What to pack for Kyrgyzstan

A packing list for Kyrgyzstan has to cover two climates in one bag. A single week can put you in Osh at 963 m, where July afternoons run above 30 °C, and two nights later in a yurt at Song-Kul at 3,016 m, where it falls close to freezing after dark in the same month. Pack for the coldest night and the hottest afternoon on your route.

Layers, not one big coat

• A warm base layer, kept clean for sleeping and for evenings above 2,500 m.
• A fleece or light down jacket, which is what you will live in at camp.
• A waterproof, windproof shell with a hood, in July as much as in May.
• Light long trousers and long sleeves for the hot valleys: better than shorts against sun, dust and a mosque visit.
• A sun hat, a scarf for dust and wind, and thin gloves for early starts on a pass.

Nights are what people underestimate. At Tash-Rabat (3,200 m), Tulpar-Kul (3,500 m) and Kel-Suu (3,514 m) it is cold every night of the summer, and a July frost around Sary-Mogol at 2,980 m surprises nobody. Yurt camps pile on quilts, but if you are camping rather than sleeping under felt you need a real sleeping bag: the shore of Ala-Kul at 3,560 m is below freezing, with snow and hail possible in midsummer.

Footwear

Bring broken-in boots with ankle support and a sole that grips, plus something soft for the evening, because shoes come off at the door of every house and yurt. Grip matters off the trail too: the clay at Skazka canyon is loose, the stairway inside the Burana tower is steep, dark and slippery after rain, and the waterfall paths above Arslanbob are greasy in wet weather. Sandals earn their place at the hot springs of Altyn-Arashan and on the Issyk-Kul shore.

Sun, power and cash

• High-factor sunscreen and lip balm: above 3,000 m the sun burns fast and there is no shade on the pastures.
• Sunglasses that cope with glare off snow and water.
• A head torch. Several camps have no mains power, and a generator runs for a few evening hours at best.
• A power bank, and offline maps downloaded while you still have signal.
• Cash in som in small notes, in the same pouch as your passport.

Cards work in Bishkek hotels, supermarkets and cafes and in very few places beyond them: park tickets, yurt camps, horses and drivers are settled in notes, and there is little chance to withdraw once you leave a district centre. See money, SIM cards and internet for how much to carry. If your route crosses a border zone, the stamped paper permit travels with you, because photographs and copies are turned away at the checkpoint.

What is hard to buy outside the capital

Bishkek is the last place with a real choice of outdoor supplies. Beyond it and Karakol, expect no specialist kit, no camping gas except what your driver carries, and a thin shelf in a village shop; at Altyn-Arashan, Besh-Tash and Chatyr-Kul there is no shop at all. Bring prescription medicine in its box with the prescription, spare glasses or lenses, a small first-aid kit, blister plasters and spare batteries. There is more on heat, water and thin air in safety, health and altitude.

Season by season

• June to September: the full mountain list above, plus swimwear for the lake and the hot springs.
• May and October: the same with one more warm layer, since early or late snow can shut a pass for a day.
• November to April: real winter clothing, boots that handle iced pavements, and skis if you are heading for the backcountry above Jyrgalan or Suusamyr.

The month decides this list more than the destination does, so settle when to visit first, then read the routes on our tours for the altitudes you sleep at rather than the ones you drive over.