Kyrgyzstan: Karakol, Jety-Oguz and Song-Kol on Foot

1. Day 1: Arrive in Bishkek

   Manas International Airport to your hotel in central Bishkek

   • Drive about 45 min
   • Dinner
   • Stay in Bishkek
   Day 1 details

   Fly into Manas International Airport (FRU), about 30 km north of Bishkek, and a driver meets you in the arrivals hall. Plan to land by about 3 pm to join the late-afternoon walk; if your flight lands in the evening or overnight, as many do, the driver still meets you and your guide briefs you over breakfast. Bishkek is a green, low-rise city on a Soviet grid, with the snow wall of the Kyrgyz Ala-Too range at the end of most streets. At about 5 pm your See Sight Tours guide takes those who have arrived on a short walk to Ala-Too Square, where the guard changes at the flagpole, past the Manas monument and through Oak Park with its open-air sculptures. Then the group meets for a briefing on the days ahead: the walks, the altitude at Song-Kol, what to pack for the yurt nights and how the long drives are broken up. We sit down together to a welcome dinner of Kyrgyz dishes at a local restaurant.

   Included

   • Pick-up at Manas International Airport (FRU)
   • Short evening walk: Ala-Too Square, the Manas monument and Oak Park
   • Welcome briefing with your guide
   • Welcome dinner

   Free time: Free until the late-afternoon walk

   Activity: About 2 km on flat city streets.

2. Day 2: Burana Tower and the north shore to Karakol

   Bishkek to Burana Tower, the Boom gorge and Cholpon-Ata, then Karakol

   • Drive about 6 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Karakol
   Day 2 details

   We leave at 8 am. This is the longest road day of the trip, about 400 km and six hours of driving, because Karakol lies at the far eastern end of Issyk-Kul and we do not use flights on this route; we break it into three parts. First Burana Tower, an hour east, reached at about 9:15 before the heat: an 11th-century minaret standing alone in fields near the site of Balasagun, a Karakhanid capital, part of the Silk Roads UNESCO World Heritage listing, with a field of carved balbal grave stones and a small museum. Then the Boom gorge of the Chu River down to the lake and along the north shore to Cholpon-Ata for a sit-down lunch and a walk among the boulders of the petroglyph field, carved with ibex and hunters. The last stretch runs along the lake under the Kungey Ala-Too to Karakol, where we arrive in the late afternoon for three nights.

   Included

   • Burana Tower, the balbal field and the site museum with your guide
   • Sit-down lunch in Cholpon-Ata
   • The Cholpon-Ata petroglyph field

   Free time: Evening free in Karakol

   Activity: Short walks only. If the stair inside Burana Tower is open on the day, it is dark, steep and narrow; skip it if you prefer.

   

3. Day 3: Walk to the hot springs of Altyn Arashan

   Karakol to the Ak-Suu trailhead, on foot to Altyn Arashan, then 4x4 back

   • Drive about 2 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Karakol
   Day 3 details

   A short drive takes us to the bridge above the village of Ak-Suu, where the track to Altyn Arashan starts, and we set off on foot at about 8:30, before the sun is high. The path climbs about 14 km and 900 m through spruce forest beside the Arashan river, with a few steep stretches, and opens into a wide valley at about 2,600 m with views up to the snow peak of Palatka. Allow five to six hours with stops. Lunch is at a guesthouse in the valley, and then the reward: a soak in the hot springs that give Altyn Arashan, the golden spa, its name. Bring swimwear. In the afternoon a local 4x4 takes us back down the rocky track, about an hour and a half of bouncing, and we are in Karakol by early evening. Dinner tonight is your own: Karakol has good cafes for lagman noodles and plov.

   Included

   • Guided walk from the Ak-Suu trailhead to Altyn Arashan
   • Lunch at a guesthouse in the Altyn Arashan valley
   • The Altyn Arashan hot springs
   • Local 4x4 back down the valley
   • Park and eco-zone fees

   Easier option: Ride up in the 4x4 with the lunch supplies, walk an hour up the valley towards Palatka, then soak in the springs.

   More active option: Walk on past the springs up the valley for another hour towards Palatka before lunch.

   Free time: Evening free in Karakol

   Activity: About 14 km and 900 m of climbing on a rocky forest track, 5 to 6 hours, up to about 2,600 m. The 4x4 track is very rough.

4. Day 4: Jety-Oguz valley and a Dungan dinner

   Karakol to the Jety-Oguz valley and back, then Karakol old town

   • Drive about 1.5 h
   • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
   • Stay in Karakol
   Day 4 details

   After breakfast we drive about 40 minutes west to Jety-Oguz, named for its seven bulls, a wall of red sandstone cliffs above the river, and the split rock called the Broken Heart. From the old Soviet sanatorium we walk up the valley past summer yurts and grazing horses, through spruce slopes, into the Kok-Jaiyk meadow, the valley of flowers, at about 2,500 m, with snow peaks at its head. The round walk is 10 to 12 km and four to five hours. Lunch is at a yurt in the valley. We are back in Karakol by mid-afternoon for a free hour or two. At about 5 pm we walk the old town of single-storey Russian houses with carved window frames to the Holy Trinity Cathedral, built of wood in 1895, and the Dungan Mosque, finished in 1910 by Dungan craftsmen in the style of a Chinese temple. In the evening a Dungan family welcomes us to dinner at home, with ashlyamfu, the cold noodle dish Karakol is known for.

   Included

   • Jety-Oguz walk with your guide: the Seven Bulls, the Broken Heart and the Kok-Jaiyk meadow
   • Lunch at a yurt in the Jety-Oguz valley
   • Karakol walk: the Holy Trinity Cathedral and the Dungan Mosque
   • Dinner with a Dungan family in Karakol

   Optional experiences

   • The Przhevalsky museum and memorial on the lakeshore near Karakol, priced at booking

   Easier option: Walk the lower valley past the Seven Bulls for an hour and wait with tea at a yurt while the others go up to the meadow.

   More active option: Climb the ridge above the valley to the viewpoint over the Seven Bulls and the Broken Heart, about an hour extra.

   Free time: Mid-afternoon free in Karakol

   Activity: 10 to 12 km on grassy valley tracks, 4 to 5 hours, up to about 2,500 m, with steady gentle climbs.

   

5. Day 5: The south shore and Skazka to Kochkor

   Karakol along the south shore of Issyk-Kul to Skazka Canyon, then Kochkor

   • Drive about 5.5 h
   • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
   • Stay in Kochkor
   Day 5 details

   Today we cross from the east end of the lake to the high valley of Kochkor, about 330 km and five and a half hours of driving: the road has to go round the lake, and Kochkor puts Song-Kol within reach tomorrow. We break it with Skazka and a long lunch. We leave at 8:30 and follow the quieter south shore of Issyk-Kul, with small villages and apricot orchards between the water and the Terskey Ala-Too. Mid-morning we stop for an hour at Skazka, the fairy-tale canyon, to walk among eroded clay ridges striped red, yellow and purple. Lunch is a sit-down meal in a south shore village. In the afternoon the road leaves the lake near Balykchy and climbs to Kochkor at about 1,800 m, a farming town known for felt, where we arrive at about 4 pm. The rest of the day is free: walk the main street to the felt shops or rest after the drive. Dinner is home cooking at our guesthouse.

   Included

   • Skazka Canyon walk with your guide
   • Sit-down lunch on the south shore
   • Dinner at the guesthouse in Kochkor

   Free time: Late afternoon and evening free in Kochkor

   Activity: About 2 km on sandy paths and short steep slopes at Skazka.

6. Day 6: Over the pass and on foot to Song-Kol

   Kochkor over the Kalmak-Ashuu pass, then on foot to a yurt camp at Song-Kol

   • Drive about 3 h
   • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
   • Stay in Song-Kol
   Day 6 details

   Before we leave, women at a local workshop show us at 8:30 how shirdak rugs are made: wool beaten into felt, cut and stitched into bold patterns. At about 9:30 we drive south up the Kalmak-Ashuu road, a gravel track of tight bends that climbs to a pass of more than 3,300 m; the whole road to the lake is about 90 km and three to four hours by van. Below the far side of the pass, after about three hours, the van stops for a picnic lunch, and we walk the last stretch, about 10 km and four hours, mostly downhill over open pastures dotted with herders' yurts, horses and sheep, with Song-Kol coming into view below. The lake is about 3,000 m up, about 29 km long and ringed by bare green hills. The van meets us at the camp on the grassy shore, where we stay two nights in felt yurts with beds, bedding and a stove, one for each couple or solo guest. Watch the sunset over the water, then dinner at camp.

   Included

   • Shirdak felt workshop in Kochkor
   • Drive over the Kalmak-Ashuu pass with your guide
   • Guided walk over the pastures to Song-Kol
   • Picnic lunch on the way
   • A yurt night at Song-Kol
   • Dinner at camp

   Easier option: Stay in the van to the camp and walk the last 3 km along the lake shore instead.

   Activity: About 10 km over grassy pastures, mostly downhill, about 4 hours at 3,000 to 3,300 m. Take it slowly on the first day at altitude.

   

7. Day 7: A horse day at Song-Kol

   Song-Kol: on horseback or on foot above the lake

   • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
   • Stay in Song-Kol
   Day 7 details

   Get up for the sunrise if you can: the lake is often still and the hills turn pink. After breakfast a local horseman brings the horses round. Kyrgyz horses are small, steady and used to beginners, and the horseman leads anyone who has not ridden before. We ride about three hours at a walk along the shore and up into the hills to a viewpoint over the whole lake, past herders' yurts where families make kymys, fermented mare's milk, through the summer. If you would rather walk, your guide leads the same route on foot, four to five hours. Lunch is back at the camp. The afternoon is free: sit by the water, walk the shore for birds, or visit a herding family with your guide. Dinner is at the camp, and on a clear night the stars over Song-Kol are worth going outside for.

   Included

   • Horse ride with a local horseman, about 3 hours, or the same route on foot with your guide
   • Lunch at camp
   • A second yurt night at Song-Kol
   • Dinner at camp

   Easier option: Skip the ride and walk the lake shore near camp for an hour or two.

   More active option: In the afternoon, climb the ridge behind the camp to about 3,500 m for the view over the lake, about 3 hours return.

   Free time: Afternoon free at the lake

   Activity: Riding at a walk, about 3 hours, with helmets provided; the walking route is 4 to 5 hours on grassy slopes at 3,000 to 3,300 m. Riders' weight limits apply; ask us when you book.

   

8. Day 8: Back to Bishkek

   Song-Kol over the Kalmak-Ashuu pass to Kochkor, then the Boom gorge to Bishkek

   • Drive about 6.5 h
   • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
   • Stay in Bishkek
   Day 8 details

   We leave the lake at 8:30 after breakfast. This is the longest driving day, about 330 km and six and a half hours: Song-Kol is reached only by mountain tracks, and the trip ends in Bishkek. We break it in two places. First about three hours on gravel back over the Kalmak-Ashuu pass and down to Kochkor, with photo stops on the bends. In Kochkor we stop for an hour for a sit-down lunch and a stretch, and you can buy felt from the town's shops. The afternoon road is paved, about three and a half hours: past Balykchy and into the Boom gorge, where we stop for half an hour by the Chu River to walk and take a break from the van, then down into the Chuy valley and Bishkek, where we arrive at about 5 pm. There is time to wash off the dust before we sit down together for a farewell dinner at a local restaurant.

   Included

   • Drive over the Kalmak-Ashuu pass and through the Boom gorge with your guide
   • Sit-down lunch in Kochkor
   • A stop by the Chu River in the Boom gorge
   • Farewell dinner in Bishkek

   Activity: A road day with short stops only.

9. Day 9: Depart from Bishkek

   Bishkek to Manas International Airport

   • Drive about 45 min
   • Breakfast
   Day 9 details

   The trip ends after breakfast. A driver takes you to Manas International Airport (FRU), about 30 km and 40 minutes north of the city; many flights from Bishkek leave at night or in the early morning, and the transfer is timed to your flight. If your flight is late in the day, the morning is yours: Osh Bazaar, the city's best-known market, for dried fruit, spices, felt and the tall white kalpak hats; a coffee on Erkindik Boulevard; or the State History Museum on Ala-Too Square. If you want another day in the mountains, ask us about an extra night with a walk in Ala Archa National Park, about 40 km south of the city. Your guide says goodbye at breakfast or sees you to the airport.

   Included

   • Drop-off at Manas International Airport (FRU)

   Optional experiences

   • An extra night in Bishkek with a guided walk in Ala Archa National Park, priced at booking

   Free time: Morning free in Bishkek

   Activity: Hotel checkout is usually at noon; book a flight leaving after about 2 pm to enjoy a free morning, or any time for an early transfer.

Wildlife and weather: June to September is the season. Days in Karakol are warm and mostly dry; Song-Kol is cool by day and can drop near freezing at night even in July, with snow possible in early June and late September. Wildflowers are best in the Jety-Oguz and Song-Kol meadows in late June and July, when herders bring their flocks up to the summer pastures. Yurt camps at Song-Kol only stand in summer, so the trip does not run from October to May.

• Bishkek1 night
• Karakol3 nights
• Kochkor1 night
• Song-Kol2 nights
• Bishkek1 night