Bishkek Webcam – Watch Ala-Too Square and the Manas Statue

The Bishkek Webcam looks west across Ala-Too Square, the main square of Kyrgyzstan’s capital, from high on its eastern side. At the center of the frame the new statue of Manas, hero of the Kyrgyz national epic, charges forward on a rearing horse with a banner raised, high on a white wedge-shaped pedestal. The national flagpole rises to its left, and the white marble block of the National History Museum fills the right of the picture. Chuy Avenue runs down the left side, while a long car park, lawns and a cream building with tall arched windows fill the foreground. Traffic, parades and holiday crowds change the scene through the day. After dark the flagpole and the pedestal are floodlit, so the square stays easy to read at night.

About Bishkek and Ala-Too Square

Ala-Too Square was built in 1984 to mark the 60th anniversary of the Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic, with a massive statue of Lenin at its center. It was called Lenin Square until Kyrgyzstan became independent in 1991. Lenin moved to a smaller square behind the museum in 2003, and a statue called Erkindik, meaning Freedom, stood here until a first statue of Manas replaced it in 2011. Chuy Avenue, the city’s main east-west street and Lenin Avenue in Soviet times, crosses the square. On 7 April 2010 protesters filled it and surrounded the nearby White House.

The square on camera reopened in September 2024 after a large rebuild that laid about 16,460 square meters (177,000 square feet) of granite slabs, added dancing and fire fountains with jets of up to 21 meters (69 feet), and put up the 100-meter (328-foot) flagpole at the left of the frame. In July 2025 the calm, seated Manas of 2011 gave way to the present statue, installed ahead of Independence Day on 31 August. The epic is still honored here: in November 2020 the manaschi Doolot Sydykov recited the Epic of Manas on the square for a record 14 hours and 27 minutes.

The museum was founded on 9 December 1925 as Kyrgyzstan’s first scientific institution, and its current building dates from 1984. A Turkish-funded redevelopment between 2016 and 2021 removed its Soviet statues and paintings, and it reopened as the National History Museum of the Kyrgyz Republic. Bishkek grew from the Kokand fortress of Pishpek, built in 1825, and was named Frunze from 1926 to 1991. It sits at about 800 meters (2,600 feet), with a 2021 population estimate of 1,074,075.

Weather and Climate in Bishkek

Winters are cold but rarely deep in snow. January highs average 2.9°C (37°F) and lows -7.1°C (19°F), and snow falls on about nine days that month, yet the average snow depth is only around 5 centimeters (2 inches), so the lawns and parked cars on camera tend to get a light covering rather than drifts. Spring is the wet season. April brings 71 millimeters (2.8 inches) of rain, the most of any month, with highs near 18.7°C (66°F) and lows of 6.9°C (44°F).

Summer is long, hot and sunny. July highs average 32.4°C (90°F), with lows near 18.4°C (65°F), and the record is 42.1°C (108°F). July has about 332 hours of sunshine and August only 15 millimeters (0.6 inches) of rain, so the square spends most summer days under clear skies and hard shadows. Autumn cools quickly, with October highs of 18.5°C (65°F) and lows of 5.6°C (42°F), and the trees around the square start to turn yellow. The year totals about 455 millimeters (17.9 inches) of precipitation.

Things to Do Near Ala-Too Square, Bishkek

The National History Museum holds Bronze Age cave sculptures, ancient coins, jewelry and a handmade felt nomad yurt. Behind it stand the relocated Lenin statue and Oak Park. Erkindik Boulevard runs south from the museum quarter and sculpture park to the Bishkek II railway station. Close by is the White House, a seven-story marble building completed in 1985 where the Supreme Council now sits, and the park beside it holds a statue of Ivan Panfilov.

Osh Bazaar, west of the center, is the city’s big produce market. Farther out, Ala Archa National Park lies about 35 kilometers (22 miles) south, a 30 to 45 minute drive. Established in 1976, it climbs from about 1,500 meters (4,900 feet) at the entrance to 4,895 meters (16,060 feet) at Semenov-Tian-Shansky Peak, the highest point of the Kyrgyz Ala-Too range, and holds more than 20 glaciers. Snow leopards live on its alpine meadows above 2,500 meters (8,200 feet).

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Frequently Asked Questions

What can you see on the Bishkek Webcam?

The camera faces west over Ala-Too Square. The Manas statue on its white pedestal and the 100-meter (328-foot) flagpole stand left of center, the National History Museum is on the right, and Chuy Avenue, a car park and lawns fill the foreground. A Ferris wheel and new high-rises show on the skyline. The Kyrgyz Ala-Too mountains lie south of the city, outside the frame.

Where is Bishkek located?

Bishkek is the capital of Kyrgyzstan, in the north of the country near the border with Kazakhstan. It lies just off the northern edge of the Kyrgyz Ala-Too range, about 190 kilometers (118 miles) west of Almaty, its nearest large city.

What is the statue on Ala-Too Square?

It is Manas, the hero of the Kyrgyz epic of the same name. The current statue, installed in July 2025, shows him rushing forward on a rearing warhorse with a raised banner. It replaced the 2011 statue of Manas calmly seated on his horse.

Can you watch the changing of the guard at Ala-Too Square?

Soldiers guard the national flagpole, and the changing of the guard there is one of the square’s best-known sights. The flagpole stands at the left of the frame, so the ceremony takes place in view, but at this distance the guards are small figures at its base.

Does the Bishkek Webcam show the airport?

No. Manas International Airport is about 25 kilometers (16 miles) northwest of the city center, far outside the frame. Its IATA code changed from FRU, taken from the Soviet name Frunze, to BSZ on 9 August 2025.

What is the weather like in Bishkek?

Summers are hot and dry, with July highs around 32.4°C (90°F), and winters are cold, with January lows near -7.1°C (19°F). April is the wettest month at 71 millimeters (2.8 inches).

What does the Bishkek Webcam show at night?

The square stays lit. Floodlights turn the flagpole and the Manas pedestal bright white, rows of street lamps line the lawns and the car park, and the museum stays visible against the dark sky. Headlights trace Chuy Avenue on the left through the night.

Source: Saima Telecom