
Travellers often miss Osh from their Kyrgyz itinerary because it is quite far away from the main attractions in the country, but Osh is absolutely worth visiting! It has its own unique culture, and the city feels very different to any other we visited in the country.
Your best bet to get to Osh from other spots in Kyrgyzstan is marshrutka or shared taxi. When we travelled from Osh to Bishkek, there were no direct marshrutkas, and so we went to nearby Jalal-Abad because it had a direct marshrutka.
The journey to Osh will take a good twelve hours whether you go for a shared taxi or marshrutka, but it has to be one of the most scenic drives we have ever experienced!
Another popular route is to travel from Uzbekistan as Osh is so close to the border in Fergana Valley. We have travelled this route on three occasions, and it’s pretty stress-free even though there are several steps.
We’ve actually put together a whole blog post outlining how to take the journey from either Tashkent or Andijan to Osh.
Osh itself has an airport (OSS) with direct flights from Bishkek, Almaty, Tashkent (though I haven’t heard of people having much luck booking this route), Istanbul, Russia and a couple of spots in the Middle East.
Onward Travel
From Osh, you can easily venture to nearby Arslanbob to explore the world’s largest walnut tree forest and to hike, or if you want to explore more of Kyrgyzstan’s sights, it’ll be easier to get yourself to Bishkek first.
From there you can get to almost anywhere else in the country, but make sure you take a day or two to see Bishkek! If you’re into Soviet, Brutalist architecture and mosaics, Bishkek is perfect. Osh is also the perfect jumping off point to head into Uzbekistan’s Fergana Valley or Tashkent.
Plan more of your trip with these:
- Travel Tips for Kyrgyzstan: 10 Useful Things to Know
- How to Get from Tashkent & Andijan to Osh via Dostyk Border
- Vegetarian Food in Kyrgyzstan: 15 Must-Eats!
- 21 Quirky Things to See in Bishkek: Soviet Style
- 5 Best Restaurants in Bishkek for Vegetarians
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