Kyrgyzstan Trekking: from Ala Kul Lake to the mountains of Tien Shan

Flights to and from the destination are not included in the package, so you can decide where to depart from, at what time, and with the airline you prefer. This is to give you maximum freedom of choice.

Check-in at the hotel in Bishkek and it's time for the Welcome Meeting! After the entry formalities, we're ready to dive into the local culture of the Kyrgyz capital with a guided tour. Our guide will take us to one of the city's many parks, and we definitely won't miss the Osh Bazaar, the city's largest market, where we can try our first local specialties. Shall we start with Oromo or Piroshki? Take a look at the photos to wet your appetite!

Our adventure in Kyrgyz land officially kicks off this morning: we'll meet the guide and driver who will accompany us for the next few days! We load our backpacks onto the van and off we go, heading for Lake Ysykköl!

Along the way, we visit Burana, located about 80 km from the capital. The tower, with its funerary monuments, ramparts, the remains of the castle, and three mausoleums: this is all that remains of the ancient city of Balasagyn, founded by the Karakhanids at the end of the 9th century.

In the afternoon, we head east towards Bokonbaevo. Our first stop will be the Ak Sai Canyon, whose name means “white stream” because you can see traces of dried-up rivers that flowed here many years ago. The rocks range in colour from white to light grey. A short walk will take us to viewpoints offering breathtaking views of this canyon, stretching from the Tien Shan mountains to the shores of Lake Ysykköl.

To wrap up the day in style, at sunset, we’ll meet a falconer who will show us the traditional eagle hunting. In Kyrgyzstan, it's more than just a custom; it's one of the most important traditional games at the Nomad Games. Finally, we get ready for our first night in a yurt, right on the lake shores!

Today marks the beginning of our real adventure: we say goodbye to Bokonbaevo and set off for the starting point of our trek. Our first stop is Skazka Canyon, also known as Fairy Tale Canyon, one of the most spectacular places in the region—a surreal landscape sculpted by wind and rain, where shades of yellow, orange, red, and gray blend into striking rock formations.

After a quick lunch in Karakol, we head to the entrance of the Boz-Uchuk Gorge, where an iconic Russian military vehicle will take us up to around 2,700 meters above sea level. From there, our trek begins!

We’ll cross the mountain pass at 3,516 meters, surrounded by breathtaking scenery, before descending into the valley to reach the first camp at Jergez, located at 2,900 meters.

Ready for our first night at high altitude?

After a fantastic breakfast at high altitude, we start our ascent towards the next stop: Lake Ailanysh! We'll take a break on the lake's shores, soaking up the mountain air, before continuing towards the Ailanysh Pass, at a whopping 3676 metres above sea level.

Once we've conquered the pass, we've only got 5km left to go along the Ak-Suu River. We're constantly accompanied by breathtaking landscapes, with views of the surrounding peaks and glaciers. When we reach the camp, we'll get ready for another night in a yurt, but first, we'll cook together with the nomads hosting us!

Today’s day will be a bit less strenuous, even though it starts with a bang, with a beautiful climb to Ortok Pass, at an altitude of 3650 metres. The route continues on the eastern bank of the river, towards the day’s final destination, the Altyn-Arashan Valley (2500 m).

In the early afternoon, after a tasty local lunch, we’ll take a short walk to the natural hot springs of Altyn-Arashan, which have made this valley famous since before the Soviet era. On with the swimsuits, a nice hot bath awaits us for complete relaxation!

Hey explorers, get ready for an incredible day! We're heading south from the Altyn-Arashan valley to a new one. From here, it's an 8km tough climb to the Ala-Kol North pass, sitting at 3906 metres altitude.

After lunch, we'll keep climbing for about 3 hours to the 3,907m of the Ala-Kol North pass – the highest point on our Kyrgyzstan trek. The last 200m feel almost vertical as we scramble up scree slopes beaten by hikers. The view from up here is something else: a fan of peaks over 5000m opens up before us, and the vast Ala-Kol lake stretches out. This mystical lake was first described by a Russian explorer back in 1811. 30 years later, German biologist Alexander Schrenk visited the spot and confirmed the earlier findings. Since then, the lake has been a popular hiking destination, and rumour has it its waters even have healing powers. We'll set up camp at a strategic spot near the lake today, so we can soak it all in at both sunrise and sunset.

For the bravest among us, the day kicks off with a spectacular sunrise over the celestial Tien Shan mountains! Alternatively, we can decide to give our legs a rest and paddle across the lake by kayak. In fact, today we have the last 11 km of descent from Ala Kol lake to Karakol Valley ahead of us.

From the camp, we'll start our descent towards Karakol. It's our final trekking day, so let's soak in the last views of the Kyrgyz mountains. Our final destination is a Soviet-era alpine camp. There, after a tea break, we'll find our driver waiting to take us back to Karakol. Tonight, we have to celebrate our epic achievement properly! Let's pick a restaurant to try the cuisine of Karakol, a crossroads of cultures brought by the caravans of the ancient Silk Road.

Karakol is known as the gateway to Asia. We'll notice this right away as we explore its most famous spots like the Russian Orthodox Church and the Dungan Mosque. In fact, a Chinese Muslim minority has lived here for years, and the two religions coexist peacefully. Afterwards, we'll head back towards the capital, stopping along the way in the well-known seaside resort of Cholpon-Ata, on the shores of Lake Issyk-Kul.

Upon arrival in Bishkek, we'll grab some last-minute souvenirs and get ready for our farewell dinner at a traditional spot to celebrate the end of this incredible journey!