Cholpon-Ata is the largest town on the Northern shore of the lake, about half way along, some 255 kilometers from Bishkek.
There is a small market for everyday necessities, a yacht club, (it is possible to take boat trips on the lake), a hippodrome and a major stud farm. There is a museum displaying archaeological finds from around the region.
Just to the North of the town lies an «open air art gallery» - containing a fine display of petroglyphs which date from the sixth to the first century BC.
In the Canyon above the town are forests, the Kyzyl Beirel waterfall, the Chon Koi canyon Suu.
As well as the sanatoria, accommodation is possible in a number of homestays.
A little offshore is the sunken village of Chengu - «red valley» - the capital of the ancient Usun State in the second century B.C. - and as the waters of the lake receded it is thought that the village will soon emerge from the depths.