Tips to Visit the Osh Bazaar in Bishkek

Wondering how to visit the Osh Bazaar in Bishkek? Maybe you’re curious about what you can find in the Osh Bazaar? In this article, I’ll give you a few tips to help you visit this famous market in Bishkek.

No visit to Bishkek, the bustling busy capital of Kyrgyzstan would be complete without a visit to the Osh Bazaar. This market is one of the largest in Bishkek. You’ll find it in the western part of the city, not far from the Western Bus Station.

At this large open-air market, it’s possible to buy everything. From food products and spices to common household goods, clothes, souvenirs, and even musical instruments, you’ll be surrounded by all the products you could possibly imagine.

The crowds, the smells, and the noises can feel a bit overwhelming but it’s an experience you won’t easily forget. Visiting this lovely bazaar is part of the top things to see in Bishkek and it’s also one of the top 28 things to do while in Kyrgyzstan so it’s definitely a place you shouldn’t miss.

In this guide, I’ll tell you how to get to the Osh bazaar, I’ll give you some tips on visiting it, and I’ll tell you why it’s one of my favorite places in Bishkek.

Tip: See my Kyrgyzstan Travel Page for a complete overview of all my travel guides and blog posts about Kyrgyzstan!

Reading Tip:

13 Top Things to do in Bishkek – Bishkek Travel Guide

Disclaimer: This posts might contain affiliate links, meaning that if you make a purchase through these links, I may earn an affiliate commission. Thank you for helping to support this website!

Name

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Name(Required)

First

Email(Required)

Δ

Plan your trip to Bishkek

Where to stay

• Best budget pick: Koisha
• Best mid-range choice: Navat Hotel
• Top high-end hotel: Orion Hotel Bishkek

Top experiences in and near Bishkek

• Highlights of Bishkek City Tour
• Bishkek Food Tasting Tour
• Day trip to Ala Archa National Park
• Top hikes and day trips from Bishkek

Plan your trip to Kyrgyzstan

• 20 things you need to know before traveling to Kyrgyzstan
• The 14 best hikes & treks in Kyrgyzstan
• The 9 best horse riding destinations in Kyrgyzstan
• Kyrgyzstan Packing List
• Kyrgyzstan Money Guide
• Kyrgyzstan Travel Insurance

Why should you visit the Osh Bazaar?

When you’re discovering a new country, the best way to get a first impression of the culture you’re discovering is to visit an open-air market or bazaar. Markets tell so many stories about a culture. They give insights into the way people dress, walk and talk to each other.

You’ll see all the delicacies and the food products the Kyrgyz people love in this large market. You also discover spices and cheese products typical to this Central Asian country.

At the Osh Bazaar, not only will be you discover a vast array of products, but you’ll also find out what are the latest Kyrgyz fashions and trends.

The Osh Bazaar is the main market where the locals of Bishkek come to buy and sell their products so it’s still very authentic and not overrun by tourists yet.

Reading Tip:

The 8 Best Hikes and Day Trips from Bishkek

Where is the Osh Bazaar?

It’s easy to get to the Osh Bazaar from almost anywhere in Bishkek. Here’s its location, near the old Western bus station.

If you want to walk there, I would suggest installing the App Maps.me on your phone. This is one of the most practical apps you could use in Kyrgyzstan.

You can download the map of the Bishkek so you can use it offline. It gives you very accurate directions and shows you where you can find the nearest restaurants, bus stations, ATM, hotels, places with wi-fi, and points of interest.

The Osh Bazaar is at a 40 minutes walk from the city center along Chuy avenue. If you’d rather take a taxi to get there, you can hop on any taxi in the city center and get there for around 150 som (about 2 USD).

Reading Tip:

The 25 most beautiful places to visit in Kyrgyzstan

What are the opening hours of the Osh Bazaar?

The Osh Bazaar is opened every day of the week between 8 AM and 8 PM.

If you get there before the opening hours though, you’re bound to see some interesting things such as people bringing in their products and shop owners setting up their stores.

It’s such a huge place that you could easily spend a whole day there and not see all of it. The Osh Bazaar is one of the top places to visit in Bishkek for photographers so I think it’s worth being there as early as possible to avoid big crowds and get the perfect light.

Reading Tip:

Kyrgyzstan Travel Guide: 20 things you should know before you go

What can you buy in the Osh Bazaar?

There are so many things that can be bought at the Osh Bazaar. Here is a small list of the different products you’ll find there:

• Dried fruits, nuts and oils

The first thing that you’ll notice there is the hugs amount of spices and dried fruits. You can buy everything in bulk so make sure to bring a small backpack if you want to bring some almonds, nuts and dried apricots back to your hostel.

You’ll also find tons of different oils, seeds, condiments, and sauces.

• Sweets

The Osh Bazaar is a goldmine of chocolate, cookies, cakes, and candies.

• Bread

If you like bread and pastries, you’ll find plenty of bakeries in the Bazaar. There you can buy all kinds of traditional bread, baguettes, and spiced buns.

• Clothes and household products

On top of all the food, you’ll find tons of other things at the Bazaar. From cleaning products to rugs and clothes and shoes, you’ll be surrounded by a paraphernalia of products.

• Traditional Kyrgyz dishes and drinks

In the Osh Bazaar, you’ll see a lot of small restaurants and food stalls where you can buy traditional Kyrgyz dishes and meals. The food in Kyrgyzstan is hearty and delicious. Most meals consist of mutton, beef and chicken meat, served in dumplings, on top of noodles or rice or alongside potatoes.

If you’re a vegetarian, it will be challenging to find some typical Kyrgyz dishes without meat. However, it’s not impossible and you can definitely ask for meals without meat. Just expect to get some weird looks.

Reading Tip:

Kyrgyzstan Money Guide: How much does it cost to travel and live in Kyrgyzstan

• Souvenirs

If you like to buy something traditional to bring home with you as souvenir, you’ll very likely find it on the Osh Bazaar (another great place for souvenir shopping in Bishkek is at the upper floor of Tsum center).

You name it and you’ll very likely find it on the Osh Bazaar: there are seriously so many products there! The only issue that you may encounter with buying things at the bazaar is that every price and product names are written in Russian while most sellers speak only Kyrgyz or Russian.

Learning a few words or expressions in those languages before visiting the country will definitely be handy.

If learning languages is not your thing, I would recommend getting your hands on the Lonely Planet Russian phrasebook and dictionary. It’s packed with thousands of sentences that will help you in different situations and scenarios such as buying food at the Osh Bazaar or finding a place to stay in Bishkek.

Reading Tip:

Tips and tricks to learn Russian quickly and efficiently

Safety tips for visiting the Osh Bazaar in Bishkek

Osh Bazaar is a large market that attracts tons of people. You’ll often be walking there in crowds of people between small stalls of products. Because of this, pick-pocketing is not uncommon in the market.

The best solution to avoid being pick-pocketed is to stay very alert and aware of your belongings at all times. You should leave all your important and valuable items at your hotel and walk around only with what is absolutely necessary.

Keep your wallet in your front pocket or carry a money belt. Another great option is to travel with a slash-resistant and lockable anti-theft bag. I would also recommend getting good travel insurance that covers theft.

Need Travel Insurance for Central Asia? I use and highly recommend HeyMondo Travel Insurance. As a reader of Journal of Nomads, you get a 5% discount off your insurance plan!

Reading Tip:

Is Kyrgyzstan safe? 15 useful things to know before you go

Have you ever visited the Osh Bazaar before? Are you planning on visiting this beautiful market soon? Do you agree it’s one of the top places to see in Bishkek? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

Related Post