Chuy · Kyrgyzstan
Kyzyl-Oi
Kyzyl-Oi is a village of reddish clay houses on the Kökömeren river, about 40 km south of Suusamyr on the road towards Kochkor and Song-Kul, roughly 200 km from Bishkek. It lies at about 1,750 m in a hollow ringed by red mountains, which give the village its name. Local families host travellers in guesthouses of the CBT network, and the village is a base for hikes and horse treks to the Sary-Kamysh range and summer pastures. Bishkek operators run rafting on the Kökömeren in late summer.
- Region
- Chuy
- Altitude
- 1,750 m
- Roads
- Any car
What Kyzyl-Oi is
Kyzyl-Oi is a village of low reddish clay houses on the Kökömeren river at about 1,750 m, in the south of Chuy region. Red rock walls close in around the hollow it sits in, and the name comes from them. It is a farming village rather than a resort — about 40 km south of Suusamyr and roughly 200 km from Bishkek, on the back road linking the Bishkek–Osh highway with Kochkor and Song-Kul. Most people who stop here are breaking a long drive, and end up staying a second night.
What there is to do
- Walk or ride up the side valleys towards the Sary-Kamysh range and the summer pastures above the village.
- Follow the Kökömeren through its canyon, where the river runs loud between close walls.
- Raft the Kökömeren: Bishkek operators run trips in late summer, once the snowmelt has dropped.
- Spend the evening with the family you are staying with. This is a village where guests eat at the same table as their hosts.
When to go
Late May to September is the straightforward window, with the pastures at their greenest in June and July and rafting towards the end of summer. The village is lived in all year and the road from the highway stays open, but there is snow in the valley from November to April and much less to do.
Getting there
From Suusamyr it is about 41 km and an hour and a quarter down the Kökömeren canyon on wide, well-kept gravel. From Kochkor it is around 160 km and four hours over the Kyzart pass (2,664 m, open year-round but windy and snowy in winter) and through Chaek. Coming directly from Song-Kul means the Kara-Keche pass (3,384 m): roughly 150 km and five hours on a steep, stony road that needs high clearance or a 4x4, and that route runs from about late May to mid-October.
Where travellers sleep
Accommodation is family guesthouses in the village, most of them part of the community-based tourism network: a room in the house, breakfast, and dinner if you ask for it. Take cash — there is no bank here — and expect thin mobile coverage in the canyon.
Good to know
Questions travellers ask
- How do you get to Kyzyl-Oi?
- From the Bishkek–Osh highway via Suusamyr: about 41 km and an hour and a quarter down the Kökömeren canyon on wide, well-kept gravel. From Kochkor it is around 160 km and four hours over the Kyzart pass at 2,664 m and through Chaek. Bishkek is roughly 200 km away, making the village a natural first night out of the capital.
- Can you drive from Song-Kul to Kyzyl-Oi?
- Yes, over the Kara-Keche pass at 3,384 m — roughly 150 km and about five hours. The road is steep and stony and needs high clearance or four-wheel drive, and it is open from around late May to mid-October. Outside that period the detour runs the long way round through Chaek.
- Is there rafting on the Kökömeren?
- Yes. Bishkek operators run rafting trips on the Kökömeren in late summer, when the snowmelt has dropped and the water is more predictable. It is not something the village itself organises day to day, so a trip has to be booked in advance from Bishkek rather than arranged on arrival.
- Where do you stay in Kyzyl-Oi?
- In family guesthouses in the village, most of them part of the community-based tourism network. You get a room in a family home, breakfast, and dinner if you ask for it, eaten with your hosts. Rooms are plain and the village has no bank or cash machine, so bring the cash you will need.
- What is there to do around the village?
- Walking and horse riding up the side valleys towards the Sary-Kamysh range and the summer pastures above Kyzyl-Oi, and walks along the Kökömeren through its canyon. Horses are arranged through the guesthouses. The pastures are greenest in June and July, when herding families are camped on them.
Kyrgyzstan
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