14 days
Grand tour of northern Kyrgyzstan, 14 days
Ala-Archa, Burana and Chon-Kemin, the full Issyk-Kul circuit with Altyn-Arashan, two nights at Song-Kul, Naryn and Tash-Rabat: the whole north in two weeks.
Two weeks is enough to stop rushing. This route covers the whole north — the gorge above the capital, the Chuy valley, the full circuit of Issyk-Kul, the hot springs east of the lake, two nights on the high pasture and the Silk Road caravanserai beyond Naryn — at a pace that leaves room for a day that goes wrong or an afternoon doing nothing by the water.
What the days feel like
The first days stay close to the capital: a walking day in the gorge at Ala-Archa, where the road ends at 2,100 m and the usual objective is the Ak-Sai waterfall, then the Chuy valley and a ride in the Chon-Kemin valley. From Cholpon-Ata the route works round the lake: Karakol and its Dungan kitchens, a night at the hot springs of Altyn-Arashan, the red cliffs of Jeti-Oguz, the waterfalls above Barskoon, the clay towers of Skazka canyon. The second week climbs inland to two nights at 3,016 m on Song-Kul and one at 3,200 m in the Tash-Rabat valley.
How hard it is
One day is properly active: the hike in Ala-Archa with a mountain guide, a steady climb on a well-used path from 2,100 m. Everything else is one to three hours on foot and much of it optional. The rough drive is the 30 km track to the hot springs, about three hours each way in an old 4x4 truck over rock and river crossings, and days of four to six hours in the vehicle are normal inland.
Altitude and the nights
The first week stays between 800 m and 2,450 m, which is a comfortable way to reach the three nights above 3,000 m in the second; expect broken sleep on the first of them. Five of the thirteen nights are in yurts, two to a yurt on mattresses with an evening stove and no mains power; the other eight are hotel and guesthouse rooms, spaced so that no more than two rough nights come in a row.
When it runs
June to September, with July to mid-September the most reliable. The paths in the gorge above the capital are clear from June, the hot-spring camps are fully staffed from late June, and the high yurt camps stand from about mid-June to mid-September. Outside that window the high half of the route has nowhere to sleep.
Changing it
Two weeks leaves room to add rather than cut: a trekking section above Karakol, the marked trails and guesthouses of Jyrgalan, a second night at the hot springs, or a flight south to Osh and the Alay valley on the end. Tell us what you want and we rebuild the fortnight.
Day by day
The route
Day 1
Arrival in Bishkek
Overnight: Bishkek
- Bishkek: standard double room
- Bishkek walking tour
- Private transfer Manas airport to Bishkek, minivan for up to 4
Day 2
A hike in Ala-Archa
Overnight: Bishkek
- Ala-Archa national park entrance
- Bishkek: standard double room
- Mountain guide for a day
- 4x4 with driver, up to 4 passengers
Day 3
Burana tower and Chon-Kemin
Overnight: Chon-Kemin
- Burana tower site entrance
- 4x4 with driver, up to 4 passengers
- Chon-Kemin national park entrance
- Chon-Kemin: family room in a village guesthouse with breakfast
Day 4
A ride in Chon-Kemin, then Issyk-Kul
Overnight: Cholpon-Ata
- 4x4 with driver, up to 4 passengers
- Cholpon-Ata: guesthouse room for two with breakfast
- Chon-Kemin: horse rental
- Chon-Kemin: horse guide
Day 5
Petroglyphs and Karakol
Overnight: Karakol
- 4x4 with driver, up to 4 passengers
- Karakol: double room in a small hotel with breakfast
- Cholpon-Ata petroglyphs open-air museum entrance
- Dungan family dinner in Yrdyk village
Day 6
Altyn-Arashan hot springs
Overnight: Altyn-Arashan
- Altyn-Arashan hot springs access
- Altyn-Arashan: night in a yurt with breakfast
- Altyn-Arashan: dinner at the yurt camp
- 4x4 with driver, up to 4 passengers
- 4x4 jeep transfer Karakol to Altyn-Arashan, up to 4
Day 7
Jeti-Oguz and the Barskoon waterfalls
Overnight: Tamga
- 4x4 with driver, up to 4 passengers
- 4x4 jeep transfer Karakol to Altyn-Arashan, up to 4
- Tamga: comfort yurt for two, half board
Day 8
Skazka canyon, an eagle hunter and Kochkor
Overnight: Kochkor
- 4x4 with driver, up to 4 passengers
- Skazka canyon entrance
- Kochkor: double or twin hotel room with breakfast
- Kochkor: lunch or dinner at the hotel
- Eagle hunter demonstration
Day 9
Felt makers and the road to Song-Kul
Overnight: Song-Kul
- 4x4 with driver, up to 4 passengers
- Kochkor: shyrdak felt carpet demonstration
- Song-Kul: lunch or dinner at the camp
- Song-Kul: comfort yurt for two with breakfast
Day 10
Horses on the summer pastures
Overnight: Song-Kul
- 4x4 with driver, up to 4 passengers
- Song-Kul: full-day horse ride
- Song-Kul: traditional horse games show
- Song-Kul: lunch or dinner at the camp
- Song-Kul: comfort yurt for two with breakfast
Day 11
Song-Kul to Naryn
Overnight: Naryn
- 4x4 with driver, up to 4 passengers
- Naryn: guesthouse double room, dinner and breakfast
Day 12
Tash-Rabat caravanserai
Overnight: Tash-Rabat
- 4x4 with driver, up to 4 passengers
- Tash-Rabat caravanserai entrance
- Tash-Rabat: horse ride, one hour
- Tash-Rabat: yurt for two, all meals included
Day 13
Back to Kochkor
Overnight: Kochkor
- 4x4 with driver, up to 4 passengers
- Kochkor: double or twin hotel room with breakfast
- Kochkor: lunch or dinner at the hotel
- Kochkor: folk music show during dinner
Day 14
Kochkor to Bishkek
- 4x4 with driver, up to 4 passengers
What the price includes
- —Thirteen nights: hotels and guesthouses in the towns, five in yurts
- —Airport transfer on arrival and a 4x4 with a driver for the whole route
- —Guided walking tour of Bishkek and a mountain guide in Ala-Archa
- —The 4x4 truck up to the Altyn-Arashan hot springs and back
- —Entry to Ala-Archa, Burana, Chon-Kemin, the petroglyphs, Tash-Rabat and Skazka
- —Horse riding in Chon-Kemin, at Song-Kul and at Tash-Rabat
- —Felt-making demonstration in Kochkor and an eagle hunter on the lake
- —Breakfast daily, camp dinners, a Dungan family dinner, full board at Tash-Rabat
Not included
- —International flights to and from Kyrgyzstan
- —A visa, if your nationality needs one
- —Travel and mountain rescue insurance
- —Lunches and the dinners not listed above, and all drinks
- —Personal spending, laundry and souvenirs
- —Tips for the driver, guides and host families
On this trip
Places you stay
Good to know
Questions travellers ask
- How fit do I need to be for two weeks?
- Averagely fit. The one demanding day is the hike in Ala-Archa, a steady climb on a clear path from 2,100 m towards the Ak-Sai waterfall, and its length is adjustable on the day. The rest is one to three hours at a time on canyon paths, forest tracks and pasture. The fortnight is long rather than hard, and the easier days are built into it rather than added at the end.
- How high does the route go, and is that a problem?
- The highest beds are 3,016 m at Song-Kul for two nights and 3,200 m at Tash-Rabat for one, all in the second week. By then you have had a week of gradual gain through nights at 1,650 m, 1,750 m and 2,450 m, which is close to ideal. Most people feel the height only as poor sleep and breathlessness on a slope. Anything sharper than that and we go down, which is a few hours.
- What is the mix of accommodation?
- Five of the thirteen nights are in yurt camps: two at Song-Kul, one at the hot springs, one on the southern shore of Issyk-Kul and one at Tash-Rabat. Those are mattresses on the floor, a stove, an outdoor toilet and no mains power. The other eight are hotel and guesthouse rooms in Bishkek, Chon-Kemin, Cholpon-Ata, Karakol, Kochkor and Naryn, with hot water and electricity.
- When is the best time to travel?
- From late June to mid-September the whole route works as written. July and August are the warmest, the busiest on the north shore and the most dependable for the passes. Early June can still find snow on the high camps and the upper paths, and from late September the yurt camps at Song-Kul and Tash-Rabat come down for the winter and the inland half has to be rebuilt.
- Can the fortnight be shortened, extended or rearranged?
- Yes. Days can be swapped, nights added, and the lake circuit or the inland section run in either direction. The common additions are a trekking section above Karakol, a few days in Jyrgalan, and a flight south to Osh for the Alay valley. Once family camps and hotels are holding beds, what can still be changed depends on them, so ask us before you commit to dates.
- Am I in the same vehicle for two weeks?
- Mostly, yes: a 4x4 with a driver covers the route, and the exception is the old truck up to the hot springs, which is the only vehicle that manages that track. Vehicles here seat four, so luggage for a full car is about one suitcase and a daypack each. Tell us how many of you are travelling and we will confirm what vehicle we would put on it for your dates.
Your route is one conversation away
Tell us your dates, your pace and what you would like to see. We will put together a route from our own suppliers.