More than 90 per cent of Kyrgyzstan is covered by mountains, and the Tien Shan is the biggest range of them all. The mountains stretch for about 2,800 kilometres in total - that is longer than the whole of Western Europe from top to bottom. They form a giant natural wall across Central Asia.
Up in the Tien Shan you find glaciers, rushing rivers, pine forests, wildflower meadows and high-altitude grasslands called jailoos. Shepherds have moved their herds up to these jailoos every summer for thousands of years, letting their horses, sheep and yaks graze on the thick mountain grass.
Many rivers begin in the Tien Shan, fed by melting snow and glaciers. These rivers flow outwards in every direction, bringing fresh water to the dry plains and valleys below. Without the Tien Shan, much of Central Asia would be a desert without enough water to grow food.
The mountains are home to some of the rarest animals on Earth, including the snow leopard and the Marco Polo sheep with its magnificent curved horns. Trekkers and mountaineers come from all over the world to walk the trails and climb the peaks.