This is a coal mining village. The sound of machinery can be heard all around and coal-covered miners are seen going to and from the depths of the Earth. At the entrance to the village a shiny silver statue of a miner stands in memory of a mining accident that occured in the 1980s. Those being Soviet times the details of the accident are vague and the statue's plaque simply states "Glory to the miners".

The contemporary story is also very complex. Yes, the mines provide employment, but so, too, does tourism. And, thanks to the investment of a French ski infrastructure company alongside the Kyrgyz government, hundreds of millions of dollars are going to be pumped into this area to create a massive new resort from scratch. Those miners would much rather their children work on the slopes than down in the pits. 

For now Jyrgalan remains a peaceful place, that is once you walk a short way away from the village. A map is all you need to explore the area. I hiked to the Tulpar Tash (Horse Rock), where the legend goes that local legend Manas's horse climbed and leapt off this massive boulder before riding off to war. It makes for a great place to turn back and to turn around and appreciate the scale of the 5,000m+ mountains here.

When evening falls so, too, does the noise from the mines. That noise is, however, barely noticeable, particularly from Peak Lodge. This is where I chose to base myself for the three days I was in Jyrgalan and I was delighted with my choice. Paying just £81/night I had a large room with mountain views from floor-to-ceiling windows. The lodge had a cosy restaurant and a very comfy seating area with ample sofas, all of this designed in Scandi style and making the most of its mountain location. Following the journey here and the hike to Tulpar Tash, the lodge's supreme comfort (and its outdoor hot tub) ensured I was ready to undertake a longer trek tomorrow.

My visit in early May - and the fact that Jyrgalan is at over 2,250 metres above sea level - meant that there was still snow along some of the trails. Nevertheless I was determined to reach Kok-Bel Waterfall. The route out of the village started along tracks and then, just beside where another small mining operation had scarred the side of a hill, the 'path' began. 'Path' is a generous term for what was mostly blades of grass that had been slightly trampled by a previous hiker; I was almost entirely reliant on GPS to guide me through the foothills, past dark pine forests and over freezing streams.

Snow soon appeared and I tested it underfoot to see if it would bear my weight which, for the most part, it would. The occasional plunge through less compacted snow meant that my feet ended up soaking wet, but I was confident enough to carry on regardless. The waterfall itself tumbles 20 metres down a bare granite cliff. There was a field of unpredictably thick snow and a hidden meandering stream in front of the falls and so I stood and admired it from a short distance away before retracing my footsteps back to Jyrgalan. Total people seen on the trails during the days I was here in this spectacular place: 3.