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SANTA CLAUS MOUNTAIN

October 16, 2014 By Howard Kramer Leave a Comment

Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan

Santa Claus Mountain (britannica.com)

Santa Claus Mountain (britannica.com)

It is a well known fact that Santa Claus lives and works at the North Pole, or at least somewhere nearby.  But where does jolly old St. Nick begin his annual Christmas Eve journey around the world?  In Central Asia, according to the Kyrgyzstan national tourism bureau.  This relatively recent development, loosely based on an idea by a Swedish company, places Santa’s most practical starting point, from a travel perspective, in the mountains near Bishkek in Kyrgyzstan.  Local Kyrgyzstanis have jumped on this discovery, and donated a local mountain to Santa for his personal use during the holidays.

Way back in 2007, the Swedish engineering company Sweco did a light-hearted study designed to lay out the most efficient route for Santa Claus to take on his annual world tour.  The study, which apparently did make use of advanced algorithms used to streamline shipping routes, identified the country of Kyrgyzstan as the optimal starting point.  Interestingly, officials of Kyrgyzstan’s tourism industry seized on the idea, and immediately set about finding ways of promoting their country as a Santa Claus destination.

Santa Claus Mountain (jaunted.com)

Santa Claus Mountain (jaunted.com)

On Christmas Eve, 2007, mountaineers from Bishkek set out to climb a peak in the nearby Tien Shan Mountains.  Upon reaching the summit, they planted a flag of Kyrgyzstan and christened the mountain ‘Santa Claus Peak’ as free-roaming yaks looked on (the naming of mountains is a local tradition; ironically, Vladimir Lenin Mountain is not too far away).  Santa Claus Peak is now the unofficially recognized starting line for St. Nicholas’ annual race around the world.

Santa Claus Mountain can be found a few miles outside of the city of Bishkek in Kyrgyzstan, about two hundred miles east of Tashkent in Uzbekistan.  It is an open site.  A Santa Claus festival was held on December 30, featuring a large gathering of Santas from all over the world in many costumes.  Organizers hope to make this an annual event.  As of this writing no other tourism information was available.  Web: N/A

Filed Under: Christmas Tagged With: Central Asia

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About Howard Kramer

Howard Kramer is the creator and author of The Complete Pilgrim. He first took an interest in religious sites in his early twenties when traveling through Italy after college. In the two decades since he has traveled to more than two dozen countries and almost every state, visiting and photographing hundreds of the world’s greatest churches, synagogues and other places of religious interest. Howard has been writing about religious sites for the better part of the last decade, and The Complete Pilgrim is a culmination of years of his work and passion.

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Welcome to The Complete Pilgrim(TM)! This site, created by Howard Kramer, is a combination travel blog and online guide to the world's greatest sites of religious interest (with some historic and recreational places thrown in for good measure). All written content has been originally researched and produced and is provided free for public research and enjoyment. Thank you for visiting!

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Africa (North) Africa (Sub-Sahara) Arabia Armenia/Azerbaijan/Georgia Australia/Pacific Austria/Switzerland Balkans Belgium/Netherlands British Isles Canada Caribbean Central Asia China Czech Republic Egypt France Germany Greece Hungary/Romania/Bulgaria India (NE)/Nepal India (NW) India (South)/Sri Lanka Iran/Iraq Israel Italy/Malta Japan/Korea Latin America Mexico Palestine Poland/Lithuania Russia Scandinavia Southeast Asia Spain/Portugal Syria/Jordan/Lebanon Turkey/Cyprus Ukraine US-California US-Mid Atlantic US-Midwest US-New England US-New York US-Pacific Northwest US-South US-Southwest

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Have a comment, a great photo or a religious site you'd like to nominate for the weekly spotlight? We would love to hear from you. Email us at hkramer@thecompletepilgrim.com.

About the Author

Howard Kramer is the creator and author of The Complete Pilgrim. He first took an interest in religious sites in his early twenties when traveling through Italy after college. In the two decades since he has traveled to more than two dozen countries and almost every state, visiting and photographing hundreds of the world’s greatest churches, synagogues and other places of religious interest. Howard has been writing about religious sites for the better part of the last decade, and The Complete Pilgrim is the culmination of years of his work and passion.

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