What to see in Karakol: Holy Trinity Cathedral

If you are looking for what to see in Karakol, almost every list includes two wooden landmarks: the Holy Trinity Cathedral and the Dungan Mosque, which stands not far from the church. Karakol is the centre of the Issyk-Kul Region near the eastern shore of Lake Issyk-Kul; in Soviet times the city was called Przhevalsk. The cathedral is an active Orthodox church of 1895 right in the city centre. Entry is free, 10–30 minutes is enough to see it, and together with the nearby Dungan Mosque, the old carved houses and the bazaar it makes a relaxed half-day walk around Karakol — a good break between the mountains and the beaches of Issyk-Kul.

In 2025, the American magazine Condé Nast Traveler included Karakol in its list of the 25 best places to go and called it the “adventure capital of Central Asia.” Besides the mountains and skiing, the magazine highlighted the city's multi-ethnic heritage — carved wooden houses, Dungan cuisine and the Dungan Mosque. The Holy Trinity Cathedral is part of that same heritage.

A beautiful wooden church

Five gilded domes with crosses, a bell tower, log walls and a granite porch — the cathedral stands out among Karakol's low-rise buildings and, on a clear day, against the mountains. It is an example of Turkestan wooden Orthodox architecture; you can photograph the outside at any time.

The city's history in one building

The church was built by the Maslikov merchant family of Karakol and consecrated in 1895, after the 1889 earthquake destroyed the earlier church; by then the city was already called Przhevalsk. In Soviet times the building housed a club and later a gym. In 1992 it was returned to believers, and within three years the townspeople restored it with their own hands and donations. Read more on the History page.

It is a working church

Services are held regularly, the bells ring, and the Troitskaya School operates at the church. During services, please do not walk around or take photos, and silence your phone.