Trekking in Kyrgyzstan: routes, seasons and altitude

Most of Kyrgyzstan is mountain and most of those mountains have no road into them, so walking is the ordinary way to see the country. The gap between an afternoon by a river and a pass at nearly 4,000 m is wide, though.

Easy days and first walks

Ala-Archa, some 40 km south of Bishkek, is where most people take their first walk. The road ends at about 2,100 m, where a level river path suits anyone and the steeper lines begin.

• The climb to the Ak-Sai waterfall, a steady uphill on a well-used path and the standard day out here.
• The continuation to the climbers' hut at around 3,300 m: about 1,200 m of ascent, a full day on the hill.

The other place you can walk without assembling an expedition is Jyrgalan, a former mining village at about 2,300 m with marked trails and maps.

The multi-day classics

The best-known trek reaches Ala-Kul, a glacial lake at about 3,560 m, then crosses the pass behind it into the hot-spring valley of Altyn-Arashan over two or three days.

• Karakol gorge trailhead to the camping meadow part-way up: 16 to 18 km, five to eight hours.
• That meadow to the lake: a further 3 to 8 km, 600 to 1,000 m of climbing, two to six hours.
• Over the Ala-Kul pass at about 3,860 to 3,950 m and down to the springs: the loosest ground is on the far side.

Altyn-Arashan works on its own for one hard day rather than three: the walk in from Ak-Suu village is 15 to 16 km with about 1,200 m of ascent, four to seven hours. In the Alay the walking starts higher still. From Achik-Tash, a meadow at roughly 3,600 m under Lenin Peak, the acclimatisation route crosses Traveller's Pass at about 4,100 m in a day, inside a border zone whose permit takes weeks. The rock art at Saimaluu-Tash is five hours on foot above its trailhead, at around 3,200 m, with a night in a tent.

When the trails are open

Snow on the passes sets the season. The Ala-Kul route is normally walkable from the start of July to the middle or end of September, late June after a warm spring, and its camps are staffed mainly in July and August. Ala-Archa opens from June, the Alay camps from mid-June. Snow falls high up in any summer month. When to go has the calendar.

Altitude, and when to turn round

Above about 3,000 m most people notice something: headache, broken sleep, breathlessness on any slope, less appetite. That is common and settles if you climb slowly and rest. What is not common is symptoms that worsen instead of easing: a headache that will not lift, vomiting, confusion, an unsteady walk, breathlessness at rest. Altitude illness can turn serious fast, and the answer is to go down at once and with company, not to wait and see. Gain height gradually, sleep lower before a high camp, drink plenty, keep the first day easy. Talk to your doctor beforehand, especially if you take regular medication or have a heart or lung condition. Safety and altitude has more.

Nights, weather and kit

Nights by Ala-Kul are below freezing even in July, and so are nights in the Alay. Nothing is sold on these routes, most have no signal, and there is no shelter on the passes. What to pack has the full list.

• A warm layer and a shell, plus a sleeping bag rated well below freezing if you camp.
• Boots with ankle support and grip; the descents are loose.
• Food for the route, cash in som, offline maps, a head torch.

What a guided trek looks like

A guided trek covers the transfer to the trailhead, the park formalities, food, and someone who knows the line when cloud sits on the pass. Horses carry baggage on much of the Karakol route, though you still walk it. On our seven-day classic route the Ala-Kul day runs that way.