Dungan Mosque


A tip-tilted triple roof, carved-layered eaves and wooden exterior pillars give this colourful 1910 mosque the look of a Chinese Buddhist temple. Remarkably it survived the early Bolshevik era, which saw the town's other eight mosques destroyed, though it was closed for worship between 1933 and 1943.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby attractions

1. Tagay-biy Statue

0.42 MILES

Local hero Tagay-biy, renown as a great warrior who lead the Kyrgyz to victory during the 16th invasion of Kalmyk tribes, is memorialised in statue form…

2. Karakol History Museum

0.51 MILES

Occupying an archetypal 1887 Russian house, this museum has a few Scythian bronze artefacts, local tools and musical instruments. Taxidermists' victims…

3. Pedagogical College

0.53 MILES

Attractive historic building just opposite the cathedral, worth a look though they don't welcome tourists wandering in.

4. Holy Trinity Cathedral

0.58 MILES

Set peacefully amid trees, this hefty wooden structure is topped with green-roofed towers and almost-golden onion domes. The 1872 stone original was…

5. Lenin Statue

0.61 MILES

Keep an eye out for the small statue of Lenin along Gebze, overlooking the university.

6. Merchant's Home

0.75 MILES

This two-storey home with an ornate balcony is one of the most attractive historic structures in town, but sadly isn't open to the public.

7. Radio & TV Office

0.8 MILES

This historic building still serves as the office of the local Radio and TV company, which is not open to the public.

8. Karakol Animal Market

1.05 MILES

Early on Sunday mornings one of Kyrgyzstan's biggest animal markets takes place around 2km north of central Karakol. Typical of such markets, you'll…